Seventh Dalmatia Wine Expo took place in Split and Makarska at the end of April.
The seventh Dalmatia Wine Expo has just concluded in Makarska on April 30, 2016. This year it also followed the two-city format, first in Split on April 23/24 then in Makarska the following weekend, April 29/30.
The focus in Split was more on business to business, while the Makarska half of the event was a wine party.
The Split expo was in the beautifully restored Hotel Park. The hotel is easy walking distance from the ferry port, railway station, bus station, and the historic city centre. The disadvantage was the rooms were somewhat awkward. Long and narrowish, they got easily too crowded. Some seventy wineries were represented, and we personally know of at least one US importer and a UK importer coming specifically to Split for the event. Hopefully that means there were more and the winemakers found the expo worthwhile.
In addition to the expo, workshops were held downstairs. They included a personal view of the potential of Hvar wines by Jo Ahearne M.W., review of the 2013 Dalmatian white and Plavac (red) vintages by Saša Špiranec, a guided tasting of the sparkling wines of Croatia By Kruno Filipović, and for us the highlight, a presentation of wines from both sides of the Adriatic by the lovely folks from Taste of Croatia with snacks by renowned chef Čedo Kovačević.
On Friday evening five of Split’s best restaurants held special ‘Stars of the Kitchen’ dinners. The restaurants participating were Kadena, Adriatic Grašo, Split Hotel Park, Bokeria, and Paradigma. Sadly we had to chose just one amongst them. For more about the details of the workshops and dinner at the Kadena see the GoHvar blog.
The following weekend was the Wine and Fun Days wine party in Makarska. Held at Kačićev Square, this event featured not just wines and local delicacies but also a varied musical program from 6pm till midnight. If you missed it, here are more details.
Last but not least, this year the Milan Ožić Prize for the Dalmatian Wine Man of the Year went to Frane Miloš of Miloš Winery in Ponikve on Pelješac. The prize is awarded each year at the Dalmatia Wine Expo to the person judged to have done the most to advance the cause of Dalmatian wine and winemaking in Dalmatia.
