Wine tasting of the local Malvazia white or the Festiga Cabernet Sauvignon combined with mature Istrian cheeses and comparing them to world wines are some of the interesting things to do at this year's Vinistra wine fair.
Once again this year wines, olive oil and rakia (fruit spirits) will compete for awards.
President of the Vinistra fair, Nikola Benvenuti said that wine making was a deep-rooted tradition in Istria, which was a recognised wine region in the world as could be witnessed by the numerous medals and awards at international competitions and excellent reviews by reputable wine critics.
Istria County Prefect Valter Flego said that Vinistra has significantly contributed to positioning Istria as an excellent destination for wine lovers from around the globe.
Announcing that a new wine bill was being prepared, Croatian Chamber of Commerce vice president, Dragan Kovacevic underscored that more than 3,000 hectares in Istria are covered in vineyards accounting for 17% of Croatia's total wine production.
"Annually, we produce about 60 million litres of wine however, I believe that we are still importing too much wine," Kovacevic said.
Assistant Agriculture Minister Kresimir Ivancic explained that the ministry was intensively working on the new wine bill and that he believes everyone will be satisfied with it in the end.