Vodnjan is hosting the 12th Days of Young Olive Oil.
More than 200 samples of young olive oil have been exhibited at the 12th Days of Young Olive Oil, which was opened on Friday in Vodnjan in Istria. This year, the event gathered about a hundred exhibitors from Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“When we started 12 years ago with this event, we wanted to inform consumers about the importance of consuming young olive oil when it is best, and that is immediately after processing. This ultimately turned into the largest event related to the olive oil in the country”, said Mayor of Vodnjan Klaudio Vitasović at the opening of the event which will last until 20 November.
He added that, together with a hundred exhibitors of olive oil varieties, equipment for olive oil producers and other products, the main feature of the this year’s festival will be cuisine. The food will be prepared by the best heads of restaurants and hotels in Istria County and by students of catering schools who will prepare and season all dishes with olive oil.
Stressing that the Days of Young Olive Oil was not an event which promoted just olive oil, but the whole Vodnjan area, its gastronomy, culture and tradition, Vitasović said that what the region had done with the olive oil was a great success, perhaps the most important achievement in the last twenty years. “These days, when processing plants are full of olives for processing, we can see that the olive oil processing is the major sector of Vodnjan economy. Twenty years ago we started with the revival of olive growing and I think we are one of a few, if not the only local government unit that uses funds from its local budget to pay for professional advisory services. Without training and the support of the town, results such as these could not be achieved”, said the Mayor. According to him, the Vodnjan area had a record year with four million kilograms of olives and 500,000 litres of olive oil.
Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture Davor Romić said that Istria was today an internationally recognized region for the production of top quality olive oil, which year after year wins world’s top medals and awards for quality.
Prefect of Istrian County Valter Flego said that the event demonstrated the philosophy of the whole Istrian County. “This philosophy is reflected in the fact that we want to be the best in all branches. After all, Vodnjan’s recognition as a leader in the production and quality of olive oil is definitely a result of investments, training and development of olive growing in the area of Vodnjan during more than 15 years”, concluded Flego.
