OUR STORY
The owners
My name is Jakša (Jack) Kivela and my wife's name is Fung Lin Leung and together, we have created our Fields of Grace Vineyards estate which includes extensive Mediterranean and rose gardens; a wine tasting pavilion; cellar; a private stay-over cottage; and vegetable gardens. The estate is a wholly registered primary producing vineyard entity (OPG Fields of Grace - 219951) by the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture.
I was born on Vis, however, I spent most of my life in Australia and Hong Kong. I am a classically trained chef having completed my training at the then Michelin rated restaurant Le Chateau in Melbourne (1970-1974). I owned and operated my own restaurants, qualified as a master teacher. I read for my Doctoral degree at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and taught hotel management and hotel development, French cuisine and oenology at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for over 27 years
My wife Fung Lin, is from Hong Kong and is an outstanding corporate lawyer specialising in gas and oil and petro-chemical contracts.
Interestingly, her first degree was in hotel management and tourism. She is greatly responsible for the vision of what Fields of Grace Vineyards is all about, and for all the gardens at the estate. Lin is an excellent practitioner of the Southern-Chinese and South-East Asian cuisines
Our Vineyards - the estate
Our estate is located in a beautiful small valley called Zlopolje, a few kilometres South-East from the town of Vis on the island Vis, Croatia
The valley is gifted with amazing terroir and quiet grace
We grow varietals such as Vugava (similar in character to Viognier, also known as Bugava locally), Plavac, Cabernet Sauvignon, Graševina (also known as Welschriesling), and Merlot. With great care and skill, we craft our vintages to please and excite our customers and to offer a unique wine tasting experience in a working but private vineyard setting
Ours is a small winery and our wines are uniquely different to the wines in the region and to those on the Island of Vis. This is because we maintain a strict regime in controlling our pre and post harvesting parameters and vinification processes to produce clean crisp wines with light alcoholic content. As much as we dare, we apply our knowledge to bring to you the complex varietal nuances in our wines as nature intended
We currently offer Grace Red (Plavac grapes), Vugava, Grace Rosé (Cabernet Sauvignon grapes), and Welschriesling (also known as Graševina) at 8 euro per 750ml bottle. The 2022 Vuguava is truly an exceptional vintage and we have limited sales of six bottles for 15 euro per bottle
Our vinery and wine making
To preserve the fragile but complex varietal aroma, taste, and to balance acidity, the quality of our wines begins in the vineyard. That is, we precisely determine the amount of bunches per vine in the spring. The level of sweetness, acidity, and pH is measured a number of times before the harvest, so that the percentage of alcohol, and varietal characteristics in the finished wine can be accurately determined. Vinification for both our white and red wine, follows a strictly controlled fermentation regime of controlled cold fermentation with oxygen control. All of our wines have these key characteristics - they are fresh, light with convincing compexity and with varietal character intact
Sustainability and ecological practices
Our estate is wholly solar energy self-sufficient. We operate most up-to-date waste water management and we use ecologically sustainable practices on our land and plants. Likewise, in our wine making-process we use state-of-the-art technology for vinification, albeit with an appropriate measure of winemaking knowhow!
THE DAI PAI DONG
Capturing the Essence: Fields of grace vineyards
OUR WINE ANALYSIS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
