27 Nov 2021 - Central Croatia is rightfully getting more and more acclaim as a top-notch travel destination. This is especially true when it comes to its offer of food and wine. Another step in the right direction is the unveiling of the new project Gourmet Tourism – GoWine.

There are numerous attractive towns, villages, and micro-regions around the Croatian capital Zagreb. Some of them are well known among Croatians, most of them unfairly neglected by international travellers. However, things are changing at a rapid pace and we are seeing an increase in promotional actions uncovering the wonders of Central Croatia. The Gourmet Tourism project is a joint effort by tourism boards of three towns: Sv. Ivan Zelina, Jastrebarsko, and Samobor and aims at promoting the food and wine offer in these three areas. This project is backed by the Zagreb County Tourism Board and authorised by the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

Increasing visibility of Jastrebarsko, Samobor, and Sv. Ivan Zelina

The primary goal of the project is to communicate a local offer of authentic food and wine more clearly and efficiently by creating interactive and printed maps, a promotional website (www.gowine.hr), WebVR app, as well as to give the project its own recognisable visual identity. The most attractive parts of all these three areas covered in the project are their wine roads. Using stylised maps, the users will now have an easy time navigating them. The locations of numerous local wineries and countryside estates offering quality, authentic bites and sips are now there for all to find and enjoy. With plenty to explore in the area, the creators of the maps had their hands full at selecting those local businesses that will represent the area well.

The presentation of the project itself took place at the beautiful Mirnovec Ethno Farm. While there was plenty of information to go through, representatives of the three tourism boards and their associates kept the protocol dynamic and interesting. With plenty of mouth-watering local food and delicious wine, all gathered members of the press were able to taste for themselves exactly what wonders lie in the vicinity of Zagreb. Well-known names of the Croatian food and wine scene: Mr. Bakalovic, Mr. Spicek, and Mr. Spiranec created a lunch menu perfect for showcasing the finest this region has to offer. 

So, next time you get a chance, make sure to explore the areas of Jastrebarsko, Samobor, and Sv. Ivan Zelina. With gowine.hr and all the local information one click away, you now officially have no excuse not to do so. Just make sure you go hungry and thirsty.

For all the tourism information in Croatia, do not miss Total Croatia

June 6, 2021 - Guests enjoyed a pleasant encounter with the best selection of Plešivica sparkling wines and breakfast snacks, in the hills outside Zagreb.

A sparkling breakfast in the Chez Suzy vineyard for the weekend was the real formula for outdoor hedonism, reports Turističke Priče. At Plešivica, Šember wineries, Šoškić court wines, Drago Damir Režek, and a guest from the Krašić vineyards, Šimanović winery, presented their sparkling wines for which this wine region is famous. In addition to Plešivica sparkling wines, guests enjoyed strawberries and indigenous products of Zagreb County and copanjek, and homemade game salami. As an announcement of the upcoming Sparkling Zagorje breakfast in Zagorje, štruklji, zlevanka, cheeses, chocolate mousses, and chocolate cake were also served.

Salon of Sparkling Wines

The novelty of this year's Sparkling Breakfast edition was the guided pairing of food and Plešivica sparkling wines. The event was driven by the idea of ​​the hostess Suzana Košćak, gastronomy students Izabela Andrašić, Adrian Karačić, Filip Poštenik, Bruno, Karić cooked at the event. The menus were paired with champagnes, after a hearty breakfast dominated by cheeses and strawberries, continued with freshly baked homemade focaccia and steak tartare that future chefs prepared next to the guests. It was a real "cooking show", and then from a small three delicious risottos came out in hot kitchens full of original ideas, the first with apple and celery, the second with asparagus, the third with strawberries. An additional joy of pairing was homemade macarons with champagne. Demanding but purposefully selected, the yellow lemon cream cookies were paired with white brut champagnes, and the pink champagnes matched the pink strawberry sour cream cookies. Macarons were made by a gastronomy student, Ana Tokić.

Salon of Sparkling Wines

The eye pleased, the palate celebrated, and the wines matched. The snacks were mesmerizing and the guests truly enjoyed themselves. An additional interesting and refined gathering was the presentation of a new wine from each winery, the so-called "An example of Plešivica". In this part of the program, Šember winery presented its new Chardonnay 2020, Šoškić wines, Sauvignon blanc 2020, Drago Damir Režek wines - Pinot Noir 2017, Šimanović wines presented Frankovka 2017. A special surprise of the day was Šoškić brandy, many did not know that such a pearl exists on Plešivica, it was sipped with gusto, gentlemen "spiced" it with cigars, and ladies with cigarillos. As an additional spice to the wonderful country atmosphere, similar to Provencal, served antique props from the Comedy Theater as well as tables and accessories from DVD Plešivica.

Salon of Sparkling Wines

Delighted guests, sparkling wine lovers, but also wine connoisseurs, sommelier, oenologists, wine merchants, in pleasant conversations with winemakers learned about Plešivica wines and selected snacks and the potential of various forms of tourist offer Plešivica in the context of branding wine destinations and entire vineyards through targeted, smaller events.

Croatian wines and grapes are among the best in the world, and you can find more information about them in Total Croatia’s Guide to Croatian Wine HERE. Total Croatia’s articles are now available in your language!

For all you need to know about Zagreb in 2021, make sure to bookmark Zagreb in a Page.

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

December 6, 2020 – With the project In Cultura Veritas, 200 kilometers of wine roads and 80 cultural heritage sites were connected in the cross-border area between Zagreb County in Croatia and the Obsotelje and Kozjansko subregions in Slovenia.

As Lokalni.hr reports, the main goal of this recently completed project, which lasted 28 months and is worth one million euros, was to contribute to the attractiveness, attendance, and protection of the cultural heritage of the area and increase economic activity through the development of a new sustainable cross-border destination. The goals were also to strengthen the capacity of local stakeholders and the comprehensive promotion of tourist destinations from the Zagreb County and the Slovenian subregions Obsotelje and Kozjansko.

The In Cultura Veritas project was implemented by Zagreb County, with partners the Museum Documentation Center and the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies. Slovenian partners were the Sotla Development Agency, the Municipality of Šmarje pri Jelšah, and the Maribor Agricultural and Forestry Institute.

On behalf of Zagreb County, the project was presented by Ivana Rendulić Jelušić, who pointed out that thanks to this project, the attractiveness of the offer of cultural and wine tourism in Zagreb County was increased following the requirements of modern visitors.

The cooperation of about 40 winemakers from the area of Zelinska, Samoborska, and Plešivička wine roads, the towns of Samobor, Jastrebarsko, and Sveti Ivan Zelina, and their city museums have borne fruit.

As Večernji.hr reports, the attractions of wine and cultural tourism within the new destination have been promoted by the application of modern digital tools, the improvement of the visitor infrastructure, and the renewal of cultural heritage.

This project idea was developed thanks to the recognition of common and insufficiently promoted tourism potentials in the cross-border project area. The area has a rich and somewhat forgotten cultural and historical heritage preserved in about 80 cultural heritage sites located along 200 km of wine roads.

The centuries-old tradition of wine production is an important part of life in this area, and the quality of the wine is confirmed by numerous awards that adorn the walls of wineries on Plešivica, Zelina, Samobor (Croatia), and Šmarje-Virštanj wine roads (Slovenia). It is in this area that the oldest vine in the world is located, the one from Maribor. Also, the fluttering and fresh white wine Kraljevina, which is believed to have been drunk by the famous Beethoven, is an autochthonous variety produced only in the Zelina area in Croatia.

Zagreb County was the leading partner of this project and thus digitized the tourist offer of the new cross-border tourist destination. A digital catalog with the cultural and wine offer of this area is available on the project website, where you can find information about winemakers, museums, natural heritage sites, photographs, multimedia content, and interesting facts and legends about famous people associated with the project area.

The digital catalog is also available on a mobile application, as well as on tourist machines and smart benches set up by the Zagreb County in the center of the cities involved in the project – Sveti Ivan Zelina, Jastrebarsko, and Samobor.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.