Žilavka is a

white wine White wine is a wine that is fermented without skin contact. The colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes, which may have a skin of any colour. ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

planted primarily in the

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

region of Herzegovina, the southern area of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. As a

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

wine, Žilavka is known for its bright freshness and acidity. Ideal for general meal pairings, it is often oak aged as a "barrique" vintage that present more full bodied and earthy wines with nutty aspects that were more prevalent in the wines produced in the early 2000s and before. Widely planted throughout the

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

, Žilavka used to only be a minor blending grape that was used throughout the former country. These days, the wine has come into its own and is bottled as a single varietal alongside the other main grape of Herzegovina wine production, Blatina. Production is generally focused in the area south of

around the villages of Čitluk,

Međugorje Medjugorje ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Međugorje, Међугорје, ) is a town located in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, about southwest of Mostar and east of the border with Croatia. The town is part of the Čitluk municipality ...

Ljubuški Ljubuški is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the West Herzegovina Canton, a unit of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Kravica cascades lie within the municipality, near the settlement of Studenci ...

, and

Čapljina Čapljina ( sr-cyrl, Чапљина, ) is a city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the border with Croatia a mere from the Adriatic Sea. The ...

with notable producers such as Nuić, Škegro, Brkić, Vinarija Čitluk, Zadro and Vitai/Gangaš.

Synonyms

Žilavka is also known under the synonyms Mostarska, Mostarska Žilavka, Zhelavka Biella, Žilava Hercegovačka, Zilavka, Žilavka Bijela, and Žilavka Mostarska.

References

White wine grape varieties Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine Grape varieties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Wines of Bosnia and Herzegovina {{wine-grape-stub