A nice thing is happening around the Croatian capital – more and more people are discovering the Zagreb County Wine Roads, which offer a very diverse tasting experience just a short drive from the city centre. The three wine roads of Samobor, Zelina and Plesivica offer an array of grapes, styles and presentations, including Croatia’s premier sparkling wine production.
But rather than wait for visitors to show up, there has been excellent promotion of the region’s wine potential in recent years, with some truly innovative initiatives such as the recent Via Vino month of open cellars, combined with art, music, cinema and culture. Where else in the world, for example, could you watch the premiere of the new James Bond movie last year, while sitting in a picturesque vineyard on straw bales, covered in blankets, which sampling roasted chestnuts and sipping young Portugiesac wine?
That effective promotion has continued on YouTube, with a truly excellent promotion of the Zagreb Country Wine Roads in the shape of the official promo video, Okusi prije svega (Tastes above Everything). Released earlier this year, the video beautifully captures the region’s nature and rich gastronomy. It was nominated for last week’s Zagreb Tourfilm Festival, and with an excellent conclusion, winning Best Wine Film. The dynamic regional tourist board director, Ivana Alilovic, was on hand to collect the award.
The official press release below.
The Tourist Board of Zagreb County won the award for the best wine movie
The Zagreb County Tourist Board’s destination film, Tastes above Everything, which introduces the audience to the rich, eno-gastronomic offer of the wine roads on the festive occasion at the Zagreb Tour Film Festival awards, and on Friday, October 14, it was declared the best wine film. In the competition, 106 films and works of audiovisual production that promote tourism aspects of the tourist destination, an expert jury made up of relevant domestic and international experts, first of all, he awarded the film Okusi the award for the best promotional tourist film in the category of eno-gastro tourism.
“First of all, we prepared the destination film Tastes with the aim of giving our guests and visitors the chance to bring Zagreb County closer to the inextricable link of wine roads and gastronomy that is cherished here for centuries. Zagreb County is a well-known destination for enjoying local gastronomy and fresh, indigenous foods that naturally complement the wine offer. We are extremely proud that our work is followed in the tourist community of Zagreb County, and the great results of our winemakers, winners of numerous international awards for their recognition excellence of the wine,” said the director of the Zagreb County Tourist Board, Ivana Alilović.
With this award from the Zagreb wine route countries, the winemakers themselves, but also the restaurants and producers of domestic products that accompany them, have achieved recognition in the international competition of the best tourist films in the world. Preparation of vinjak, care of the vines of the first ecologically certified winery in Zagreb County or the flavors of tradition – all this awaits you at its best wine film. The production of the film was entrusted to Martina Miličević, a multiple award-winning producer of tourist films. “The main actors in the Zagreb County destination film are themselves winemakers. Without preparation, they proudly stood in front of the cameras and showed what they truly have to offer visitors. I believe that it is the most sincere form of promotion, an experience that is truly expected of each visitor. Conceptually, we wanted to show how destination wine roads also include the unforgettable nature that surrounds them, the wealth of fresh food available in the narrow circle of the county, and that to explore the world of wine, you just need to start.”
The film takes us through the preparation of vinjak by the Šoškić family, the production of sincere wines by the Tomac family, by the way, the first ecologically certified winery in the area of Zagreb County, which recently completed the construction of an impressive new winery. In the film, you will also see the fairy-tale mansion Nespesh, on the Zelina wine road where the Litterarii winery is located today. Bearers of the traditional wine roads of Zagreb County are families that have been producing wine for generations, such as the Kos winery. In the Braje winegrower’s house, we follow the preparation of the local Plešivica copanjek and free-range domestic animals on the slopes of Žumberac are a reminder of the genuine wines of Zagreb the county also monitors the authenticity of the ingredients found on the menus of recognized restaurants.
Learn more about the Zagreb County Wine Roads on the official regional tourism board website.
