Pula's Arena Hospitality Group, which refers to itself as one of the most dynamic hospitality groups in Central and Eastern Europe, currently offers a portfolio of 26 owned, co-owned, leased and managed properties with more than 10,000 rooms and accommodation units here in Croatia, as well as in Germany and Hungary.

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 5th of March, 2019, the total investments of the Arena Hospitality Group in 2018 and 2019 amount to 447 million kuna in hotels and camps in both the Republic of Croatia and over in Germany, plus the 190 million kuna that the group plans to invest in the reconstruction of the much loved Hotel Brioni (Brijuni). 

This was stated in the presentation of the Arena Hospitality Group's very impressive business results. The company claims it is also now ready for yet more new acquisitions across Central and Eastern Europe. As is already known, through public offers, the group collected a massive 788 million kuna back in 2017, and since then, they have invested on average three times more than before the public offer.

The Arena Hospitality Group is currently operating in the aforementioned three countries, under four brands, including Park Plaza and Art'otel, last year the company earned 758 million kuna in total revenue, an increase of 5.6 percent when compared to their record back in 2017, accompanied by healthy growth in all segments, hotels, tourist resorts and camp sites. In Croatia alone, they experienced handsome revenues of 503.8 million kuna.

After 2018's big investment in Glamping Arena One 99, worth 70 million kuna, this year, an investment of 128 million kuna is planned in Kažela camp, 60 million kuna is the planned amount to invest in Verudela Beach, a tourist resort, which should be completed by the year 2020, when the beginning of the works at Hotel Brioni (Brijuni) are planned. In the reconstruction of Art'otel Berlin Kudamm alone, the company will invest 53 million kuna.

Make sure to stay up to date on investments in Croatia, doing business in Croatia and everything in between by following our dedicated business page.

Click here for the original article by Marija Crnjak for Poslovni Dnevnik

Investment in Croatia continues despite problematic red tape, and thanks to EU funds (among others), Istria County is set to see a huge cash injection for their numerous ports.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of March, 2019, Istria County is the founder of five port authorities: Pula Port Authority, Rovinj Port Authority, Rabac Port Authority, Poreč Port Authority and Umag-Novigrad Port Authority, which are expecting big investments this year, according to a report from Glas Istre.

In Pula, the completion of the new 130-metre-long coastline is expected, which will surely contribute to the further overall growth of maritime traffic in the busy Port of Pula. The construction of the new operational coast/shoreline is a project which has been being carried out in several phases, and the latter part of it is worth 3.5 million kuna. Another significant move is that at the end of this year, the design of the passenger terminal project in Pula should begin.

In addition to the ''doing up'' of Pula's coastline, Pula Port Authority is also expecting several other projects to begin, including the replacement of pontoon at Bunarina, the continuation of the promenade towards Veli Vrh, the redoing of the coastline in Fažana, as well as the harbour in Krnica, and works on the beloved Brijuni island which stand at about seven million kuna.

In 2019, Rovinj Port Administration plans to build the San Pelagio communal port, estimated at a value of 32 million kuna, in which Istria County, the City of Rovinj and Rovinj Port Authority will jointly participate.

Significant investments, announced by county prefect Flego, are also expected in the area of ​​the Port of Rabac. The plan is to reconstruct the Trget communal barges, the value of which is estimated at 13.3 million kuna.

Other projects in the works are the construction of a primary breakwater in the port of Rabac, estimated at 72 million kuna, for which a financing model is currently being sought, while the project of Brestov Port, worth 23.7 million kuna, is set to be financed through European Union funds.

Poreč Port Authority is also expecting a number of projects, and the most significant of them all is extension is the existing naval structure in Vrsar Port, which serves as a home for fishing vessels, amounting to 10.5 million kuna. With the extension of the existing area, fifteen brand bew anchorage sites will be provided, meeting the needs of Vrsar Port, as one of the most active fishing centres on the western coast of Istria.

In addition, progress is being made on works on the Barbaran breakwater, through with Poreč Port Authority continues to invest in the Poreč aquatorium. This is the most important investment this year in Poreč, worth 4.8 million kuna, which is financed from the aforementioned port authority's own funds, Istria County and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure.

A welcome 5.1 million kuna was allocated by the EU Maritime and Fisheries Fund to the Umag-Novigrad Port Authority, for the demolition of the old pier and the construction of a new one in Savudrija harbour, seventeen new lighting posts, the introduction of video surveillance cameras, and the installation of an ''eco-island'' for waste separation for local fishermen.

In addition to all of the above, another major project is under preparation for the construction of the new Dajla-Belveder port, and all the necessary permits to get the green light are now underway.

The start of construction is planned for this year and will continue through 2020. The construction of the port will provide sixty communal berths, a landing place for fishing vessels and an appropriate operational shoreline for small boat excursions. The project value amounts to 24.3 million kuna, with the funds provided by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Istria County, the City of Novigrad, and the Umag-Novigrad Port Authority.

Make sure to stay up to date with investment in Croatia, doing business in Croatia, and the overall business and investment climate by following our dedicated business page.

Click here for the original article by Glas Istre

It goes without saying that the EU has more positives than it does negatives, at least for most countries, but what of its ultra-stringent rules when it comes to fishing policies? Dalmatian and Istrian fishermen have some vastly different experiences when it comes to carrying out the task at hand, but they share one thing in common - EU rules seem to be unfairly pushing Croatian fishermen towards tourism and away from fishing, making a workforce more and more difficult to come across, and to keep hold of.

''In 1998, I asked some of my elders how I should distribute my earnings. They said: Fifty percent goes to the company, fifty percent goes to the crew. I still stick to those rules today, I've never deviated from them, so I don't have any problems with my crew,'' says fisherman Ante Juran from Vrsar.

As Morski writes on the 3rd of March, 2019, while fishermen in Istria have managed to keep their heads above water (no pun intended) for now, some alarming data has arrived from down south in Dalmatia, some boat owners are complaining that they can't find fishermen to work for them for love nor money. In Tribunj in Šibenik-Knin County, claims suggest that as many as ''fifty fishermen'' are missing. The crews are difficult to find, meaning that more often than not, there is an unskilled labour force working on the ships, compiled with people from all parts of Croatia simply looking for employment, and there is also a workforce from neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia present.

The media say that one Ugljan entrepreneur invested 2.9 million euros in a new fishing vessel, and is now "desperately seeking twenty fishermen'' to work on board. It has been claimed that nobody will fish even for a guaranteed wage of one thousand euros per month, at least according to a report from Glas Istre. Is that possible? In these paradoxical times - probably.

In Istria, everyone is reluctant to talk about the matter, but they all solemnly confirm that there are less and less available fishermen wanting to work, that is, there is no qualified or even unskilled labour willing to go fishing on these vessels. Vessels specifically built for ''commercial'' fishing are plagued by this issue. Only one such boat can be seen along the Rovinj coast, other places are occupied primarily boats that take tourists back and forth in the summer. Robert Momić, chair of the fishermen's guild at the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts, says that the EU's often highly stringent rules don't leave much leg room, and they actively encourage fishing boat owners to focus mainly on tourism, leaving fishermen with little choice but to stray from this traditional industry, too.

''The system limits the fishing trade and more and more fishermen are finding that real profit lies in the transport of tourists. It's easier to make money driving tourists around to record how dolphins jump around in the open sea than to fish with respect to quotas and various other restrictions. The EU's operational programs should help fishermen stay at sea, and this doesn't go without boosting investment in new ships. Given the restrictive measures, there are fewer fishing days and, consequently, it's harder to pay workers and to keep up with tax obligations properly. One thing is certain: The fishing industry remembers better days, in today's legal environment, only big fishing vessels (ships of about thirty feet in length) can make money and offer decent salaries to each crew member, and a large vessel like that requires an average of nine crew members. The problem with us in Istria is that this season coincides with the height of the tourist season, when it's even more difficult to find crew members,'' says Robert Momić.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for much, much more.

Click here for the original article by Ello Velan for Glas Istre

It isn't every day that you end up with a fish as big as this in your net! A look at the moment when fishermen in Savudrija discovered they might have bitten off a bit more than they could chew (or perhaps those were the thoughts of the unfortunate shark). 

As Morski writes on the 3rd of March, 2019, a large seven-metre-long shark unfortunately became entangled in the net of a fisherman from Savudrija, before being successfully cut free, removed from the net, and returned to the sea. The scene was filmed from an onlooker's standpoint and uploaded onto IstraMet's Facebook page.

While some onlookers and viewers of the video were likely intimidated by the size and power of this large shark, the better-informed among them claim that the unlucky shark is merely a harmless type which feeds on plankton and doesn't pose any threat to human life. The commentators writing below the released video greatly appreciated the selfless act of the fisherman from Savudrija who quickly got to work releasing the distressed shark, with the understanding that the nets in which the animal became tangled suffered damage and had to be cut in order to remove the shark.

The author of the footage, which has attracted well over 40,000 views at the time of writing this, wrote that the job of working to release the animal from the nets lasted for more than half an hour.

"It's great that he [the shark] has been returned [to the sea], finally common sense wins in this little country! I just hope that they really got him totally out of the net and released him completely - which is not seen in this too short video - otherwise his "release'' is in vain, plus the animal is still in shock,'' reads one of the video's comments.

However, according to other information from the field, the fishermen from Savudrija did not release the shark out of mercy, but releasing the shark from the surface wasn't possible, and they were unable to find out whether or not the animal was even alive at all at that point. More precise information on what happened and what type of shark is in question will be released upon inspection by a vet.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle page.

On Thursday, a discussion was held at the Museum of Taste in Osijek on tourism and local food products, with an emphasis on the Istrian experiences. Slavonians welcomed their Istrian partners involved in the agriculture and tourism sectors through the organisation of events, protection and promotion of original products and dishes, and the creation of tourism products related to enogastronomy.

The discussion was attended by Ezio Pinzan, Ph.D., head of Agriculture Department of the Istrian County, Sanja Kantaruti, director of Central Istrian Tourist Board, and Mario Bratulić, Ph.D., Mayor of the Municipality of Sv. Petar u Šumi and founder of the "With Sausage to the EU" fair. The panel was moderated by Davor Šišović, a journalist with Glas Istre, a publicist and a promoter of enogastronomic events who emphasized in his introductory remarks that “tonight we are discussing food, not for subsistence, but food as one of the basic tourism identifiers, we are talking about gastronomy as an art, as a tradition. We are also talking about the policy that must ensure that all these things are not forgotten and have an active, creative and productive function.”

In addition to the experiences of Istria, the participants also discussed creating links between family farms and catering and hospitality facilities in the area of Osijek-Baranja County and further plans for linking the agriculture and tourism sectors. Since food and hospitality is one of the first associations about Slavonia, the Istrian experiences are precious in the process of creating and establishing Slavonia and Baranja as an enogastronomic destination. Along with the representatives of Istria, the panellists included Osijek-Baranja County Prefect Ivan Anušić, the chef of the Croatian Football Federation and Osijek Hotel Tomica Đukić, the head of county Agriculture Department Silva Wendling, and Director of Osijek-Baranja County Tourist Board Ivana Jurić.

The topics were the role of local and typical products in forming a tourist experience, the importance of supporting the local production sector, enogastronomy as an essential tourist product of Croatia and the expertise of Istria, the philosophy of zero kilometres "in the kitchen", the recognizability of a destination created through tastes and smells, the importance of educating catering staff on local wine ranges and typical dishes, the protection of products such as the Istrian boškarin or black Slavonian pig, and other related topics.

Ezio Pinzan emphasised that almost twenty years ago there were just a few boškarins in the whole of Istria, who had the status of pets, and that today there is no serious family farm which does not offer meat of the Istrian cattle. The Istrian County efforts also helped turn the focus on the boškarin. He also noted that substantial progress has been made in the field of winemaking through the establishment of the Vinistra association and the eponymous event and that the county has invested heavily in the reconstruction of abandoned olive groves. “For the fourth year in a row, we are the best olive growing region in the world. Just yesterday we received a protected designation of authenticity for our extra virgin olive oil” said Pinzan and continued, “Truffles are something we are yet to exploit in our gastronomy. Istrian prosciutto is the first product that we protected with a designation of origin, and it took us fifteen years,” which shows that success will not come overnight.

Mario Bratulić, who has a doctorate on the topic of Istrian sausages and autochthonous products, pointed out that Sv. Petar u Šumi is the demographically youngest Istrian municipality, a small, but active and propulsive community, and that they wanted to create a gourmet event that would go beyond the local community. They came with this idea to the county. “As part of the fair, we enabled producers from Slavonia to come with their products. Last year, one Slavonian producer sold a full van of charcuterie products! We have established cooperation with fifteen sausage events and associations from Central Europe.”

The head of Agriculture Department of Osijek-Baranja County Silva Wendling emphasised that since 2015 the county has been co-financing service providers in catering and tourism sector who buy food from local producers and added that "when tourists come to a certain area, they want to experience this region, among other things, through taste.”

Director of Osijek-Baranja County Tourist Board Ivana Jurić stressed that Slavonia combines agrotourism, wine tourism and active tourism, and added that "we are only starting to realise that we are a tourist destination, but the demand for Slavonia is on the rise.”

More Slavonia news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

A few days ago, an interesting little museum in the small town of Barban in Istria was opened. It is the museum of the Barban Prstenac Race. It is a historical race similar to the Sinj Alka which has been held annually there since 1976 on the third weekend in August. In honour of this event which attracts thousands of visitors, the local municipality has decided to set up a visitors centre where it presents the tradition of this knightly competition and local history to all guests of this small Istrian town, reports Novac.hr on February 27, 2019.

The municipality received a 238,500 kuna grant from the Ministry of Tourism. The project was approved under the Public Tourism Infrastructure Development Programme. This programme has approved the co-financing of 46 development projects in the total value of 19,971,700 kuna.

The new multimedia space was designed by Studio Putinja from Pazin. Their architects have created the centre with five separate areas. Once you get to the first floor, you enter the Gradišće, which is the track where the competition is held. Other rooms include a presentation of the race through history and its participants, with the exhibit of the rings and spears laid around the centre of the room, as well as traditional folk costumes.

The race was restored in 1976 thanks to a group of enthusiasts who decided to restart the old knightly game in Barban. At that time, they did not even dream about their race becoming one of the most well-known Istrian events. The original competition is actually older than the Sinj Alka, which began in 1715. The Barban race was first mentioned in 1696, and there was a similar race in Svetvinčenat which started in 1713.

After the presentation of the race, visitors enter a circular hall with audio and video presentations of the history of the town. There you can find out that Barban is an old town built in the 13th century. It was under the rule of the Austrians and later belonged to the Venetian family Loredan, which bought Barban in 1535 and owned it for 334 years. Their legacy is the Loredan Palace on the main square, built in 1606.

The distinctive feature of the centre is its architectural solutions. In designing the centre, the Pazin architects tried to apply and create innovative content. Another important novelty is that all the exhibits are presented through the Braille alphabet, while tactile surfaces lead the visitors through the whole centre. Also, modern LED lighting has been installed throughout.

The Barban Municipality does not plan to stop here; it has some significant plans. First of all, they want to move the town’s tourist information point to the ground floor of this historic building. This would make the Barban centre a real tourist area, given the fact that it has been the tourist champion of inland Istria for many years. They also want to enrich the centre with new multimedia content, including VR presentations. The project has already received additional funds, including another 224,000 kuna from the Ministry of Tourism.

More news about Barban can be found in the Travel section.

Translated from Novac.hr (reported by Barbara Ban).

As Novac/Barbara Ban writes on the 26th of February, 2019, ''Dr. Martin Horvat'' Rovinj Hospital has proudly stated the fact that in 2019, it plans to invest heavily in the amount of 12 million kuna, and it ended 2018 in a surplus in regard to finance and the number of patients. They claimed that they had 500 patients more than one year earlier, that they provided 16,440 more medical services than they did last year, marking an increase of 26.5 percent.

Rovinj Hospital finished of the business year of 2018 with a financial gain of 623,000 kuna. This is the fifth year in a row that Rovinj Hospital has managed to conclude with some excellent financial results, with all of our employees being paid all of their salaries within the deadline, as well as regressions, Christmas bonuses, vouchers, jubilee awards, money for children for St. Nicholas, retirement benefits, sickness benefits, and assistance in accordance with our underlying collective agreement. I'm proud to show this positive change and an increase in the number of visits to our institution from year to year because better implementation means better addressing the needs of our citizens,'' says dr. sc. Marinko Rade, who was recently elected to the Working Group of the Ministry of Health for the drafting of the Ordinance on Health Tourism.

Investments of 12 million kuna are planned to be carried out over the next fifteen months, and alterations have already begun in the department where the patients from the AUVA insurance company stay during their time at Rovinj Hospital. The hospital's entire roof will be changed, the façade will be renewed, and works on the hospital's energy sources will be carried out, a new elevator will also be installed. The total value of these investments currently stands at five million kuna, with renovation of the main building also planned.

''Investments for a further seven million kuna will be issued shortly, including the renovation of the façade, the replacement of the entire roof, and works regarding the change of the energy [system] of the main building of the hospital, where there are clinics and departments in which our local patients are treated. We're investing the most in these departments. Reconstruction should start at the end of 2019,'' added Rade.

He added that so far, everything they invested has been covered by money from the hospital's significant profits, and now they are financially secure enough to safely borrow. In addition to all of the works Rovinj Hospital is set to undergo, a library will be opened soon in the department, and a new therapeutic park will be set up.

''So far, we've collected 6,000 books donated by citizens, which is a truly impressive and record-breaking number for a public action. At this time, we're separate the books by their categories and languages, and we're renewing the space where the library will be located at the department. Additionally, the placement of a therapeutic park is ongoing, which is being carried out within the Design/Build project in collaboration with the George Washington University from the USA. The project will be completed by April this year,'' noted Rade.

Rovinj Hospital isn't ''only'' planning to invest in buildings, but also in their much appreciated employees, in terms of their continued and additional education. This will amount to up to 250,000 kuna.

''This is the money that this institution allocates from its income, ie, from the income generated from the private market,'' Rade added that owing to several factors, Rovinj Hospital can't raise anyone's salary regardless of their position, and that's why the hospital's administration has been looking for more innovative ways to properly reward and thus hopefully retain such valued employees, and one way is to pay them in continued, additional education.

''Of course, doctors and healthcare staff are paid for their training and for congresses in order to become superior in their specialties, which means more access to patients. But we're also investing in the non-medical staff who work in our hospital, which I consider to be equally important links in the chain. This means that, let's say, chefs and cooks can receive paid education which then allows them to progress and provides them with technical education and training that can help them out more in their day-to-day work. That's why we've reserved a lot of money,'' concluded the director of Rovinj Hospital.

For more on investment in Croatia, healthcare, health tourism in Croatia and much, much more, give our business page a follow.

Click here for the original article by Barbara Ban for Novac/Jutarnji

After several years when events like this weren't organized in Rovinj, this year will see the return of one of the most attractive sailing event in the world, Adris 44Cup, a stop on the RC44 Championship Tour. Organized locally by the Sail La Vie organisation and the Maestral Sailing Club from Rovinj, supported by the Adris Group the event will take place during the week of May 28th until June 2nd. The event will take place right after the opening of the new Grand Park Hotel Rovinj and the new ACI marina in the town, and an attractive entertainment programme will be organized for the duration of the event. 

Tomislav Popović, Maistra CEO, expressed his satisfaction that Rovinj and Croatia will again be seen as the desirable sports and tourist destination. He says that it is again proven that for the development of the premium tourism it's necessary to have high-quality accommodation and recognisable events. This year's Adris 44Cup is not just a sailing race, but it's also a celebration of the new hotel and the marina, which will both be centres of the entire event. He added that in addition to 4 billion kuna already invested, Adris Group will invest further 2 billion kuna in the tourist segment of their business by 2021, and 450 million kuna will go to Vrsar and their objects there - Pineta and Koversada.

RC44 Championship tour is the world tour, consisting of 5 separate races, held in Montenegro, Rovinj, Sweden, Portugal and Spain. All teams use the same boats, class RC44, designed by New Zealander Russell Coutts, five-time America's Cup winner and one of the greatest sailors of all time and Andrej Justin, Slovenian star-boat designer. Each team consists of the owner, four amateurs, three professional sailors and a tactician. The boats are sometimes called the sailing Formula 1, made of carbon fibres, 13,35 meters long and weighing just over 3500 kg, which gives them remarkable acceleration and a chance for a crew to show their skill.

Eighteen years after the 2001 Wimbledon final where one of the greatest Croatian athletes reach his most significant career triumph, Goran Ivanišević and Patrick Rafter will play against each other once again in Umag's Stella Maris for the 30th edition of the ATP Plava Laguna Croatia Open, reports Gol.hr on February 25, 2019. 

It was Monday, July 9, 2001, when Goran Ivanišević and Patrick Rafter met in one of the most emotional and exciting Wimbledon finals. It was a time before the moving roof was constructed at the All England Club central stadium, when the rain made the Ivanašević and Tim Henman semi-final a three-day spectacle, and the Sunday finals shifted to Monday.

Fans waited for hours to get a chance to see the two big players on the court. The final lasted three hours and two minutes, which is precisely when Rafter hit the net on Ivanišević's second service. Goran incredulously collapsed onto the holy Wimbledon grass. In his fourth Wimbledon final, Goran managed to win the decisive, fifth set with 9-7 and thus win his only and much-desired Grand Slam title.

The legendary Australian tennis player suffered his second consecutive defeat in the Wimbledon final, after losing in four sets to American player Pete Sampras the year before. Although he never won Wimbledon, he did achieve two Grand Slam titles at the US Open.

In 2016, 15 years after the triumph over Rafter, the ATP stadium in Umag was named after Goran Ivanišević. Patrick Rafter was also honoured similarly in 2008, when a tennis center in Brisbane was named the Pat Rafter Arena. In July this year, these two tennis legends will have the chance to meet again, at the Goran Ivanišević Stadium, which has welcomed the biggest names in international tennis over the past three decades.

The tournament will be held from July 12 to 21, 2019. The traditional exhibition match between Ivanišević and Rafter will be held on Wednesday, July 17.

Goran Ivanišević will share his impressions about the 2001 Wimbledon rematch and memories of July 9, 2001, and other events that will make the 30th edition of the Umag ATP tournament, with media representatives in Zagreb.

To read more about sport in Croatia follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

More than sixty winemakers presented their splendid Istrian Malvasia wines at the recently held En Primeur at the Esplanade Hotel in Zagreb. In addition to the Istrian Jelenić prosciutto and Latus cheeses, this year they were joined by several producers of Žlahtina and some twenty winemakers from the Hilly Croatia region. Almost 700 visitors attended the event.

 “The largest ever number of winemakers taking part in En Primeur confirms that this unique event – which we first organised in 2012 – is growing year after year. I am pleased that every year there is an increase in the number of caterers, sommeliers, distributors and wine connoisseurs who enjoy Malvasia from all parts of Istria. This is a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the characteristics of the latest harvest, and the year 2018 has given us wines of great potential and high quality,” said Nikola Benvenuti, the president of Vinistra, the Association of Winemakers and Winegrowers of Istria, which organised En Primeur, together with the Winemaking Association of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

“The improvement in the reputation of Croatian wines can be seen in numbers. Wine exports rose by more than 22 per cent in the first ten months of last year in the higher-price wine category. Since Malvasia is one of the favourite wines among tourists, I expect that wines will contribute to the tourist offer and tourist identity of Croatia. The Croatian Chamber of Commerce and its Winemaking Association, together with the national brand we have developed, Vina Croatia – Vina Mosaica, will continue to work on the international promotion of Croatian wines, for which we will use both our funds and the funds from the EU wine envelope,” said the vice-president for agriculture and tourism of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce Dragan Kovačević.

The young Malvasias delighted Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, who came to greet the Istrian winemakers as usual, and the support was also given by Ezio Pinzan, head of the Agriculture Department of the Istrian County. “I have once again seen that there are no bad wines in Istria. Today we can only talk about good and even better Malvasias. Our technology is at the world-class level, while Istrian winemakers are well-educated and are continually improving their knowledge, which is an excellent addition to the tradition we have in the winemaking industry. The only element by which the Malvasias differ is the shade of the terroir, i.e. the location from which they come from,” Pinzan said.

The terroir was the topic of a workshop held as part of the event for the second year in a row. Mario Staver, PhD, from the Poreč Agricultural Department of the Rijeka Polytechnic, presented nine Malvasias from five different parts of the Istrian peninsula. He concluded that the young Malvasias reflected typical colour and aroma with dominant fruity scents, and thanks to the favourable weather conditions, the cutting-edge technology and the skills of Istrian winemakers, this year we will drink excellent wines.

More news about wines in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.