September the 30th, 2022 - The well known Istrian Kabola winery is no stranger to international recognition and awards, and two more prestigious international awards will only push this Istrian winery even further into the limelight.

As Morski writes, two international awards - Luxury Awards in the category of Best Organic Wine Production Company 2022 and Prestige Awards in the category of Vineyard of the Year - have arrived at the doors of the Istrian Kabola winery. According to many people, this is by far the most beautiful Istrian estate of all.

Both awards come from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and are annual awards given by respected British publications. The best ones are decided by readers online, as well as by an expert jury.

Connoisseurs of the wine scene know that both of these awards have definitely ended up in the right hands, because the Istrian Kabola winery was the first of all on the Istrian peninsula to venture into organic production, which is why all its labels have had the BIO certificate since back in 2009, and it is also the first winery in all of the Republic of Croatia to have started with the production of wine aged in amphorae.

The awards given to the owners of the winery, the Markezic family, who are still very busy working in the vineyards because this year's harvest is still in progress.

"We started harvesting around August the 25th this year, two or three weeks earlier than in previous years due to the extremely hot and sunny summer. Early Chardonnay and Pinot Gris varieties were harvested, and we're using them to produce our RE Kabola sparkling wine. We've just finished harvesting the Malvasia, which accounts for 70 percent of the total production of our grapes and wine,'' explained famous Istrian winemaker Marino Markezic, announcing yet another excellent wine year.

The vineyards on the estate of the Istrian Kabola winery withstood this year's horrendous drought very well thanks to the soil in the microlocation of Momjanstina, which is rich in marl that retains moisture more easily.

It's worth noting that wine and the production of it has been present within this family and has been a tradition for more than 130 years now, and the Markezic family live in harmony with nature. Their cellars have always been the Istrian avant-garde, their wines are widely appreciated, recommended by the most famous sommeliers and offered by prestigious restaurants in many locations. Their winery in Kanedol is a must-see destination for tourists from all over the world, and the film industry also loves it, given the fact that just a few years ago, scenes for a Hollywood blockbuster were filmed on the property.

"Awards always make us happy, but the best reward is the recommendation of our clients and guests who return to us year after year and truly enjoy our wines," concluded Markezic.

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May the 28th, 2021 - Croatia is very well known on the wine map for the fantastic products it sends out into the world, and the Istrian Kabola winery has seen inheritance turn into 130 years of tradition.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes,reliability, tradition and consumer confidence are the key to the success of any wine heritage story, and those points are all more than well known and applied by the popular Istrian Kabola winery, which is set to celebrate its 130th anniversary at the end of this month.

As many as three generations of the Markezic family have been making wine there, and they have been writing their own very long wine story since way back in 1891, when ''nono Ivan'' filled up the very first bottles of Muscat of Momjan, a variety that still intrigues those familiar with the wine world today.

Respecting tradition and nature, the current owner of the Istrian Kabola winery, Marino Markezic, with his innovative approach to winemaking, has positioned the family winery at the very top of the Croatian wine scene, which is no easy task. He was the one to open the Istrian Kabola winery officially in Kanedol near Momjan back on May the 29th, 2005, and this date is symbolically celebrated as a birthday.

The very first Istrian winery in terms of eco production

The Istrian Kabola winery is the very first Istrian winery that maintains its vineyards according to the stringent principles of eco production. With twenty hectares of vineyards to think about and take proper care of, Kabola produces about 100,000 bottles of wine a year, as well as another much loved Croatian product - olive oil, which also carries a bio-certificate. Although Croatia is their most important market, their exports to various countries have been growing more and more over recent years.

They mainly export to EU and non-EU European countries - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and some of their wine travels over the Atlantic and finds its place on dinner tables in the United States. These are typically the Kabola-made wines that are chosen by more demanding consumers, both in retail and restaurants, hotels, and 25 percent of the quantities produced are exported.

Prolonged macerations such as those aged in amphorae or wooden barrels are especially sought after. The Istrian Kabola winery isn't only a synonym for top quality wines, as guests from all over the world, as well as various celebrities, come to this Istrian estate in person.

It was on this very estate that a 2Cellos video and scenes for The Hitman’s Wife Bodyguard, among other things, were filmed.

"We're really looking forward to the summer tourist season and we hope that it will be better than last year when, due to very well known circumstances, we had a drop in visits when compared to 2019. Although results like those from two years ago aren't expected yet, our regular guests who spend their summers in Istria never miss out on a visit to our estate for wine tasting and they've already announced their arrival. Since the opening of the Istrian Kabola winery this spring, we've been mostly visited by local guests, but with the easing the anti-epidemic measures, we expect guests from our traditional foreign markets,'' said Marino Markezic, Kabola's owner.

''We're constantly investing''

It's worth noting that the Istrian Kabola winery is mostly visited by guests from Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, and a large number of guests come from the Asian market.

“Despite the great challenges for winemakers, the last wine year was great and provided wines of excellent quality. However, the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic were too great, we had to adapt quickly to the new situation and immediately switched to online sales and increased our social media presence and marketing to ensure our customers could easily reach our wines in spite of the lockdowns.

We're constantly investing in equipping the winery and cellar in order to achieve the best possible quality of wine and olive oil in our production process,'' concluded Markezic.

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April the 10th, 2021 - The Istrian Kabola winery is sure to attract guests from near and far with the wines it has made and then aged under the surface of the sparkling Adriatic sea.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, the Istrian Kabola winery has presented its Malvasia (Malvazija) Under the sea from the year 2017. It is a wine that has been aged for a year at a sea depth of 22 metres, in total silence and semi-darkness and kept under pressure at a temperature of seven to twelve degrees Celsius.

As they pointed out from the Istrian Kabola winery itself, unlike the Malvasia of the same year that was aged in the cellar in Canedol near Momjan, this limited edition of 200 bottles has totally kept its freshness.

"This is a good way to check the quality of our Malvasia, to see what the wine tells us after undergoing this sort of treatment, and it's a special feeling when after a year you pull it up out of the depths of the sea and taste it right on the shoreline.

It's a real pleasure for us winemakers, and it's a special experience for our guests when they discover new sorts in Malvasia from their original bottles onto which shells have attached themselves,'' explained Marino Markezic, the owner of the Istrian Kabola winery, who has dropped Malvasia wine down into cages in the Adriatic four times now.

Back in March this year, this winery opened its doors to visitors and reopened for wine tastings despite the coronavirus pandemic threatening every industry imaginable. With twenty hectares of vineyards at their disposal, Kabola annually produces about 100,000 bottles of bio-certified wine, which they deliver to the very doorsteps of their customers if they so wish.

They also produce their own Kabola olive oil, which is of course also bio-certified. Although the Republic of Croatia is naturally their most important market, their exports have been growing over recent years.

They mainly export to the countries of the European Union and Europe in general - Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and some of their wine even heads across the Atlantic all the way to the United States of America.

"Our winery is especially attractive to our European guests. We're mostly visited by guests from Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, and on top of that, a large number of guests come from the Asian market. However, since last year, due to the whole situation with the ongoing conronavirus pandemic, which has strongly affected the travel industry, most of our guests are still from right here in Croatia,'' pointed out Markezic.

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