Wines from the Sea, Stones from the Earth
Vinas Mora — a play on words in Croatian meaning "wines from the sea" — is one of Croatia's most compelling natural wine projects: a cooperative winery in UNESCO-protected Primošten, the historic peninsula town on the Dalmatian coast where Babić vines literally grow in the rocks, mere metres above the Adriatic. Founded in 2020 by Krešo Petreković — a Croatian-born former New York sommelier and wine importer behind the natural wine hub Podrum Franjo — together with local grower Neno Marinov and wine professional Niko Dukan (one of the talents behind the Karakterre fair), Vinas Mora was born when the pandemic stranded Krešo at his coastal house in Primošten and he discovered that the local co-op — the place where most of the area's growers had always sold their grapes — was on the verge of closing. Its collapse would have devastated the entire local wine-growing community. Instead, the three took it over. The vineyards are among the most extreme in Europe: bush-trained vines of three to four plants per plot, separated by ancient dry-stone walls on terrain cleared by hand over centuries, where no machinery is possible and every task is done by hand. The soils are crvenica — terra rossa born of dissolved limestone and dolomite. The focus is Babić in a ladder of vine ages — Andreis, Kaamen, Kaamen II, Kaamen III — plus Barbba, a white co-ferment of Debit, Marastina, Plavina and Lasin. This is not a winery following fashion; it is a rescue mission for one of Dalmatia's most distinctive terroirs.
The Sommelier, the Plastic Bottles & the Closing Co-op
Krešo Petreković built his career far from Dalmatia. A Croatian-born sommelier, wine professional and importer, he spent years immersed in New York City's natural wine scene, tasting and importing the kind of low-intervention wines that most of his homeland had never heard of. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Krešo retreated to his coastal house in Primošten — a historic peninsula town on the Dalmatian coast, south of Šibenik. What began as a temporary escape became a permanent calling.
Krešo had long advocated for drinking wines made by local farmers who had little or no commercial success — the kind of wines sold in plastic bottles on the side of the road. This zeal is how he found Josipa and Neno Marinov, a local couple producing Babić "as their elders did 100 years ago, with some improvements," selling their humble bottles to passersby. Together with Neno, they explored the nearly abandoned winemaking facilities of the local cooperative — the site where most growers in the area had historically sold their grapes. The closing of this co-op would have had devastating effects on the entire local wine-growing community. The opportunity to take it over was too good to pass on — and it was necessary to keep the tradition alive. Joined by another friend and wine professional, Niko Dukan — one of the founders of Karakterre, the natural wine fair — the three founded Vinas Mora, with Krešo at its helm. It was Krešo's second passion project, following the success of his first winery, Podrum Franjo.
The name is a play on words in Croatian: "wines from the sea," because the vineyards sit mere metres above the Adriatic. But the project is more than a winery — it is a cooperative structure that works with the local growers who had always depended on the old co-op, preserving a viticultural heritage that was on the verge of disappearing. What started as a pandemic project became a mission: to prove that the rocky, hand-cleared hills of Primošten belong in the global conversation about great Mediterranean terroir.
"Taking inspiration from Frank Cornelissen's deep focus on site through minimal inputs and small parcels, Vinas Mora highlights how delicious and diverse this corner of Croatia is."
— Leon & Son Wine, on Vinas Mora
Primošten, the Stone Lace & the Adriatic Hand
Primošten is one of the most remarkable wine landscapes in Europe — a historic town on a small peninsula connected to the mainland, south of Šibenik on the Dalmatian coast. The area is UNESCO-protected, not merely for its beauty but for the extraordinary human effort that transformed previously rocky, barely accessible terrain into agricultural land through manual clearing over centuries. The famous vineyards of Bucavac — where dry-stone walls interweave down steep slopes to the crystal-clear Adriatic — create an illusion of "stone lace" wrapped around the vines. These breathtaking vineyards are true works of art and the symbol of hard human labour.
The vineyards of Vinas Mora sit mere metres above sea level, where Babić vines literally grow in the rocks. The bush-trained vines are scattered across tiny plots divided by ancient dry-stone walls — each plot holding just three to four plants. This is not romantic exaggeration; it is brutally labour-intensive reality. Every vineyard task must be done by hand: pruning, tending, harvesting. The impossibility of machinery ensures that farming remains human-scale and that the vines are treated with individual attention. Most of the growers involved farm vineyards only a few metres above the sea.
The primary soil is crvenica — better known as terra rossa in the Carso region — created by the dissolution of limestone and dolomite. It is hard and tight, with very little humus, but the clay component allows it to absorb and retain water long enough to keep vines hydrated during the long, hot, dry Mediterranean summers. The climate is deeply Mediterranean — warm days, seaside air, and the cooling influence of the Adriatic. Drag your finger across the Adriatic on a map and you bump into Italy's Marche region. This maritime proximity gives the wines a distinct saline character and freshness that balances the warmth of the Dalmatian sun, while the iron-rich soils contribute to Babić's dark colour and thick-skinned resilience.
Primošten is a historic town on a small peninsula connected to the mainland — one of the most photographed spots on the Dalmatian coast. The area is UNESCO-protected for the extraordinary human effort that transformed rocky, inaccessible terrain into agricultural land through manual clearing over centuries. The Bucavac vineyards, where dry-stone walls interweave down steep slopes to the sea, create the famous "stone lace" landscape — a true work of art and a symbol of hard human labour. For Vinas Mora, this is not a postcard; it is the daily reality of farming some of the most extreme vineyard terrain in Europe.
The bush-trained vines of Vinas Mora are scattered across tiny plots divided by ancient dry-stone walls — each plot holding just three to four plants. No machinery is possible on this terrain; every task — pruning, tending, harvesting — must be done by hand. This is hand-farming at its most extreme: labour-intensive, human-scale viticulture where each vine receives individual attention. The impossibility of mechanisation is not a limitation; it is the guarantee that farming remains organic, intimate, and true to the centuries-old methods that created this landscape.
The primary soil is crvenica — terra rossa — created by the dissolution of limestone and dolomite. Hard and tight, with very little humus, it nonetheless possesses a clay component that allows it to absorb and retain water long enough to keep vines hydrated through the long, hot, dry Mediterranean summers. Iron-rich, it contributes to Babić's dark colour, thick-skinned resilience, and mineral backbone. This is the soil that gives Primošten Babić its unmistakable signature: blue fruit, chalk, and salt.
Most of the growers involved with Vinas Mora farm vineyards only a few metres above sea level, where Babić vines literally grow in the rocks above the Adriatic. The maritime proximity gives the wines a distinct saline character and freshness that balances the warmth of the Dalmatian sun. The name says it all: Vinas Mora — "wines from the sea." The Adriatic is not just a view; it is a structural component of the wine — the salt on the finish, the freshness in the acidity, the twilight in the glass.
Taming the Babić, the Short Maceration & the Co-op Cellar
In the cellar, Krešo Petreković practices a philosophy of restraint and precision. Having spent years tasting and importing natural wines in New York, he understands that Babić's natural tendency is toward heaviness and high alcohol. His mission is to tame this heft while preserving the grape's innate character — picking at a potential ABV of 13–13.5%, destemming for native fermentation, and macerating very quickly. No wine sees more than five days of maceration — a deliberate choice to tame Babić's tannic potential while extracting colour and flavour.
The techniques are simple but exacting. All grapes are hand-harvested from bush vines in small crates, preserving berry integrity in the extreme terrain. Grapes are gently destemmed to avoid harsh green tannins. Fermentation is spontaneous, with indigenous yeasts only — open vat fermentation for the reds, neutral oak for the Barbba blend. No temperature control, no additives. All wines age for one year in a combination of fiberglass and 500-litre neutral barrels — a dual approach that preserves freshness while adding subtle texture. Bottling is done without fining or filtration, with minimal added sulfur — typically 10 mg/L for the Andreis and Barbba, minimal amounts for the Kaamen range.
The portfolio is structured as a progression through vine age and intensity, each wine revealing a different facet of Primošten's rocky terroir. Andreis comes from 25-year-old certified-organic vines — the fresh, approachable entry point. Kaamen — "stone" in the local dialect — comes from 50-year-old bush vines, the saltier, firmer standard-bearer. Kaamen II steps up to 80–100-year-old vines with a northern-Rhône-like smokiness. Kaamen III is the summit — vines up to 100 years old yielding less than 0.5kg per vine, the definitive statement of Primošten Babić. And Barbba breaks the red mould entirely: a co-fermented blend of Debit, Marastina, Plavina and Lasin — the indigenous varieties that define Dalmatian identity. No international grapes; pure Croatian heritage.
The Vine-Age Ladder & the Five-Day Rule
The guiding principle of Vinas Mora's cellar is that Babić's power must be tamed, not eliminated. By picking early (13–13.5% potential alcohol), destemming gently, fermenting spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, and — crucially — never macerating any wine for more than five days, Krešo preserves the grape's dark fruit and mineral core while refining its tannic muscle. The ladder of vine ages then does the talking: 25-year-old vines for the fresh, salty Andreis; 50-year-old bush vines for the firmer Kaamen; 80–100-year-old vines for the smoky, spiced Kaamen II; and the oldest, lowest-yielding plants — less than half a kilo of fruit per vine — for the profound Kaamen III. Ageing in fiberglass and neutral 500-litre barrels adds texture without oak imprint. No fining, no filtration, minimal sulfur. The rescued co-op cellar in Primošten is where extreme terroir meets deliberate restraint — and where Babić becomes, at last, a household name.
Andreis, Kaamen, Barbba & the Sea-Salt Hand
The Vinas Mora portfolio is a ladder of Babić by vine age — from the approachable Andreis to the profound Kaamen III — plus Barbba, a white co-ferment of indigenous Dalmatian varieties. All wines are hand-harvested from bush vines, spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts, aged one year, and bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur. The focus is exclusively on indigenous Croatian varieties: Babić, Debit, Marastina, Plavina and Lasin — no international grapes, pure Croatian heritage. In the coming years, high-end cru wines from the oldest parcels will make their debut.
The Rescued Co-op, the Babić Revival & the Sea-Salt Hand
Vinas Mora is not merely a winery; it is a rescue mission — the story of how a former New York sommelier, a roadside grower, and a wine-fair founder took over a dying cooperative in UNESCO-protected Primošten and turned it into one of the most compelling natural wine projects in the Mediterranean. In an era when Croatian wine was defined by inherited estates and international varieties, Krešo Petreković, Neno Marinov and Niko Dukan demonstrated that the most profound impact comes from investing in the remote landscapes and local communities from whence the wines come — that a broad international horizon is precisely what a forgotten co-op needs to survive. It is largely thanks to projects like Vinas Mora that Babić — a grape most of the world had never heard of — is becoming a household name in natural wine circles from New York to London to Tokyo. The same cellar where growers once delivered grapes to a dying cooperative has become, through their work, the engine of a Babić renaissance.
The legacy of Vinas Mora is the legacy of the cooperative spirit in natural wine. The founders are not typical newcomers: they are a sommelier-importer who tasted the world's best natural wines in New York, a local couple who made wine "as their elders did 100 years ago" and sold it in plastic bottles on the roadside, and a wine professional behind one of Europe's most important natural wine fairs. They do not chase volume. They do not chase trends. They make a ladder of Babić by vine age — Andreis, Kaamen, Kaamen II, Kaamen III — plus Barbba, a co-ferment of indigenous varieties — each one a different facet of the same rocky, hand-cleared, sea-salted terroir. The five-day maceration limit is not a rule; it is a philosophy of restraint that lets Primošten speak without shouting.
The future of the project is tied to the future of Primošten's viticultural heritage — to the high-end cru wines from the oldest parcels that will debut in the coming years, to the growers whose livelihoods the rescued co-op protects, and to the growing recognition that this corner of Croatia belongs in the global fine-wine conversation. As the Andreis introduces drinkers to blue fruit, chalk and salt, as the Kaamen III proves that century-old Babić can stand beside the great wines of the Mediterranean, and as Barbba keeps the indigenous white varieties of Dalmatia alive, Vinas Mora remains what it has always intended to be: wines from the sea, stones from the earth — a rescued co-op where a sommelier, a grower and a fair founder trusted the rocks, the old vines and the Adriatic, and built something enduring above the sea. The rescue is not finished. It is just beginning to age.
"In order to have a truly profound impact on invigorating local wine production and culture, you need to have a broad, international horizon from which you can invest into the remote landscapes from whence these wines come."
— Newcomer Wines, on Vinas Mora