The Wine Talks with Tomislav Stiplošek and guest wineries have already turned into a mini-brand, organised twice a month by the G.E.T. Report association for the table culture at the Procaffe in Tkalčićeva St. in Zagreb. It is a wine tasting event with an added bonus of a discussion with winemakers, with the audience actively participating and steering the conversation.
This time, the guests were small family wineries – Stručić from Ludbreg (near Varaždin, Podravina) and Mikulić from Mokal (Pelješac), while the guest commentator on the topic of wine festivals was Sanja Muzaferija, president of the Women on Wine (WOW) association and the organiser of the Pink Day – a rosé wine festival. She presented the upcoming seventh edition of the Pink Day, which will take place in Zagreb on March 30th.
The question was asked: are there too many wine festivals in Croatia? The answers were varied, starting with Sanja Muzaferija, who said there might be a little be too many of them since winemakers have neither funds nor time to attend one festival a month in Croatia, whether it is local, regional or international. On the other hand, journalist Tomislav Radić believes in the slogan “the more, the merrier”. The conclusion of the discussion was that festivals, apart from the several largest and most significant ones should specialise – just like the Pink Day. On the other hand, wineries, visitors and time will tell which festivals are worth the effort so that they will survive.
The visiting wineries Stručić from Ludbreg and Mikulić from Mokal are small wineries with similar family stories – young wineries at the very beginning of their development which lovingly continue their family tradition with the support of parents who are primarily active in the catering industry. And, as Stiplošek says, “Whenever possible, the green and blue Croatia should be linked.”
Spouses Tomislav and Sanja Stručić presented a new direction for their wines, aged and macerated, and they offered for tasting their Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine, Natur Graševina and Chardonnay Sur-lie, with Natur Graševina being presented for the first time. Antonio Mikulić produces impressive wines of the Plavac variety at the Postup location, reflecting the love for the Dalmatian karst and the crystal blue sea. This year they made Pošip for the first time, using the grapes from Smokvica (the island of Korčula), but it is not yet ready for presentation, so the visitors tasted their Postup and the Don Josip – Postup Selection wine. This was the first public presentation of the Mikulić winery in Zagreb, apart from the Zagreb VINOcom festival.
The quality of the presented wines of both wineries was best described by journalist Sanja Plješa, who said that “these are serious wines for serious girls,” which everyone agreed with, except for the male part of the audience who complained they should be included as well.
In addition to exciting topics and tastings which offer a unique experience, each edition of the Wine Talks also bring a surprise to someone in the audience. This time, one attendee received a free lunch for two at the well-known “Sofra” restaurant located at the Green Gold Centre, which has become synonymous with the Bosnian gastronomy in Zagreb.
The next Wine Talks will be held on April 4, presenting the Krolo winery, and the chief commentator on the “wine and social networks” topic will be Jelena Bulum, who runs the Wine Time Experience blog and organises events like “Wine & Cinema” and “Wine Hotshot After Market”.
More news about wines in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.
