Like many Minnesotans, Lee R. Anderson is an avid hunter, known to span the globe in search of exotic game. His latest targets: plavac mali and posip.
But these particular obscure species are actually grapes, mainstays of the construction magnate's new winery in Croatia, Korta Katarina.
After war ravaged that part of the former Yugoslavia, Anderson, chairman of the Twins Cities' API Group, began traveling to Croatia in 2001 on relief efforts, primarily to rebuild schools. He and his wife, Penny, soon fell in love with the area's natural beauty and culture.
Then they tasted the wines, and were further enraptured.
Actually, "enraptured" might not be a strong enough word. Anderson decided not only to start up Korta Katarina, but also purchased and is renovating a classic old hotel, the Riviera, in the coastal town of Orebic.
Anderson, who attended Breck School ("back when it was on Como Avenue," he said) and the U.S. Military Academy, caught the wine bug about 25 years ago. He's especially fond of the wines of Burgundy (red and white) and northern Italy, plus Napa cabs and Oregon pinot noirs.
And now some lesser-known varietals. "The posip is really in a class of its own. If you were trying to get in the ballpark, I'd say it's like chardonnay," he said. "The plavac mali is closely related to zinfandel [which originated in Croatia]. They've been growing that grape for 2,000 years in that area."
Anderson has delegated much of the enterprise's operation to his daughter, Katharine Anderson Groethe of Minneapolis. She travels frequently to Croatia and loves the people, if not the pace. "Everything there works soooo slowly," she said.
