Pomalo Debit

Winemaker: The Begović cousins

Appellation: Slavonija - Pannonian basin, Continental Croatia

Grape Variety: Debit

Inland locations near the beautiful and historic town of Šibenik. A terrain made up of various vineyard locations on slopes or semi-slopes, with an altitude of 50 to 300 meters asl. The vineyards see some of the warmer temperatures in Northern and Central Dalmatia, with interestingly cooler nights and constant breezes. Mostly fertile red and brown topsoil with finer brown clay stones, and a rugged and tough limestone foundation.

Made for the first time in 2022 vintage, this is Debit. Embracing the minimal intervention approach in the cellar, hand-harvested grapes were destemmed, a short maceration, then pressed into a stainless steel tank to undergo spontaneous fermentation. Racked and left for 5 months on the lees. Lightly sulfured and filtered before bottling.

The Debit grape had been stigmatized by locals in the early 20th century but has tremendous potential as a Dalmatian white grape, given it is cultivated halfway between the coastlines and the mountains. This microclimate offers plenty of sunlight for natural ripeness, while also getting cool winds at night to provide acidity.

The whole point of Pomalo is to take it easy and not take things too seriously. So, nothing too technical here! But adding a still expression of Debit was essential for the Pomalo life to capture a crisp and refreshing Dalmatian white that provides the fruit of the Dalmatian sunshine and the salinity of the Adriatic sea. This wine is refreshing, fun and briny – like a handful of fruity jellies soaked in sea water, with an herbal coastal Adriatic finish. Pair with fresh cracked sea urchin that you just plucked from the Adriatic, broke open with the side of a spoon, and scooped out uni like ice cream. Also any sort of raw bar or ceviche works too and guzzled with fish tacos it is glorious.

The description of the word “pomalo” cannot be found in any Croatian dictionary. Literally, “pomalo” means to take it easy, to relax, no stress, but also slow down, no worries…

The true meaning of ”pomalo” is rooted in the coastal and island lifestyle and the general state of mind of the Dalmatians. Us Americans can use more Pomalo, all the time.

There are so many exciting varietals and terroirs within Croatia, so to capture the pomalo lifestyle in liquid form, we teamed up with the allusive Begović cousins to produce some of the best natural Hrvatska expressions to bring to the US.

The Begović cousins are two phenomenal winemakers from starkly different backgrounds - one based in the northeastern mountains of Slovenia, one based on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia — whom discovered their long-lost relation to each other over their mutual family lineage in the village of Kozice, Croatia.

Together, they teamed up with Vinum and fused their winemaking styles to create and celebrate pure wines of enjoyment, fun and leisure.

These wines are made for fjaka!