Vis

We read in the pilot book that Vis has been famed for its excellent wine for over 2,000 years. So our mission today, as we pedaled 15 miles and 1,000 vertical feet around the island of Vis, was to find some local wine.

Though Vis has been inhabited for thousands of years, until the summer of 1989 foreigners were not allowed to land on Vis or its surrounding islands, nor were they allowed to navigate within 300 meters of their shores. As a result of this isolation the island has not been spoiled by major tourist developments.



Access was restricted because the island served as a Yugoslav military post under Tito's rule. One positive result of this history for us is that the Yugoslav military built some fantastic paved roads around the island, which served us well for our bicycle tour.



We started with a three-mile set of switchbacks out of the village of Kut on the island's northwest corner. Once at the top, a fertile valley planted in vineyards spread out before us. Not long after leveling out, we started to see signs offering local wine. We stopped to sample.











It didn't take long to decide the wine was worth buying. We bought some red, some white, some dessert wine, and some grappa, a kind of local everclear that will knock your socks off.




The bike tour continued with a descent into the village of Komiza for lunch. Then another long set of switchbacks before descending back to Vis town and a well deserved swim, followed by a glass of Vis wine of course!