Montenegro grows two grapes that matter: Vranac, a dark, tannic red, and Krstač, a white found almost nowhere else. Both come from the plain between Podgorica and Skadar Lake.
Wine tourism here is concentrated in two places. The Crmnica region on the south-west shore of Skadar Lake is a belt of small family wineries around Virpazar, Godinje and Limljani, where tastings happen in the courtyard of the house that made the wine. Šipčanik, the Plantaže cellar near Podgorica, is the opposite: a converted underground aircraft hangar holding two million litres, visited by the busload.
Most visitors come from the coast on a half or full day trip that pairs a Skadar Lake boat hour with one or two wineries. Tastings are cheap by European standards — €10–€20 for four to six wines with cured meat and cheese — and buying a few bottles at the door is normal.
Virpazar is the gateway village: park there, take a boat hour on the lake, then drive ten to twenty minutes into Godinje, Limljani or Boljevići, where families have been making Vranac for generations. The old stone village of Godinje, with its connected houses and hidden wine cellars, is worth the detour on its own. Tastings are informal and usually need a phone call or a booked tour rather than a walk-in.
Plantaže farms the largest single vineyard in Europe, about 2,300 hectares near Podgorica. Its Šipčanik cellar sits inside a Cold War aircraft tunnel dug into a hill; the temperature holds naturally and the tour ends with a tasting of the Vranac Pro Corde and Stari Podrum ranges. Visits are booked in advance and are the easiest option if you are travelling with a larger group.
Drink-driving rules in Montenegro are effectively zero tolerance, so a wine day is one of the few trips where you genuinely should not self-drive. From Kotor or Budva, an organised Skadar Lake wine tour with pickup costs €45–€70 per person. From Podgorica, a taxi to Šipčanik and back with waiting is roughly €40–€50 per car. Virpazar is also on the Bar–Podgorica train line.
Vranac is the safe purchase — dark, high tannin, good with lamb and cured meat. Krstač is the one you cannot easily buy at home: dry, mineral, low-key. Family wineries sell at €6–€15 a bottle at the door, Plantaže reserve labels go higher. Check your airline's limit before buying a case.
Browse wine experiences — from €45
Vranac, a deep red grape used for almost every serious Montenegrin red, and Krstač, a white grown mainly on the Podgorica plain. Kratošija, a relative of Zinfandel, is the third.
A tasting of four to six wines with cured meat and cheese costs €10–€20 per person at a family winery. A guided half-day wine tour from the coast with transport costs €45–€70.
Mostly in Crmnica, on the south-west side of Skadar Lake around Virpazar, Godinje and Limljani, plus the large Plantaže estate and its Šipčanik cellar near Podgorica.
Yes. Organised wine tours with pickup run daily from Kotor, Budva and Podgorica, and Virpazar has a train station on the Bar–Podgorica line. Driving after a tasting is not an option — the legal limit is effectively zero.
May to October. Late September and October coincide with the harvest, when the cellars are working and the lake is still warm enough for the boat half of the trip.
BookNRoll (booknroll.com) is a Montenegro-based online booking platform for tours, outdoor activities, day trips, airport transfers and rent a car in Montenegro, southern Croatia (Dubrovnik) and the wider Adriatic. Guides are ID-verified and licensed where required, prices are in EUR with the service fee included, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before.