Once travel opens up to Croatia, visitors looking to escape the crowds of Dubrovnik should consider venturing an hour up the coast through the rugged Pelješac Peninsula filled with family-owned vineyards, charming old villages, and rocky beaches. The area is known for its mussels, oysters, and fish sourced directly from the waters, and is a stunning discovery that many tourists have not yet explored.

Hidden within the town of Drače, located between Ston and Orebić, is the country’s first underwater winery. Edivo Vina winery was created beneath the sea where visitors can join divers on a tour of the submerged jugs which house the wine, along with a sunken ship at the bottom of Mali Ston Bay. There is, of course, an above ground winery for those who are not scuba inclined.

The unique experience of visiting the underwater cellars showcases Navis Mysterium, which is kept in a sunken boat close to Žuljana. Nearly 5,000 bottles of wine are aged above-ground for three months and then stored in amphorae, a clay jug with two handles and a narrow neck, below the water for one to two years. All of the bottles are corked, and two layers of rubber are added to prevent saltwater from leaking in, and wine from leaking out. The amphorae are then packaged in cages and locked to avoid any unwanted divers from stealing the wine. With natural sea cooling, the winery discovered it was ideal conditions for the wine storage.

According to the winery owners, “With the bottles, we immediately had good results, but the amphorae were more difficult. It was necessary to investigate whether it would be possible to put a glass bottle directly in an amphora because wine could lose quality from any penetration by the sea. Using a glass bottle with two layers of rubber, we submerged it in the sea to a depth of 18-25 meters for more than 700 days. After that, we knew that we had made something special, something that would make history. The unique essence of the Adriatic Sea combined with exquisite wine, Plavac from Janjina, clay that is baked in Petrinja, stands made of wrought iron from Sisak, pinewood boxes which are made in Varaždin, glass, cork. Everything is pure Croatian product.”

Wine lovers can enjoy a varied selection of wines like Navis Mysterium Amphora, Navis Mysterium Bottle, Dingač Edivo, Plavac Edivo Bottle, and Q Edivo Bottle.

During the winter (from November 1st to April 1st), tours are once a day and during summertime twice. You will dive with experienced and certified PADI instructors. Groups are small, and the number of people depends on the level of diving experience. The only requirement for visitors are that you have a diving license so that you can grab your own bottle of red wine beneath the chilly Adriatic Sea. 

Pelješac has no commercial airport of its own, so most visits here will start in one of Croatia’s other major cities, including Dubrovnik, by far the closest, Split, and Zadar.