Vrgorac, the production center of Dalmatian prosciutto, held the biggest Dalmatian prosciutto and wine festival in Dalmatia over the weekend.
Never bigger and never better, the Day of Dalmatian Prosciutto and Wine is a manifestation organized for the third consecutive year under the Vrgorac Tourist Board, Town of Vrgorac, Braća Pivac meat industry, Cluster of Croatian prosciutto, the Croatian Wine and Vineyard Association of Vrgorac and Ethno-village Kokorići, all under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts.
In the rural ambiance of Ethno village Kokorići, over 40 exhibitors of prosciutto and wines from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were presented, along with a vibrant offer of domestic products.
This year the accent was placed on certified Dalmatian ham dried in the fresh Dalmatian bura wind and the autochthonous wine variety of Vrgorac Zlatarica and Trnak, which, by the initiative of small winemakers, has been saved from saved from disappearance. Throughout the three days of gastro-festival with plenty of entertainment and a music program, visitors enjoyed the best chefs of ŠKMER from Slovenia, Croatia and BiH, including Steve Karapandze, Iztok Legato, Hamid Hadžić and Željko Nevena Bremeca who combined the flavors of Vrgorac, prosciutto and autochthonous wine into top gastro creations under the thematic program “Mediterranean Cuisine on a Vrgorac Plate“. Hundreds of portions were served.
As a top chef who knows the secrets of gastronomy but also the secrets of Vrgorac was roundtable panelist Stevo Karapanžda who spoke on the theme “A rural tourism destination through gastronomy”. The discussion was also attended by Ante Madir, Executive Director of the Cluster of Croatian prosciutto and International Qualified Judge for Prosciutto and Cured Products, Darko Markotić, Production Manager of Braće Pivac Meat Industry, Darijo Gašpar, a winemaker known for revitalizing Vrgorac Zlatarica and Drago Nosić, Director of Sol tourism – a company that has hotels in Makarska and Dubrovnik.
Apart from emphasizing the enormous potential of Eno-gastronomy, which is best seen in the original autochthonous dishes and varieties of Vrgorac wines, the importance of continuing to brand Vrgorac for Dalmatian prosciutto and wine was emphasized.
Over the three days, dishes were also prepared by small business owners from Vrgorac and Kaštela, friends from Neretva Šarić Struga and the town of Ploče who prepared fish specialties, as well as the Vrgorac Hunting Association. As part of the City of Vrgorac project, “Think globally, buy locally,” local family farms were introduced to visitors, who, besides famous strawberries, were offered cherries and other seasonal fruits and vegetables, jams, syrups, liqueurs and traditional handicrafts. The folklore part of the program saw FA Matokit, KUD Ploče, klapa Stina and KUD Dusina.
The late evening saw the music of Mjesni odbor, Roso band, Acoustic band and Trio gušt. The games were particularly fun!
In addition to the entertainment, there was a series of workshops where Željko Andabak from the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb held a presentation on the revitalization of Vrgorac autochthonous grape varieties Zlatarica and Trnak, Vladimir Margeta spoke about breeding black Slavonian pigs, while Ivana Radovan Podrug presented the use of a smart system for controlling and drying meat in traditional Dalmatian prosciutto production.
The last day of the event was reserved for the gastro workshops of “Different Dalmatia” by sommelier Daniela Čečavac, who presented the autochthonous Dalmatian Zagora variety and the “Four Musketeers”, Ante Madira, who introduced visitors to the characteristics and differences of protected Croatian ham.
