The perfectly picturesque island of Hvar is a short distance off the mainland Croatian city of Split. It has been one of our favorite destinations for a number of reasons (just see our other blog posts).
Due to a transportation snafu, we missed the public bus upon arriving to Hvar by ferry. The ferry dropped us at Stari Grad, across the island from our destination of Hvar Town. The kind hostel owner offered to pick us up when I called him, but we had over an hour to kill in this tiny, unimpressive town.
We heard a winery was nearby, so we walked over. The wine looked terrible, but this winery happened to also be a soft drink producer. That gives you a hint about their quality.
They make an orange soda called Pipi (pronounced pee pee), which seemed worth trying. We bought a bottle and walked back into town to sit down at a cafe. With a light bite to eat, we also ordered a bottle of local Grasevina white wine. Grasevina is a uniquely Croatian grape that resembles a Pinot Grigio in flavor.
The idea struck me to make a little spritzer, and it turned out pretty refreshing. The tart wine balanced out the super-sweet orange soda nicely. The waiter looked at me strangely, but I was onto something... The Hvar Spritzer. Or the Pipi Spritzer if you want to chuckle when saying it.