January 29, 2021 – Winemakers are delighted as it's announced that the Vinart Grand Tasting, the most important business wine event, will take place in the spring of 2021.

As Turizam24 reports, the Vinart Grand Tasting will be held on April 30 and May 1, 2021, in Zagreb's Lauba. The organizer, the company Vinart, moved the fair's date from the beginning of March to the beginning of May due to the uncertainty of the epidemiological situation and the duration of anti-epidemic measures.

As a reminder, last year's Vinart Grand Tasting was the last professional wine fair in Europe. It was held on March 6 and 7, 2020, just before the first lockdown, while many details about the COVID-19 virus were unknown.

"It was uncertain until the last second, and in the weeks before the fair itself, we practically didn't sleep because of worries. We prepared the program, and after the fair, we organized a study trip to Croatian wine regions for a group of about twenty important European and American journalists. We invested a considerable amount of money, hoping that we would make a big step to recognize Croatian wines and winemakers globally, and everything was so risky and uncertain. In the end, only three journalists canceled our trip, and others came and were delighted with the offer and quality of Croatian wines. We did everything in our power to eliminate the risk of transmitting the virus," says Saša Špiranec, director of Vinart.

Wine tasting / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

At last year's fair, there was no information that anyone had become infected. From that experience, they are ready to boldly enter into the preparation of this year's edition of the fair.

If the economy doesn't restart in May, we can say goodbye to winemaking

On this occasion, Špiranec answered questions about the situation in winemaking after the pandemic 2020. As expected, the autumn wave caused the most significant damage to this branch of the economy, extremely important for the tourism sector.

"Judging by the comments we received from winemakers, last year's drop in turnover was more than obvious. Different wineries have different experiences, but the average should be between 20 and 30 percent drop overall. The year's start was a shock, and sales stalled, but a good spring and early summer made up for that decline. The second, autumn wave did more damage that was only partially offset by sales in December when many winemakers had good results in direct sales due to gifts and increased household consumption. If such problems remained in 2021, they would surely become insurmountable for many wineries. If the situation after the Easter moves towards full normalization, then most wineries will recover," said Špiranec, who explained the chosen date in the still uncertain first part of 2021.

Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

"We have chosen dates when spring will already be in full swing. The days are long and sunny, and we believe that in the meantime, the measures and vaccination will significantly reduce the risks. We think May is the last moment for normalization, regardless of the circumstances with COVID-19, and that is why we chose the first days of May for the fair. If the economy does not start working normally in May, we can say goodbye to winemaking as its branch," concluded Špiranec, the leading Croatian expert in winemaking.

This announcement speaks best about the consequences of a pandemic. They hope that the situation will normalize after Easter. In that case, we can still expect the recovery of most stakeholders on the wine scene.

2021 is crucial for winemaking

Winemakers and wine business people are delighted by the announcement of the Vinart Grand Tasting.

"The capacity, which is further limited this year, is almost full after the first week of opening the applications. Winemakers and their customers send us numerous messages that they cannot wait for the fair and the start of activities and wine events. Now, things that they used to complain about, like too many fairs and trips, seem to them to be a blessing compared to this past year of passively waiting and staring into space," announces Špiranec.

Vineyard in Istria / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

It is evident that this year is crucial for winemaking. Without the opening and launch of the economy in the spring, there will be no winemaking. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop by May, but any such announcement and event that gives hope that the recovery will begin soon is optimistic. For winemakers, as well as for caterers, it is necessary to start economic activities no later than Easter. Otherwise, we will have a total collapse.

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

December 1, 2020 – Due to the poor epidemiological situation in the country, the Croatian Sommelier's Club reported that the final of the 24th Croatian Sommelier Championship is postponed.

Precisely because of the worsening situation with the pandemic, the Croatian Sommelier Championship was planned to be held in two parts. In the first, quarterfinal part, which took place on November 10, 2020, the 12 best Croatian sommeliers were chosen to compete in the second, final part of the competition on December 7, 2020. However, the second part of the championship was postponed until the epidemiological situation normalizes.

"Unfortunately, due to the increasingly complicated epidemiological situation, we are forced to postpone the semifinals and finals of the 24th Croatian Sommelier Championship, a competition we planned to hold on Monday, December 7, at the Westin Hotel in Zagreb.

Since November 13, when we published the list of twelve semifinalists of this year's Championship, the epidemiological situation in our country is becoming more complicated, with more and more infected every day and the recommendations and decisions of the Civil Protection Headquarters are more stringent and restrictive.

Today, a week before the finals, the situation is no better. For these reasons, we believe that, at this time, it would be extremely risky to organize the finals of the Championship wherein one place there would be twelve semifinalists, nine judges, and seven organizers and technical staff.

Besides, such a gathering would violate several recommendations of the National Civil Protection Headquarters and, most importantly, it would endanger the health of our members.

Therefore, the 24th Croatian Sommelier Championship (semifinals and finals) will continue as soon as the epidemiological situation normalizes," reads the statement from the Croatian Sommelier's Club official page.

Despite the not so great situation, 24 candidates applied for the 24th Croatian Sommelier Championship, which is being held under the sponsorship of the Croatian Tourist Board. The 12 best sommeliers were chosen, and they are in order: Siniša Lasan, Filip Božić, Ivan Jug, Tomislav Mikinac, Josip Orišković, Marko Škarica, Mate Negulić, Miljenko Čehulić, Monika Neral, Toni Arbunić, Zoran Gregorović, and Ivan Dušić.

"We did not expect it and we were positive until the very end. We don't know how long this postponement will last, but our 12 semifinalists will certainly get a little more time to prepare for the continuation of the fight," they added on Facebook.

 To read more news from Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, October 25, 2020 - Eight-five percent of Croatians drink wine, whether occasionally or frequently, a survey shows.

The survey was conducted by Ja Trgovac magazine and Hendal market research agency in September on a representative sample of Croatian citizens aged 16 and over.

As many as 78% of respondents said they preferred Croatian wines, as opposed to 7.6% who rather drank foreign wines, while 14.5% were undecided.

The survey revealed that 8% of Croatians drink wine on a daily basis, 21% once a week, 20.4% once a month, while 20.7% said they drink wine only on special occasions. 14.8% drink wine rarely and 15.2% never.

A total of 48.4% of respondents said they prefer red wine to white, which is preferred by 44.3% of those interviewed, while only 7.3% said they like pink wine (rosé) best.

Some varieties have already been harvested and although Croatian growers are struggling with labour shortages, the harvest will be finished by the end of September in Istria, Slavonia, and down in Dalmatia...

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes on the 29th of August, 2019, grape harvesting is about to begin in Croatia's prominent wine-growing regions, with some varieties having already been harvested in order to make quality domestic wine.

In most Croatian regions, the yield is lower than it was last year, but winemakers have made sure to state that the quality still remains top notch this year. Oenologist Nika Silić Maroević, in charge of everything that happens in the barrels of the Korta Katarina winery in Pelješac in the far south of Dalmatia, has emphasised that this year's harvest is the closest to that of a regular, normal year.

Although concerned about Croatia's very rainy June, problems with wild boar and hail, Silić Maroević concluded that a very good harvest is awaiting Croatian growers this year.

"This year, the deadlines are almost as good as in the book, which is the best, because the vines have passed their normal ripening period, so, we expect the full potential of our vineyards to be realised. The grape harvest for rosé is underway, and the harvesting for pošip is yet to come. In recent years, we have encountered problems with finding a workforce, since we're selectively picking and don't have a constant rhythm of harvesting, we're somehow managing it, but there is a problem,'' noted Silić Maroević.

At the famous Tomić winery on the island of Hvar, the harvest started at the end of August, and the expectations are very good so far.

"The first harvest is pošip, and right after that we'll continue with cabernet sauvignon from our ecological vineyards. The quality of the grapes is excellent so far, which is also reflected in the later start of harvesting. For later varieties, we'll only see the effects in the period from September the 15th to September the 30th, and it will depend on the amount of precipitation and their ripening," Tomić explained.

Harvesting in Međimurje is only expected from around September the 15th, but winemaker David Štampar pointed out that the grapes are in exceptional condition.

"This year, we're not storing the grapes for predicate wines, but only for classic and sparkling wines. So far, we've had no problems with the workforce, and I don't think we will in the future either, because people like to go to do the harvesting. This year was really challenging because of the weather, but we love this lifestyle precisely because of the challenges it brings, too. This year, we will get some top quality wines, which are extremely characteristic of our region,'' Štampar assured.

Martina Krauthaker Grgić from the Krauthaker Winery pointed out that this year, the flowering in Slavonia in Eastern Croatia started a little later on, so the harvest is expected to start in the first week of September.

"The grapes will be smaller since last year was unusually fertile. When it comes to certain varieties, we've had made sure to have less grapes to ensure better quality, and the health of the vineyard is good, so we expect a solid harvest. There are problems with the workforce, but we've successfully found the number of pickers we need. The bigger problem is finding pickers in the immediate area because when pickers arrive from distant places, it increases the cost of the harvesting itself,'' explained Krauthaker Grgić.

The Franković Winery in Istria began with this year's harvest, as it does every year, by collecting grapes for the Stella sparkling wine base.

"We pick three varieties of white wine, malvasia, chardonnay and sauvignon for that base, and we pick the amount we need for champagne while the rest is harvested a few days later," explained Josip Franković, noting that a lack of manpower will make grape harvesting difficult this year.

"We face this problem every year and it gets harder every year, but we manage to deal with it all somehow. In terms of what we had last year, these [from 2019] are quite similar in their quality and quantity, and we're really pleased," concluded Franković.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more. If you're a lover of Croatian wine, give Total Croatia Wine a follow for more information.

June 10, 2019 - Association WOW/Women on Wine, popular as „WOW-ice “, is a very active (and pretty large) group of around 200 women throughout Croatia that are involved in promoting wine. Some are wine professionals – sommeliers, oenologists or wine bar owners and others are just wine lovers or wine and lifestyle journalists just like their president and founder, journalist and editor Sanja Muzaferija. Their mission is to constantly encourage young wine producers, especially women, but also give credit and regularly award all wine producers who please their demanding and educated palates.

For eight consecutive years, they give out awards for the Croatian WOW wine of the year in five categories: sparkling, white, rosé, red and dessert wine. The whole process of choosing the best wines is somewhat humorously titled What Women Want and lasts for about two months. Designed by Muzaferija, the selection is everything but lightly taken. It consists of three different steps, the first one being a sort of nomination/pre-selection list. The author of the list is a different renowned Croatian sommelier every year and the duty was previously performed by esteemed sommeliers such as Karin Rupene-Perdec, Alena Stuparić, Siniša Lasan, Mario Meštrović, Roko Bekavac, Jelena Šimić Valentić, and Željko Bročilović Carlos- This time, sommelier Filip Savić was appointed for the job.

The initial selection list always holds 5 sparkling wines, ten whites, five rosés, ten reds, and five dessert/sweet wines. The whole story begins from the initial selection list and after all the members of WOW have had one month to vote by mail, they come up with 12 finalists. The third and final phase of the contest is a blind tasting by three women knowledgeable in wine matters. They are the ones who choose the WOW wine in every category and the one that is being awarded the WOW Grand Prix Wine of the year title – regardless of the colour, price or style of the wine.  All five winning wines get a nice sculpture designed by famous designer collective GRUPA, but the main prize of this very well accepted and after 8 years, very well respected choice, is an attractive trip to one of the famous world wine regions, provided and powered by WOW.

So far, the winners travelled all over Europe: Gianfranco Kozlović to Bordeaux, Saša Senjković to Champagne, Moreno Coronica to Barcelona and Penedes, Luka Krajančić to Burgundy, Frano Milina Bire to Austria and the representative of Meneghetti winery took a trip to Tuscany. Last year’s winner, Alen Bibić, declined the trip due to previous engagements. The awards ceremony for the 8th WOW Grand Prix took place, traditionally, in the restaurant Balon in Zagreb.  The final jury consisting, naturally, entirely of women, has gathered previously at Jadranka bistro and has spoken their final word. They were: well-known and esteemed sommelier Karin Rupena Perdec as the president of the jury; Ines Matić, sommelier and Doris Srpek of the famous wine shop and wine bar Bornstein.

The wines that made it to the finals are: Sparkling –  Blanc de Noir, Peršurić and Pavel, Šember, and the winner is - Blanc de Noir, Peršurić.  

White wines: Meneghetti White 2017, Meneghetti; Grimalda white 2015, Matošević and Škrlet 2017, Voštinić- Klasnić - and the winner is the Meneghetti White 2015. In rose wines, the finalists are the Rosella Poletti 2017, Poletti and Rose Galić 2017, Galić. The winner is Rosella Poletti 2017. Red wines: Fuga 2015, Dobravac winery; Santa Lucija red 2015; Kozlović winery and Il Primo 2015, Fakin winery. The winner is Il Primo, Fakin winery. Dessert wines in the finals: Muškat Momjanski, Prelac winery and Graševina izborna berba prosušenih bobica 2015, Krauthaker winery. And the winner is Graševina izborna berba prosušenih bobica 2015, Krauthaker. The overall winner and the WOW Grand Prix new owner is Marko Fakin of Motovun with his Il Primo red wine that instantly gained the star status, not only among women voters.  The winner will visit the Hungarian wine region Villany in July. After the awards ceremony – the wine crowd stayed on to celebrate the 8th birthday of the WOW association together with the wine producers who proudly held their WOW „stars“/awards and the media.

Photos of the jury: Silvija Munda

Photos of the ceremony: Rene Karaman

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

Today's fun and useless fact is that there are more astronauts than Masters of Wine in the world. So now you know.

There are in fact just over 300 Masters of Wine, so when one of them pops into your wine bar and has a positive experience, it is worth writing about, which is what happened recently at Split's original wine bar, Paradax, at MW Jo Ahearne dropped to soak up a little Croatian wine atmosphere and sample a glass of sparkling Tomac.

I first met Jo at Dalmacija Wine Expo in Split earlier this year, after which I interviewed her for Google News. We have been in touch a lot since, and Jo is currently on Hvar looking at wine-making possibilities on Croatia's premier island, including the delightful possibility that she might be able to get her hands on the 2014 grapes from the oldest plavac mali vineyard in the world. She is pictured above being interviewed by Croatian national television at last night's Hvar Wine Assocation tasting in Vrboska.

Jo told me that she had stumbled upon Paradox on her visit, and left with an extremely positive impression of the atmosphere, wine, service and considerable knowledge of the staff. 

Why not check out Paradox for yourself and find out why it is consistently at the top of Split's TripAdvisor ratings? Follow them on Facebook.

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