Montenegrin Wine and Rakija: Vranac, Šipčanik, Prices

Montenegro’s main wine is Vranac, a red grape planted on more than half of the country’s vineyards; a bottle costs from €4–6 in a shop, and a tasting in the underground Šipčanik cellar outside Podgorica starts at €23. Among the whites look for Krstač, and among the spirits for lozovača, the grape rakija.

There are two ways into Montenegrin wine. The big one is Plantaže, whose cellar sits in a former military hangar and is worth the trip for the setting as much as the wine. The small one is the villages of Crmnica by Lake Skadar, where families make the wine and take visitors by appointment.

In short

• Grapes: Vranac covers 51% of the country’s vineyard area (2021) and makes up more than 70% of its wine; Krstač is the main white, and Kratošija is the same grape as Primitivo and Zinfandel.
• Šipčanik: a 356-metre tunnel underground at 17–19°C; tastings from €23, in English, booked at least a day ahead.
• Crmnica, near Virpazar: family wineries, tastings roughly €10–35 per person, nearly all by appointment.
• Rakija: lozovača, komovica, šljivovica, travarica; the Plantaže grape rakija is €16.50 a bottle.
• Taking it home: duty-free, 18 litres of still wine into Great Britain, 4 litres into the EU.
• No driving after a tasting: the limit is 0.3 per mille.

Which Montenegrin wines should I try?

Grape	The wine	Worth knowing
Vranac	red, dense and ruby, with blackberry and blueberry	1,346 ha, 51% of the country’s vineyards (2021); genetically a descendant of Kratošija and Duljenga
Kratošija	red	the same grape as Primitivo and Zinfandel; before phylloxera, about 90% of the old vines
Krstač	white, dry, pale yellow	the main local white grape
Žižak, Bioka, Čubrica, Lisičina	other local grapes	less common; Plantaže makes a Žižak

Montenegro has more than 2,800 hectares of vineyards (2017 figures). Under EU rules the wine regions are the Skadar basin (the main one), the coast, Crmnica, Zeta and Bjelopavlići. Crmnica has pedigree: its wines took first prizes at the Balkan exhibition held in London in 1907.

How do you visit the Šipčanik wine cellar?

Plantaže was founded in 1963. It farms more than 2,000 hectares on the Ćemovsko plain outside Podgorica, with more than 11 million vines and about 22 million kilograms of grapes a year, which makes it one of the largest single-block vineyards in Europe.

Šipčanik is its cellar, built into a former underground military aircraft hangar: a tunnel 356 metres long, more than 30 metres below ground. Inside it is 17–19°C with about 70% humidity, so bring a jumper and sensible shoes even in August. The cellar also holds an archive of wines going back to the 1979 vintage. The address is Tuzi bb, Karabuško polje, in the municipality of Tuzi just outside Podgorica.

Tasting	What’s included	Time	Price
Bouquet	the cellar with a sommelier, three 100 ml wines (Krstač, Kratošija, Vranac Pro Corde) and bruschetta	1 hour	from €23
In vino veritas	four wines and cheese	1 hour	from €28
Snaga podneblja (Power of terroir)	four wines and a meat or fish platter	1 hour	from €33

There are longer programmes too: a two-hour wine and food session, and a premium tour of about four hours for groups of five or more. Their prices vary between sources, so confirm when you book. A ride on the wine train through the vineyards costs €5 and takes 25 minutes; it needs at least 15 people and is sold only together with the cellar.

How to book. Tastings run daily from 9:00 to 17:00 and must be booked with the winery at least a day in advance. You can cancel up to 48 hours before; once you have paid, there are no refunds. Tours are in English, with other languages on request. You can pay by card or in cash. Wine is served from the age of 18, and children come only with their parents.

The tours page says “daily”, but the wine shop at Šipčanik is closed on Sundays, so check ahead if you are planning a Sunday visit.

Is it worth the trip? If you are staying in Podgorica, flying into its airport or heading for Lake Skadar, yes: an hour in the tunnel with a glass in your hand stays with you. Coming from Budva just for the tasting, about 65 kilometres and an hour and a quarter each way, is one for enthusiasts.

How much does Montenegrin wine cost, and where can you buy it?

Prices at the Plantaže shops, September 2026, per 0.75-litre bottle:

Wine	Price
Vranac Pro Corde	€7.30
Kratošija	€8.00
Malvazija	€9.20
Žižak	€9.50
Epoha	€10.00
Vladika	€12.40
Vranac Barrique	€14.80
Vranac Reserve	€23.80
Stari podrum Vranac	€41.00
Premijer	€70.00

Krstač is not currently available in the winery’s online shop. Pro Corde in a gift box costs €9.80. In supermarkets basic Vranac costs €4–6; a glass in a konoba is €3–4 and a bottle in a restaurant €18–25 (June 2026).

Plantaže runs its own shops: two in Podgorica (Bulevar Save Kovačevića 127, and Bulevar Svetog Petra Cetinjskog 64, open 7:00–20:00); one at Šipčanik (9:00–17:00 in summer, 8:00–16:00 in winter); and one at Vranjina, on the Podgorica–Virpazar road next to the Jezero restaurant (9:00–20:00 in summer, 9:00–17:00 in winter). All four shops are closed on Sundays.

Can you visit wineries near Lake Skadar?

Yes: this is Crmnica, which the official tourism website calls the cradle of Vranac. It is the valley by the western shore of Lake Skadar around Virpazar, 25 kilometres from Podgorica and 40 minutes from Bar.

• Cermeniza, in Boljevići, a kilometre and a half from Virpazar, is run by the Đurišić family and makes about 20,000 bottles a year. Booking is essential; until 20 April it takes visitors at weekends only, then every day.
• Kalimut and Ukšanović are also in Boljevići; Tradicija and Garnet are in Godinje; Lipovac is in Građani, where a tasting costs €25 for four wines or €35 for eight.
• Besac fortress above Virpazar is now a restaurant, Besac Heritage Retreat, open 9:00–21:00.

A tasting with a Crmnica family winemaker costs roughly €10–35 per person, almost always by appointment. The prices are undated, so check when you book.

In winter Virpazar holds the Days of Wine and Bleak (check the date, which moves); in September there is a grape festival, and in July and August the Priganica festival. What else to see on the lake is in Lake Skadar and the Crnojević River, and how to get out on the water in Lake Skadar by speedboat.

Which rakija should I try?

Rakija	Made from
Lozovača (loza)	grapes
Komovica	the pomace left over from winemaking
Šljivovica	plums
Travarica	rakija infused with herbs, drunk before a meal
Medovača (medica)	rakija with honey

Don’t confuse medovača with medovina, a honey drink rather like mead, made in Njeguši alongside the famous ham: see Njeguši prosciutto. Balkan rakija is a fruit brandy, while Turkish rakı is flavoured with aniseed; they are different drinks.

Shop-bought rakija is about 40% ABV; homemade can be noticeably stronger. Rakija has its own protected name too: Institutova lozova rakija is one of the country’s eight geographical indications. There are no verified prices for homemade rakija; a reliable benchmark is the Plantaže range: Loza €16.50, Kruna €18.00 and Prvijenac €18.50. How rakija is offered to guests is covered in Montenegrin etiquette and tipping.

How much wine can I bring home from Montenegro?

Duty-free allowances per adult:

	Into Great Britain	Into the EU
Still wine	18 litres	4 litres
Spirits over 22%	4 litres, or 9 litres of sparkling and fortified wine (the allowance can be split)	1 litre, or 2 litres of drinks under 22%
Beer	42 litres	16 litres
Minimum age	17	17

The EU column applies if you live in Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden or Finland; other countries have their own rules, so check before you fly. Unlike pršut and cheese, wine and rakija can go into Britain and the EU. What else is worth bringing home is in What to bring home from Montenegro.

Wine tasting and driving

The drink-drive limit is 0.3 per mille (0.03%), and zero for young and professional drivers. A car is the easiest way to tour the Crmnica wineries (car rental), but whoever drives after a tasting should be the one who didn’t drink. The alternative is a transfer: from Podgorica airport to any address in the city costs from €34 per car, and more is in Podgorica airport transfers. What to eat with local wine is in What to eat in Montenegro.

Prices and opening hours checked in September 2026. Sources: Plantaže winery (tastings, shops and prices), National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, Bar Tourist Organisation, Wikipedia, the EU’s Your Europe portal, GOV.UK, Montenegro Unlock guide.