What’s happening with the Hvar Wine Association?
Apologies for the lack of blogging in recent days. I was on a press trip to Tokyo, with not a lot of online time. And it seems quite a lot has been happening while I have been away, especially on the Hvar wine scene…
As followers of the blog will know, Hvar wine is an area in which we have a special interest, and it has been heartening to see the fantastic progress being made by the Hvar Wine Association since its founding in 2010. Hvar wines are now to be found all over the world, and the constant and coordinated promotion is beginning to pay off.
The Hvar Wine Association had an extremely successful tour of Italy last month, and the first video report from Hvar TV came be seen of their visit to Rome, below. Hvar winemakers will be back in Italy next month, as PZ Svirce, Caric and Zlatan Otok head to Mantova for a wine presentation in collaboration with ONAV, an event organised with the Croatian Embassy in Rome and the General Consulate in Milan. It will take place on May 4 and include other Croatian winemakers.
PZ Svirce are also on the road, with the prestigious gastro association, Gastronaut, one of two wineries supporting the latest trip of leading Croatian gastro journalists and restaurateurs to Mali Losinj. I have been fortunate to end these events in Hvar, Krk and Koprovnica, and it is great to see PZ Svirce up there with the best.
The small family business that is Vina Caric seems to be growing very quickly in popularity. Its 2013 Bogdanusa represented Croatia in Athens recently, at the Balkan Wine Treasures event in Restaurant Parasido.
Wine bloggers around the world are becoming more interested in Caric wines. Here is one from Blue Danube in California, who already sell some of the Caric range. This was followed by a feature on Caric in Wine Awesomeness. a few days ago.
While some journalists are writing about Hvar wines abroad, others are visiting the island to find out more, and it was a pleasure for me to help Sunday Times Travel journalist Alex Robinson with his itinerary to discover Hvar gastro and culture beyond the party and celebrity stereotype, and Alex emerged more than a little impressed by his visit to the Tomic Romanesque cellars in Jelsa.
Tomic will be joined by Zlatan Otok and Vujnovic in Split on April 24 and 25 for the 6th Dalmacija Wine Expo fair, which provides you with the perfect opportunity to try Hvar’s finest. It will be held at the Radisson Blu, and one concrete result of last year’s fair was the introduction of Hvar wine to Master of Wine Jo Ahearne, who subsequently moved part-time to the island and started producing her own wine in Jelsa, using the facilities of Tomic.
Amazing what you can miss in a few days in Tokyo…
Follow the Hvar WIne Association through the season on Facebook.
