ZAGREB, November 18, 2019 - The 14th edition of the wine and food festival "VINOcom" will be held in Zagreb's Hotel Esplanade on November 22 and 23 with more than 300 exhibitors taking part in the event.

The exhibitors are mostly wine makers and producers of delicatessen products from Croatia and Europe and Slovakia is this year's country-partner, the festival's organisers told a press conference on Monday.

"Zagreb VINOcom in one of the oldest festivals in Croatia that promotes wine, food and general table etiquette. I believe that this year again it will attract a large number of visitors and experts and I hope that we will meet their expectations similarly to previous years," the festival's director, Ivan Dropuljić said.

Apart from presenting and providing tasting of more than 200 types of wine, and lots of different cheeses, prosciutto, kulen salami and sweets, about a dozen workshops will be organised during the festival.

Speaking on behalf of Slovakia as the country-partner of this year's festival, public relations consultant in the Slovak Embassy in Zagreb, Jan Stark, said that he was pleased with the cooperation which he believes can continue considering the similarities between the two countries.

"Three wine-makers from Slovakia will be exhibiting and talks are already underway about continuing cooperation so that Croatian wines can be presented in Bratislava and Slovak wines in Zagreb. Slovakia has a long tradition of wine-making and over the past few years it has won medals at international wine competitions," Stark underscored, adding that Slovakia's per capita wine consumption is 12.5 litres annually and that about 600,000 hectolitres of wine is produced each year.

This year as in previous years the festival will have a humanitarian component and part of proceeds will be donated to the RokOtok association which promotes strengthening ties between children and parents through various activities.

More festival news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

November 26, 2018 - With more than 300 exhibitors and a multitude of excellent wines and food delicacies showcased in its 13th edition, Zagreb VINOcom festival has once again confirmed itself as the leading regional festival of the finer things in life.

Much satisfied with this year's attendance, the festival's director and founder professor Ivan Dropuljić said the whole project has been well accepted by people and thus, although wine as a culture was perhaps a little neglected, in recent years we see that trend changing, while events such as VINOcom even more so boost awareness of this culture.

During the two days of VINOcom which once again took place at the historic Esplanade hotel on November 23rd and 24th, festival visitors had the chance of tasting some of the best wines from this part of Europe in an informal walk around the hotel ballrooms which allowed them to sample at their leisure and learn more about their favorite wines by talking to the exhibitors.

When it comes to wines, we could say that Croatia is full of surprises, and the biggest surprise of this year's show was by far the 2015 Amfora bubbly of the Tomac family vinery: this rare gem macerated and fermented in clay amphorae is made with a coupage of 50% Chardonnay and 50% of local grape varieties hailing from the Plešivica hills. The extraordinary Amfora sparkling wine had its premiere at the 2018 VINOcom although the 2010 Amfora Brut Nature was previously listed as one of the "75 Stellar Buys of 2016" in the January 2017 issue of the prestigious Decanter magazine and is the first Croatian wine to receive such recognition.

However, this is not the first wine to put Croatia on the world wine map as our other wine regions like Istria and Dalmatia have been long known to produce amazing, top quality wines that can easily go side by side with their much more famous counterparts from France and Italy. In addition, we shouldn't miss mentioning the coldest wine region of Croatian Uplands which has been pioneering in the domestic production of icewines.

Apart from Croatian wines, at the 13th Zagreb VINOcom, visitors had the chance to taste wines from our neighboring countries like Slovenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia.

To complement the vino, this year's festival boasted an impressive selection of olive oils and other culinary delicacies. The tasty bites included classics like Istrian and Dalmatian prosciutto, Slavonian kulen, and various other cold cuts; but also smoked fish, as well as truffle-flavored chips, salami, and even chocolate.

In conclusion, the 13th VINOcom was once again a big success, leaving us with the impression that Croatia is thirsty for more of such events.

For more related news, make sure you follow our designated gourmet page, and if you want to know more about what else happens in the Croatian capital, then Total Zagreb is your go-to web destination.

The 13th annual Zagreb VINOcom wine and culinary arts festival was opened yesterday, November 23, 2018 at the Esplanade hotel, HINA reported.

At the opening ceremony, more than 300 exhibitors of this year's VINOcom were welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić who took the opportunity to express his hopes that the new Croatian wine law will right the wrongs of some past injustices, and financially unload domestic winemakers. In addition, Tolušić stated that his only goal in the winemaking sector is to make winemakers' more successful and their businesses more lucrative, assuring them that the Ministry of Agriculture would do its best to help them. He also said that thanks to its winemakers and top quality wines, Croatia is becoming a recognized enology and wine tourism destination.

In his statement to the media after the festival opening, Tolušić said that the new Croatian law is set to establishment four marketing and wine regions, announcing the decentralization of the wine-rating system as well as an increase in production control.

Following the minister's statement, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Dragan Kovačević said Croatia has a tremendous potential for wine growing, however, with annual production of 70-80 million liters of wine, and with our exports covering in value only 45% of imports, Kovačević concluded that we certainly cannot be satisfied.

He hopes that the new wine law, as a prerequisite for the growth of the winemaking industry, will soon result in positive changes, and act as a flywheel for the Croatian economy. Also, he believes that in the future, our gastronomic offer together with the wine industry will play a much greater part in building Croatia's tourism identity, contributing to the extension of the tourist season.

The participants of the 13th VINOcom festival were also welcomed by Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, and Ambassador of the Russian Federation Anvar Azimov, since Russia plays an important role at this year's VINOcom as a partner country.

Stay tuned for more related updates by following our designated gourmet page, and if it's just Zagreb you're interested in, make sure you follow Total Zagreb.

This year’s entrance fee hike from 150 to 200 kuna did not prevent thousands of enthusiasts from flocking to the Esplanade.

More Croatian wine success at Zagreb VINOcom.

There is only one place to be for Croatian wine lovers this weekend.

One of Croatia's largest culinary and wine culture expos will be held in the Esplanade hotel on November 27 and 28, 2015.