Wednesday, 12 April 2023

Pula Airport Desires American Visitors, Eyes Infrastructure Changes

April the 12th, 2023 - Pula Airport has a strong desire to attract more visitors from North America, as more and more people from that part of the world flock to Croatia. This is especially the case for US citizens, who are appearing more and more frequently in Croatia, especially along the coast, for various reasons and not only for tourism.

As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as stated above, the general level of interest of travellers from the North American continent to the Republic of Croatia, especially to the Adriatic coast, whether it be for tourist or personal and family reasons, has never been in question. The abolition of American visas for Croatian citizens has also only further increased the interest of Croats in making trips the other way across the pond.

Air carriers have also recognised this trend, and it is increasingly likely that in the coming period, this country will be much more connected to North America, meaning by more than the existing two seasonal routes. In addition to the airports in Zagreb and Dubrovnik, in the foreseeable future it will likely be possible to see a connection between North America (including Canada) and Pula Airport.

New York and Toronto

As its chief director Nina Vojnic Zagar confirmed last week, Pula Airport recently ordered a study as it eyes up expansion, that is, moving the threshold of the runway.

"Pula Airport is considering extending its runway in order to be able to operate long-haul flights, with a focus on transatlantic services. This means that we're investigating the possibility of extending the runway to 3,200 metres to accommodate long-haul flights, i.e. flights to the east coast of North America. The current runway is 2954 metres long and lacks another 250 metres for this purpose. We have space both to the east and to the west to extend the runway, but we have to take the slopes into account," said Vojnic Zagar for local portal Glas Istre/The Voice of Istria.

She added that it will certainly not be a project that will be realised this year, but that the first steps have now been taken to make it happen as soon as is realistically possible. According to her, passengers from Pula are already well connected to the North American continent through various other European hubs, including Frankfurt, Munich, London Heathrow and Belgrade.

That said, she admits that current flight schedules are not ideal for transfer passengers as most airlines target point-to-point passengers on flights to Pula Airport. Based on indirect traffic flows to and from North America, Pula Airport records the most passengers to New York, followed by those coming from the Canadian city of Toronto.

Air Transat "operates" between Toronto and Zagreb Airport with its Airbus A330-200 aircraft, after restoring traffic between the two cities last year after a two-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Canadian airline served 21,597 passengers between the two cities during its six months of operations last year. On the other hand, United Airlines connects its New York Newark airport hub with Dubrovnik Airport (Cilipi) using Boeing 767-300 aircraft along that route. Last year, it carried 28,445 passengers on this route between the two cities during its four-month operational period.

Split isn't remotely interesting

Back in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, Air Transat planned to start a weekly seasonal summer service between Toronto and Split, but ticket sales were suspended several months before the launch for "commercial reasons". Split Airport previously announced that it was simply not interested in accommodating or dealing with long-haul flights.

The reason for this is, of course, that these long-haul flights with wide-body aircraft would mostly be performed on weekends, most often on Saturdays, when Split is the most crowded. As intercontinental wide-bodied aircraft take up much more space and need a larger maneuvering area, the operations of smaller aircraft that form the air traffic base in Split would suffer because of them, and it is precisely on them that Split Airport relies.

Before the coronavirus crisis, there were announcements circulating around about connecting Zadar with several Chinese destinations, but after the end of the pandemic, there is no more speculation about such an idea, at least for now.

For more, check out our dedicated news and travel sections.

Sunday, 3 July 2022

Fit for a Queen: US Travel Channel Lists Nin Beach Among Most Beautiful

July the 3rd, 2022 - Croatian beaches are no strangers to magazines and portals listing them as among the most beautiful in the world, and while the Central Dalmatian island of Brac's well known Zlatni rat (Golden horn) beach is often getting the most limelight, one Nin beach, the Queen's beach (Kraljicina plaza) has caught the eye of the Americans.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, a very interesting old legend is tied to the name of the aforementioned Nin beach, given that the sheer beauty of this long beach attracted the wife of the first Croatian king Tomislav, Jelena. When the pair came to Nin, they spent many warm family moments on this Nin beach, where Jelena discovered the benefits of its healing mud.

The long stretch of beach and calm shallow waters are perfect for family trips with children and those who want to enjoy a more tropical atmosphere on a beach quite unlike those typically found along the rugged and dramatic Croatian coastline. There are amusement parks for children and restaurants and cafes nearby, so you don't have to go far to enjoy a coffee or lunch with a view of the Nin lagoon and of the imposing Velebit mountain range.

The only problem with this particular Nin beach will be the lack of shade on offer, but for those who want to take advantage of the long, hot summer days and replenish their vitamin D stocks, this will only go hand in hand with their plans. For everyone else, there are umbrellas and sunbeds which offer an escape from the harsh rays.

For those who love activities, the Nin wind is suitable for windsurfing, and you can rent pedal boats or enjoy flying kites.

Near this stunning Nin beach is the largest known locality of naturally occurring healing mud in all of Croatia.

The healing mud was used by tens of thousands of visitors on summer mornings, and it was also used way back during Roman times. Queen Jelena herself allegedly used it.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

Monday, 16 May 2022

American Interest in Croatian Customs and Tourism Increasing Each Year

May the 16th, 2022 - It appears that the interest of American citizens for Croatian customs and tourism is growing year on year, with the number of people lining up outside the Massachusetts Avenue Croatian Embassy increasing.

As Morski writes, after a two year break caused by the unprecedented global coronavirus pandemic, which saw international travel, at least for tourism and leisure purposes, almost grind to a halt, embassies in Washington are now open to the public on Saturdays in an attempt to arouse US citizen interest in visiting various different countries across the globe.

This popular event is called "Passport DC'' and sees the many countries that have diplomatic missions located in the capital of the United States present themselves to people there in order to attract and interest them further when it comes to travel and tourism throughout 2022.

There are more than 175 foreign embassies and consulates in Washington alone, and European Union (EU) countries opened their doors to American visitors this Saturday.

Judging by the long line in front of the Croatian Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue, the interest of Americans in Croatia and as such Croatian customs and paying a visit to this country is growing every year, as reported by HRT.

In the first part of Saturday alone, the Croatian diplomatic mission was visited by more than a thousand US citizens who wanted to learn more about Croatian customs, cities, food, history and the country's very rich tourist offer.

For many people, a visit to the Croatian Embassy in Washington as part of the ''Passport DC" event is a prelude to going to the Republic of Croatia on holiday, so for a lot of those visiting, a decision has likely already been made to cross the ''pond'' and arrive in Croatia in the coming weeks and months.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

Thursday, 7 October 2021

American Lux Tourism Agencies Checking Out Beautiful Istria

October the 7th, 2021 - While Dalmatia and more recently the City of Zagreb have been attractive to American tourists, the gorgeous Istrian peninsula has been somewhat less visited by our friends from across the pond. That could all be about to change with the visit of several American lux tourism agencies to this stunning part of Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, five travel agents specialising in luxury tourism (American lux tourism agencies) arrived in beautiful Istria recently as part of a nine-day FAM trip (Familiarisation Trip) organised by RealCroatia. During their working visit, they will visit local accommodation and service providers, and check out what kind of experience they can offer to their clients.

These American lux tourism representatives have come to visit this part of the country because Istria, unlike Dalmatia and Zagreb, is not yet "on the radar" of the vast majority of guests visiting Croatia from America. In addition to Zagreb and Plitvice, they will be presented with offers in Opatija, Lovran, Motovun, Groznjan, Buzet, Rovinj, Pula, Savudrija, Brijuni and then further inland in Gorski kotar. Pascal Lee, a luxury tourism consultant at West Rock Travel Working, says she wants to see Croatia from a local perspective:

“Several of my clients, experienced world travellers, have recently returned from excellent trips to Croatia. I decided that I had to find out for myself what the secret of this beautiful country was.''

"We're encouraged by the excellent feedback and results of the April tour," stated RealCroatia director Petra Gracin, noting that North America is a market with better paying power than typical Western European guests visiting Istria and Dalmatia.

"The average consumption per passenger is often over 5,000 US dollars," said Gracin, and back in April this year, RealCroatia organised the first trip of travel agents from America to Europe since the global coronavirus pandemic began, when nine agents visited Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Zadar, Trogir, Split, Hvar, Peljesac and Dubrovnik.

According to the data available from the Institute of Tourism, American tourists are the largest tourist consumers per capita in the Republic of Croatia, which likely isn't a surprise. In addition, as many as 83 percent of them claim that they will recommend visiting Croatia to their friends, which is something else putting them firmly in the lead. In comparison, this is 13 percentage points more than in the case of Germany and German tourists and as much as 23 percentage points more than in the case of neighbouring Italian guests.

It is expected that in 2022, about 400,000 North American guests will visit Croatia and that they will realise over 1.2 million overnight stays in total.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

Friday, 10 September 2021

American Travel and Leisure Mag Praises Hvar and Dalmatian Islands

September the 10th, 2021 - It's no secret that Americans love the Dalmatian coast and the very many stunning Dalmatian islands. Hvar, known as Croatia's premier island, as well as the sunniest, has been having its praises sung by one popular American travel mag.

As Morski writes, throughout this challenging tourist year, when the Croatian tourism sector's goal was to promote Croatia as a safe destination in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the desire to achieve the best tourist results, the renowned American monthly Travel + Leisure magazine (which boasts a highly impressive 3,360,589 monthly readers) ranked the island of Hvar in the TOP 20 best European islands.

The truly gorgeous island of Hvar has earned a prominent position among the ranks of the islands of Mílos, Folegandros and Santorini (Greece), Madeira (Portugal), Sicily (Italy), and others.

The editorial board of Travel + Leisure magazine, which, along with National Geographic Traveler and Conde Nast Traveler, is one of the most influential travel magazines in the world, decided to compile this list of 20 islands, emphasising that Hvar has a rich history and culture, touching on Hvar wines and stays in the island's top accommodation.

There were almost as many Americans on Hvar this tourist season as there were back in in pre-pandemic, record 2019. Petar Razovic, the director of the Hvar Tourist Board, emphasised that once again Hvar has been recognised as a destination by the breadth of its offer and the highest tourist criteria it offers to its visitors.

He added that this recognition was greatly helped by the Safe stay in Croatia project launced by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, and that tourists from the United States in July and August in the overall structure of arrivals and overnight stays recorded results similar to those seen back in 2019.

For more on Dalmatian islands, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

Wednesday, 1 September 2021

Croatia Will Not Follow EU Red List Recommendation for US Travelers

September 1, 2021 - The United States has been put on the EU red list, meaning reintroducing restrictions on American travelers is recommended for EU members. Croatia, however, has decided they won't follow suit. 

A few days ago, the European Union Council recommended that EU members reintroduce restrictions on American travelers. The removal from the EU safe list means that unnecessary travel becomes subject to temporary travel restrictions, such as testing, quarantine, or a total ban. However, compliance with the recommendations is not mandatory.

Accordingly, Croatia will not follow the EU recommendation that removed the US from the list of safe countries for traveling during the pandemic, confirmed Davor Božinović, Deputy Prime Minister, Interior Minister, and Chief of the National Civil Protection Headquarters, reports HRTurizam.

EU members have recommended removing the US, Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, and North Macedonia from the list of safe countries, meaning travelers from those countries should undergo stricter border controls, such as coronavirus testing and quarantine.

However, Croatian epidemiologists estimate that American citizens and Israeli citizens do not pose a risk to Croatia in the event of tourist arrivals, given that the epidemiological conditions for entering the country have been defined.

The US vaccination campaign has stalled in recent months and has lagged significantly behind EU vaccination efforts. More than 57% of the EU population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to 52% in the United States. The U.S. has more than 1,000 new cases a day, the highest level since March.

The presence of American tourists in Croatia has been positive in the August statistics so far, and even September arrivals are still expected. At the moment, the United States remains on Croatia's safe list, which means that the travelers arriving from the USA do not have to provide any reason for their travel to enter Croatia. However, they will be required to prove that they’ve been vaccinated, have tested negative, or have recovered from COVID and that they haven’t spent any significant time outside of the “green countries.”

Follow the latest flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

Saturday, 22 May 2021

American Demand for Dubrovnik and Croatia Increases by 205%

May 22, 2021 - The relaxation of measures to combat the pandemic, given the decrease in infections and the current vaccination campaign, is one of the reasons why the American demand for Dubrovnik and Croatia as travel destinations for this summer season has increased considerably.

Dubrovnik undoubtedly stands out as one of the most popular destinations to visit in the summer. And although the city has a lot to offer twelve months of the year, and this is something that has recently been worked on through the digital nomads project as an ideal destination to work remotely, it cannot be denied that its beaches, islands, history, and nightlife place it at the top of the rankings made by hundreds of prestigious tourism and travel magazines and portals each year.

As hrturizam.hr writes, Croatian destinations are increasingly being searched on the US market, so the well-known American magazine Forbes published data that the search and American demand for Dubrovnik on online search engines are continuously growing, said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board in the USA, Ina Rodin.

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Credit: Mario Romulić

A Forbes article states that on the popular KAYAK travel search page, the American demand for Dubrovnik as a travel destination for this summer season has recorded a search jump of as much as 205 percent, followed by Zurich with a growth of 167 percent, Prague with 144 percent and Reykjavik with a growth of 143 percent. The article states that the growth of search is directly related to the easing of passenger restrictions in Croatia and Iceland, and mentions that Croatia and Greece are currently the most sought-after destinations on the Click & Boat boat rental site.

The well-known American television network CNBC states that Croatia's Internet search is growing by 31 percent and Iceland's by 22 percent. Although Americans are expected to travel the most in their own country in 2021, airline searches rose 47 percent after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's optimistic statement hinted that vaccinated Americans could travel to Europe this summer. The renowned American newspaper The New York Times also writes about the conditions of arrival and stay in Croatia, as well as the measures that are currently in force.

The American The Wall Street Journal also makes recommendations for European travel, and the list includes, in addition to Greece, Croatia, and Dubrovnik, which were mentioned as perfect destinations for this year's American vacation.

According to the CNTB, 70,000 overnight stays from the US market have been made in Croatia so far this year, which is an increase of 38 percent compared to the same period last year.

You can learn more about what the ‘‘Pearl of the Adriatic’’ can offer you on your next trip, in Total Croatia’s Dubrovnik on a page, HERE. Total Croatia’s articles are now available in your language!

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centers up and down the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and choose your preferred language.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Thursday, 26 November 2020

American Family in Croatia: They Left Everything Behind to Travel Europe

November 26, 2020 – Traveling the world during the pandemic may seem impossible for many, but not for one American family in Croatia. Despite the obstacles, they are now living their dream digital nomad lifestyle in Croatia.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, when the countries around the world are closing their borders and traveling is kept to a minimum, one young American couple decided to go the opposite way. On October 4th, they took a one-way flight to Europe to pursue their dream of becoming full-time digital nomads.

And they did it right at the time when the introduction of the digital nomad visa in Croatia is increasingly likely.

For a long time, Victor and Klaudia Gonzalez have had a great desire to travel and show their son Augie the splendor of the world. Like many people, they have always wondered how it is possible to turn travel into a way of life with almost no savings. Little by little, as their desire did not subside, they decided to try their luck and embark on the big life journey of moving abroad, to Croatia.

Croatia affordable and welcoming

However, their journey was not easy, since they almost had no budget at all. They met in college 8 years ago in Michigan, USA. Only three years ago, when Victor was finishing college and their son Augie was a toddler, they were even getting government help to buy food. But then things started to get better.

"When Victor finished college, he got his first full-time job. We moved from Michigan to Colorado, where we caught the travel bug camping and doing hiking trips. One year ago, we decided to make our dream a reality. We sold everything for only 1,000 dollars. We didn’t sell a big house or flat because we didn’t have one, and our car wasn’t worth anything to sell," says the couple, explaining that Klaudia was homeschooling and working from home, while Victor was working between 60 to 70 hours a week to save enough money for a plane ticket to Europe.

"We were ready to leave when my mom was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. We stayed with her until she got better, and she was the one who inspired us to follow our big dream," says Klaudia.

FJ2.jpeg

Gonzalez family pictured on the day they left the USA at the Chicago O'hare Airport in October / Private archive

Although their first plan was to move to Poland, where Klaudia's heritage comes from (their son Augie is also bilingual, speaking both English and Polish), Croatia stuck out as their top choice because it was a welcoming destination for Americans during the pandemic. Besides, they note, Croatia is a safe country with ideal weather and a good connection to the rest of Europe.

"Originally we planned to stay for one month, but the quality of life and the welcoming energy has convinced us to wait until after the holidays. We look forward to seeing the Christmas lights in Zagreb. We’ll be in Croatia for almost 3 full months," the couple says, adding that Croatia and the whole Balkan region is a hidden gem, and is both affordable and welcoming.

From the sea to the mountains

"Croatians are such warm and inviting people. Our Croatian host has become a life-long friend, and when exploring inland Dalmatia, Croatian strangers invited us into their home for cherry liquor and baked goods. We won’t ever forget the hospitality of Croatians!" they say.

For now, they have visited Dubrovnik, Split, and Krka and Plitvice Lakes National Parks, and on their Instagram page The Family Journalists where they share their experiences from Croatia, they did not hide their pleasure.

"For such a small country, Croatia has a diverse landscape. We stayed in a flat next to the sea, and within an hour, we were in inland Dalmatia riding an ATV on the top of Croatia’s second-highest mountain," says this couple whose priority was to have remote careers. Klaudia is a teacher and writer, while Victor is a self-taught software engineer.

Full-time traveling on a budget

Their son Augie enjoys his time in Croatia and is always ready for the next adventure. If you ever meet this family on the street, you will probably hear Augie saying his favorite Croatian word: "Bok!"

The only thing that they miss is their families, who won't be there for their son's fifth birthday this year, which they will be celebrating in Croatia. Their initial plan was to stay in Croatia for one month, but now they decided to stay until spring when Klaudia's parents visit them from the USA.

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Exploring Split and Čiovo island / Private archive

Nevertheless, their return to Croatia is not ruled out.

"With the introduction of the digital nomad visa, it will become even easier for Americans to visit Croatia or come back," Klaudia says.

"We want people to understand that it's possible to travel the world as digital nomads with hard work. It’s possible for those that don’t have a lot of savings to travel full-time by making a budget and visiting more affordable European countries like Croatia. Now we travel with four suitcases and two backpacks as The Family Journalists interviewing locals and sharing stories from around the world," says the happy family.

To read more about digital nomads in Croatia, follow our dedicated page.

Wednesday, 28 August 2019

Dubrovnik, Split, Hvar and Zagreb Most Popular on American Market

As Morski writes on the 27th of August, 2019, according to a report on the results of a digital campaign conducted by the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) on the American market in collaboration with Expedia, the world's leading travel platform, 22.2 million impressions were generated.

A joint campaign called "Croatia Unlocked" ran from April to June this year, aiming to increase the country's overall visibility, strengthen its position, and promote Croatia as over on the United States market as an ideal year-round destination for the Mediterranean.

The famed Expedia Group includes some of the world's most trusted travel brands in its portfolio, such as Hotels.com, Trivago, Travelocity, Cheaptickets, HomeAway, etc. The platform receives over 144 million monthly unique visits, with over 7 million followers on social networks alone.

The primary objective of the Croatian National Tourist Board's American campaign was to stimulate American travellers' interest in Croatian destinations, while the idea of direct booking, set as an additional goal of the project, achieved some truly excellent results. Namely, accommodation was booked for the duration of the campaign and air tickets to Croatia worth a massive 3.2 million US dollars were purchased.

''The campaign conducted with Expedia and the results it has achieved show the utmost importance of cooperation with global tourism entities in promoting Croatian tourism. This is an excellent example of a campaign that simultaneously strengthened Croatia's position on the American market, but also directly influenced the booking of holidays in Croatian destinations,'' said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić.

Make sure to follow our dedicated travel page for much more on Croatia's multitude of beautiful destinations, both on the coast and in the continental part of the country.

In addition, find out more about Croatia's gorgeous 1,000+ islands and connections from other countries near and far by sea, car, and air.

Friday, 18 January 2019

Croatian Family Wine Businesses Even Attracting Americans

Plešivica is an oasis for lovers of traditional gastronomy and wine-making, a longtime favourite destination for many of Zagreb's residents, Plešivica is famous for its many vineyards, wineries, sparkling wines and traditional food. Several Croatian family wine stories are attracting attention even from across the Atlantic.

As Marta Duic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of January, 2019, the Šember Winery, located in the village of Donji Pavlovčani, is famous for its sparkling wines that have been produced in their vinery for years. Ivanka Šember, the wife of a winery owner who helps him run the family business, says their sparkling wines are produced from old varieties which grow only on Plešivica. They have an old vineyard with fifteen different old and almost forgotten varieties, to which winemaker Zdenko Šember gives his special attention. He inherited this vineyard from his late grandmother and has since turned it into a flourishing business.

This year, this Croatian family winery business also produced a variety of new wine sparkling wines, a white sparkling wine from a black pinot, a sparkling wine of the old varieties which were kept in clay pots originating from Georgia. The production of amphora wines deeply buried in the ground is an extremely old tradition over in Georgia, and today many Croatian winemakers use this method. This method of wine production makes each wine, including sparkling wine from the assortment of this winery, completely different in flavour when compared to others.

"My husband loves experiments, and some of them also get to see the market!" said Ivanka Šember. The Šember Winery is one of the few in the Republic of Croatia which manually produces its sparkling wines, each step done with their own hands and without any machines. As the Croatian family say themselves, everything has been made even easier since they obtained a new 320m cellar. In the construction of the cellar, which was co-funded through the National Wine Sector Support Program, this wine oriented Croatian family invested more than two million kuna, and their plans for this year are to further expand their vineyards by another three hectares.

"When it comes to our sparkling wines, our best sellers are rose, this year we have doubled our production, and we're currently producing 40,000 bottles. We're the first winery to have been producing sparkling wines from old Plešivica varieties, explained Ivanka Šember.

Located in the village of Lokošin Dol, the Braje Winery is known for its homemade food served with homemade wine. Robert Braje is the winemaker in this Croatian family, and his wife, Sandra, is an expert in local gastronomy and has been the chef in their restaurant for the last eight years. In this Croatian family business, their son shows interest in wine production, and Robert says that if this continues, he will soon expand his vineyards, which today already stretch to 3.5 hectares.

They purchase only a very small amount of their grapes, and from varieties that have a special emphasis on Red Waltz, an Austrian variety which is only offered by very, very few here in Croatia. As is the case with many Croatian wineries, the Braje Winery also serves numerous homemade dishes which pair well with the selection of wines that they produce and offer to their guests.

"From the very beginning, we've been doing everything business-wise as a real family. We produce 15,000 to 18,000,000 litres of wine, and a third of all that is sold right here at our very door. We also prepare meals from either our own or other locally grown vegetables, we make our own apple and pear juices. We have ducks, chickens, pigs, and a cow,'' explained Braje.

Their goal is to locally produce food and wine for their guests, in order to get them to notice and appreciate the distinct differences. "I cook and prepare everything, which is almost all made from local ingredients, we have a cow so that we can have our fresh cheese, cream and milk, eggs from our chickens, sausage and bacon from our pigs, and if we don't have enough of our own vegetables, we buy it from other producers in the neighbourhood. I make homemade bread, pasta, noodles... Our guests come either individually or in small groups, and we have many guests from the USA,'' noted Sandra Braje.

Režek Winery is yet another traditional Croatian family business that Damir Režek inherited from his father, Drago. "Our story began with my great-grandfather Roko, who had 40,000 vines, and the most famous type he had was a Portuguese variety. That Portuguese variety is the very story of my family and I'm glad that this slightly forgotten variety has now been revived, and my grandfather later brought new varieties, such as sauvignon, and was one of the largest producers in this region,'' stated Damir Režek.

The last vineyard was planted back in 2005, so now they have four hectares and about 20,000 vineyards.

Vinarija Kolarić in Hrastje Plešivičko is known for its rich homemade food, wines, and sparkling wines. Franjo Kolarić has a restaurant and since 2009 a mini hotel with sixteen rooms in which he has invested more than three million kuna. As he says, he's typically full from May to October. A warehouse for sparkling wine was built back in 1997 and Franjo is currently working on a new line of sparkling wines, in which he planning to invest 1.5 million kuna.

Thanks to the extension of the restaurant there is now seating for more than 170 people, and in addition to the sixteen rooms currently available, he plans to build an apartment this spring. In addition to all of the above, one of his plans is to build a small brewery and produce small quantities of craft beer.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle page. If it's just wine you're interested in, give Total Croatia Wine a follow.

 

Click here for the original article by Marta Duic for Poslovni Dnevnik

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