Right, I just got back from the north point of Istria in Croatia and didn't really have many expectations coming into the trip, in terms of wine and food. People had told me it was a bit meh, so I thought I'd have a mixed bag. I couldn't have been more wrong.
What a rich area in amazing things. Fairly poor from the outset, but when it comes to olive oil, meat, honey and wine, the area is beyond amazing. We drove there, so had the chance to bring back some bottles and so managed to get some of the bottles we loved whilst there.
https://www.vivino.com/coronica-co-gran-teran-red-wine-v-rb916/w/2090006?ref=nav-search
This wine was absolutely stunning. Real beauty of a wine. We bought a case of 6 home, but I'm already wishing we got more. On top of this, we brought some of the local sparkling made with Malvazija grapes, which is the perfect light sparkling wine. Coming in under a 10er a bottle and made using the Champagne method, it's a great drink. We also have a local sparkling that contains both Malvazija, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Again, a really nice mix and slightly more complex than the straight up Malvazija.
They have a local grape on the red side, too, the Refosco and we brought back 3 of those bottles. It's a nice light, fruity yet well balanced bottle. This vineyard was great, they even gave us a bottle of white that was a part of the limited run they have that is aged under the Istrian sea. (
https://www.thewineandmore.com/stories/first-croatian-underwater-winery/ - not from this vineyard but a lot do it in small amounts) Which is probably not something we'll ever drink, but a wonderful gift and story to tell with it.
In total we brought back about 40 bottles. I'd have brought more if the car would have allowed it, a real gem of a place. We were trying to book a place for next year elsewhere, but couldn't find anywhere as good so have ended up booking the same place again. So much more to explore around Slovenia (10 mins drive and didn't explore), and the Italian city of Trieste (also didn't get to see), not to mention the rest of the area and vineyards we were near we didn't get to sample.
When you get a top quality (I love my meat, and it was absolutely amazing quality) fillet steak, that's about 300g and perfectly cooked, for about 11 euros for lunch and the wines they had one the menu were not only amazing, but about the same price (I'd say a 20% mark up) on buying direct from the vineyard. That's a winner for me.
If you're thinking of somewhere to go and hadn't given it a thought, it's well worth the trip!
This was our villa...
This is the area....
I got back on Saturday night, shattered and needing a detox. I used sunday to do a full run through on wine in the cellar and added it all properly to my cellar on Vivino. Annoyingly they don't allow you to share your cellar with people, as I'd love a link to it, or be able to share it with the wife so she knows what we have and what not to drink.
Official count though: 236 bottles
