KONOBA EXPERIENCE
Konoba Bratanic offer unique experience of authentic story listening in place where wine was produced by our grandfathers.
The Bratanić family konoba, or wine cellar, is the first and only konoba to hold the status of Protected Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia. There is no better place to have glass of wine in you hands, while listening story, surrounded by authentic traditional barrels and tools used hundred years ago. Touching all those old artefacts means touching old times. This is some kind of time machine exprience.
Our family konoba is not a restaurant, nor a pizzeria, café, or any other form of catering establishment. It does not serve trends, menus, or haste. It is simply the konoba: a way of life rather than a service, a philosophy rather than a concept, poetry written in stone, wood, and silence. It is something that cannot be explained or consumed, only entered and experienced.
Within these walls, invisible doors seem to open toward an imagined world where time stretches generously, where days are not measured by urgency, and where people once lived closer to the earth, to one another, and to themselves. It is a world in which happiness required less, health was nurtured naturally, and contentment grew from simplicity rather than abundance.
Although our grandfather’s barrels now rest empty, their presence still breathes quietly through the space. And somewhere between memory and imagination, a trace of wine can still be found, enough to give the konoba’s story another layer, another depth. This layer binds yesterday to today, reminding us that while the past cannot be reclaimed, its wisdom can still guide us forward.
The konoba teaches us that we cannot live as we once did, but that we can choose to live a little more like it. To be satisfied with less, to eat a little more honestly, to slow our steps and our thoughts, if only slightly. To remember that life does not ask for much, and that even a little slowness, a little care, a little simplicity can mean a great deal. Because sometimes, a little is everything.
The inventory of the tavern reflects the purpose of a traditional Dalmatian tavern.
Preserved items related to viticulture and winemaking have been preserved, which have been the basis of the economy of Dalmatia, especially the island of Hvar, for millennia. Preserved items also testify to changes in the method of wine production and storage, and we can follow the development of winemaking and cellaring by using them: several different types of wine press towers and barrels of various dimensions and materials. Preserved are oil churns, various tools needed for working in vineyards and olive groves, glass and wooden vessels for wine, prosecco and brandy, equipment for draft animals. Most of the items are still in use. Many traditional houses in Dalmatia have changed their original appearance and purpose, and the original purpose of the tavern is especially being lost and changed. The tavern has recently become associated with catering establishments that serve indigenous food in the ambiance of a wine cellar. The Bratanić family tavern has preserved its original appearance and purpose, while the inventory preserves the traditional way of life and work of the inhabitants of Dalmatia, and at the same time follows the changes in the traditional culture of the village, which was not static and unchanging. The Bratanić family tavern connects the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Dalmatia (traditional viticulture and winemaking are linked to the Mediterranean diet, which is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List).
Our grandfathers vineyards are stills there along with grapes thanks to our partners and friends who carefully maintain them. So, there is still a bit of wine in our barrels to give you as a part of our story.
Our vineyards are located in the hearth of UNESCO protected heritage Starigrad plain. This is an unique heritage symbiosis between plain where grapes grows and the konoba, wine cellar, where wine is produced.
We are more than happy to present you all wines from our Hvar island. Lot of them are available in our wine cellar to introduce.
Wine is a part of our story.
From all part of island Hvar there are lot of our friends who are passionated wine makers and we are more than glad to recommend them to all our visitors.
Story of the konoba is our history and our future
Our story comes from our personal family long lasting heritage.
This story we received from our past, telling it to you today and preserve it to our future, for next degerations.
