ISTRIA

Almost a country within a country, Istria is a region whose independence of spirit has outlasted empires - and where wineries big and small are producing authentic wines with an uncommon unity of purpose

- CAROLINE GILBY MW

Surrounded by sea on three sides, with the Julian Alps to the north, Istria is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic.Today 90% of the zone falls in Croatia, with a small part in Slovenia and an even tinier area in Italy close to Trieste.

The landscape is dramatic, with its hilltop medieval villages, olive groves producing award-winning olive oil, woods full of wildlife (and truffles - one of the largest ever white truffles was found here; it even has its own statue) and, of course, vineyards everywhere.

Facts & figures

The neighbouring regions of Istria and Kvarner are one wine region - Istria is the peninsula while Kvarner covers the islands and coastline of the bay to the east. Croatia today has 17,700ha of vineyards. Istria and Kvarner is the smallest of its four wine regions with 3,010ha under vine in 2022, 190ha of which are in Kvarner (this is less than 10% of the area under vine in 19th-century Istria, when plantings reached about 44,000ha, mostly red grapes at that time).

Istria is today dominated by white grapes with Malvazija Istarska the most important, accounting for 55% of all grapevines in the region. In Kvarner, the lightly floral, mineral white Žlahtina is the most important, while there also is a small movement to revive the rare local light red Sansigot.

Istria has about 250, mainly familyowned wineries, more than 120 of which are members of Vinistra, the regional association of winegrowers and winemakers (vinistra.hr). There is one large, but also very good, producer called Agrolaguna that produces about half of all Istria's wine. Pioneers of quality in the region include Arman Marijan, Benvenuti, Cattunar, Damjanić, Degrassi, Deklić, Dobravac, Fakin, Kabola, Kozlović, Matošević, Medea, Meneghetti, Pilato, Rossi, Tomaz and Veralda. New names and younger winemakers are increasingly joining the scene.