 In the 4th ctr. BC the Ancient Greeks brought the vine to the fertile plain of Stari Grad and organized the production of wine in an exemplar way. The Romans further improved their technology, and, since then, people have been planting vines in fields throughout the island. Winemaking remained the basis of Hvar's economy for centuries. In the late 19th ctr. the island had over 5750 hectares of vineyards, which is more than 19 % of its surface. This was the period of great flourishing of vine growing and winemaking on Hvar, caused by an increased demand for wines after the spread of diseases (philoxera and oidium) in vineyards across Europe. Number of new ports were built, channels and streams were dug to stop the water from washing out the fertile soil, and as the number of vines grew, parallelly the population of Hvar increased by 30%. Today, vineyards cover less than 8% of that area, or, in other words, 1.6 % of the surface of island Hvar, with a constant negative trend.
 Climate: The famous 19th. ctr. climatologist J. Hann referred to Hvar as the 'Adriatic Madeira', describing its mild Mediterranean climate with dry warm summers and mild rainy winters. Hvar also has a very high insolation (2730 hours a year, i.e. averagely 7.5 hours a day) that makes it suitable for vine growing. Other favourable conditions are annual distribution of precipitation and low relative air humidity in the period of grape growing and ripening, which helps prevent diseases and is crucial for the quality of grapes. We have also taken on lease a couple of excellent vineyards that owners could not cultivate any longer, and the rest of the grapes comes from our regular suppliers. The island also has a water spring - a rare gift among otherwise dry Mediterranean islands.
 Location: Another crucial factor for successful vine growing is the selection of variety and the appropriate terroir. Among several microlocalities we can distinguish three basic ones: the southern slopes, the northern part of the island, and the 400-500 m high longitudinal ridge. Each locality has its own benefits and the varieties it suits best, so that the people now traditionally grew varieties in favourable locations.
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