Teran 101: A Great Croatian Indigenous Grape

Editor's note: Last year I had a brief visit to the dreamy town of Motovun where I met winemaker Marko Fakin. He shared what it was like growing up in a family that made wine the traditional way, his education in modern winemaking techniques and his experimentation with the prized local grape of the region, teran. Our thanks to contributor Chris Boiling for sharing even more about this intriguing variety and the wines made with it.

Stunning coastal towns and medieval hilltop villages with exquisite food and wines. That’s my summary of Istria, my favorite part of Croatia. It’s a peninsula in the northwest of the country, which extends into Slovenia and Italy (near Trieste) – a region where wine has long been inseparable from life.

The key grapes in the Croatian part, making up more than 60% of the area’s 2,900 hectares of vines, are the native white malvazija Istarska, which accounts for about two-thirds of Istria’s wine output, and the red variety teran.

Teran’s characteristics

View of Motovun photo credit Chris Boiling

This photo helps to explain why Istria has a flagship white and red variety. The lower slopes of the hills, which are frequently blanketed by morning fog, are suitable for growing malvazija Istarska; the more finicky teran grape grows at the top of the slopes, above the moist fog.

Teran has a reputation for being a bit of a wild grape that is difficult to tame and turn into a good wine. My first encounters with it forged an impression of brutal tannins, green acidity and rustic wines. But over the past 15 years Croatian wine has undergone a tremendous transformation and I’ve noticed this most with teran. With drastically lower yields, climate change, later picking and longer ageing in neutral oak barrels, teran becomes terrific: a deeply coloured, medium to full-bodied red wine with dark berry, red fruit and wild herb aromas and flavours, food-friendly tannins and vibrant acidity that pairs beautifully with air-dried hams (such as pršut), sausages, and pasta dishes covered with local truffle shavings or oil.

Terran's location

Teran grapes — Teran (2022).2" by Silverije is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This strawberry-shaped peninsula belonged to Austria, Italy, and Yugoslavia during the 20th century before Croatia gained independence in 1991. Its proximity to Italy has influenced the winemaking, with much of the modern equipment and techniques being imported from the opposite side of the Adriatic Sea.

Teran – officially called terrano – is frequently confused with refosco in Italy and rrfošk in neighbouring Slovenia. This is because refošk grown on the limestone plateau in the Karst (Kras) region of Slovenia is called terrano – and was awarded protected designation of origin status in 2006. To further confuse matters, recent studies have shown much of the refošk in Kras is actually teran. In 2016 – three years after Croatia joined the European Union – the dispute between Slovenia and Croatia over the use of the name teran resulted in a ruling from the court of arbitration in The Hague that said Croatian winemakers may continue to use the name teran if the label also states it is from Croatian Istria or Hrvatska Istra.

Istria's diverse terroir, which includes a mix of limestone, clay, and iron-rich terra rossa soil, seems to provide the ideal conditions for teran to thrive in the hillsides and terraced vineyards that dot the landscape. The region's proximity to the Adriatic Sea also plays a crucial role in moderating the climate, allowing the grapes to ripen slowly and retain their acidity, even during warm vintages.

In Istria (as with many leading wine regions), there is also a significant difference between the daytime and night-time temperatures – which helps to retain the grape’s noticeable acidity and build complexity in the aromas.

Winemaking

Wine production is generally a family affair in Istria, with traditions passed down through the generations. But it’s the younger generation, now running many of the wineries, that is taking teran to new heights of elegance.

They are generally producing teran varietals in two styles: youthful and fruit-forward; more structured and age-worthy.

After hand-harvesting, the grapes typically undergo sorting before fermentation with native or cultured yeasts in stainless-steel tanks or large wooden vats. For the more serious wines, producers typically opt for extended maceration periods to extract maximum flavour and structure from the skins and ageing in large wooden casks made from Slavonian oak or French barriques. For the more easy-drinking versions, they typically mature and clarify their terans in stainless-steel tanks to preserve freshness.

Although teran is traditionally vinified as a varietal wine, it also adds a local twist to blends featuring international grapes such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Ask for a ‘Super-Istrian’.

Climate change

At the end of the quiet village of Kaldir, the Benv en uti family has its homes, winery, cellars and a villa with pool for guests. Their winemaking story started in 1946 when Peter Benvenuti planted his first vineyard, which is still cultivated today. But it was his son Livio and grandsons Albert and Nikola who expanded the business from 2000. They currently have 22 hectares of vineyards and produce about 70,000 bottles a year.

Nikola told me the main reasons for the recent improvements in teran are lower yields and climate change. “In the future we will see a lot more good terans because of climate change,” he said.

The Benvenutis started green harvesting (cutting bunches before they were ripe to reduce the yield) in 2007 – which, according to Nikola, “lifted it to a much higher level” and reduced the characteristic “high acidity, green tannins”.

Picking late, in the middle of October, and using old oak barrels also benefit the variety. “If you harvest too early you will never have a Teran that’s wow,” he added.

Terans To Try

My favorite place to drink teran is the wine barand restaurant in Motovun belonging to Marko Fakin, who founded the Fakin W inery in 2010. It’s fun to go in there and ask for a Fakin teran. The Fakin 2022 is a good example of the young, fresh style of teran while the Fakin Il Primo is representative of the more serious teran varietals.

Other good examples of this serious style are: Tomaz Barbarossa, Valenta Terre di Paradiso, Benvenuti Livio, and Kozlović Teran.

There are also some premium wines worth seeking out. Benvenuti Santa Elisabetta, Valenta Dionigi, Tomaz Barbarossa Superior, and Coronica Gran Teran are among my favorites.

Moreno Coronica was one of the first to tame the grape, by severely reducing the yield of this vigorous vine. After his first green harvest, his father didn’t speak to him for ten days. He also grows grass in alternate rows and removes leaves to reduce vigor and picks late, when there are about 25% dehydrated grapes. For me, this wine exemplifies the grape's potential: vibrant fruit and minerality, elegant complexity. It is the wine that changed my view of teran.