Trstenik

Trstenik is a small settlement on the southern coast of the Pelješac Peninsula — not an island, despite what some sources claim. It sits in a deep, south-facing bay tucked under the peninsula's hills, with a pebble beach at the head of the bay and a stretch of waterfront where boats can moor or anchor. It's one of the anchorages you'll visit on a private gulet charter from Dubrovnik, and a genuinely useful stop if you're spending time around the Dingač wine country.

That's really Trstenik's claim to fame: it's the gateway to Dingač, one of Croatia's best-known red wine regions, grown on steep, sun-baked slopes between here and the village of Podobuče. Before a 400-meter tunnel was hand-dug through the ridge in 1973, funded by local winemakers, the only way in or out of the Dingač vineyards was on foot or by donkey along a steep path through Trstenik — a route that took over an hour each way. The tunnel cut what used to be a nearly 20-kilometer trip down to about 4.

Trstenik is also home to Grgić Vina, the winery Napa Valley winemaker Miljenko "Mike" Grgić set up in 1996 in a restored old fortress on the hillside. It's one of the more recognizable names on Pelješac, producing Plavac Mali reds and Pošip whites from grapes grown on these same slopes. There's also a ferry line connecting Trstenik to Polače on the island of Mljet, if you want to combine the two on the same trip.