The Croatian Chamber of Commerce presented continental varieties of Croatian wines to owners of Belgrade’s most prestigious restaurants.
is almost no restaurant or bar in which you cannot buy them. Many Dalmatian wines are also exceptionally popular. But our aim is to strengthen the presence of continental Croatian wine varieties – Graševina, Frankovka and Traminac. Since wines made from our autochthonous varieties receive highest awards at international competitions, they should find their place on wine lists at the best restaurants in the region, right next to world famous wines,” said Dragan Kovačević, the Vice President for Agriculture of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), at two promotional events held last week in Belgrade, reports Večernji List on June 11, 2018.
The presentation of Croatian wines was held over two nights. Seven Croatian wineries were presented: Kutjevo, Feravino, Dingač Skaramuča, Degrassi, Vina San Martino and Vinoplod Šibenik. The main idea of this kind of promotional activities is direct contact with buyers, distributors and restaurant owners.
During the first evening, hosted by the president of the Association of Sommeliers of Vojvodina Igor Luković, the wines were presented to the owners of wine shops, restaurants and hotel managers, while sommelier and journalist Nenad Andrić hosted the second evening.
“In Vojvodina, there is a traditional market for Graševina from Slavonia and its popularity is growing, along with the awareness about the importance of local and autochthonous varieties. Since Graševina is also produced on this side of the border, its acceptance is only natural,” Luković said.
There are more and more business queries for distribution of Graševina wines, said Damir Vondraček, the head of the export department at Kutjevo cellars. “Events such as these always contribute to greater interest and help us strengthen our business,” he added.
However, Luković explained that wines from coastal areas, especially from Istria and Dalmatia, were still dominant. That was the reason why the Vinoplod Šibenik winery, which presented its top-quality Babić wine, took part in the event. “The reactions to our wines are great, and I hope these events will help us enter the supermarket and restaurant market since we are still not present in Serbia,” said Marko Sabioni from Vinoplod Šibenik.
Serbia is the sixth largest international market for Croatian wines, behind Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Austria, Montenegro and the United States. In 2017, Croatian producers exported to the Serbian market 122,000 litres of wine, worth 700,000 euro. Compared to five years ago, exports rose by an average of 35 percent. Croatian wineries mostly export bottled wines, at an average price of 43 kuna per litre.
“Croatia is not a large wine producer, but boasts many autochthonous varieties, and therefore we want to position ourselves as the regional leader in the region by the production of high-quality wines. The rationale for these events, which the Croatian Chamber of Commerce organises under the “Wine Croatia – Wine Mosaica” slogan, is to brand Croatia as a wine country, which would ultimately raise the export price of our wines,” explained Kovačević.
Translated from Večernji List.
