As the culture of wine improves in Croatia with years, so does the need of the interested people to learn more about wine. Several local experts have recognized the need to educate those wanting to learn, and one of the workshops being offered in Zagreb is so-called Vinska čitaonica, loosely translated as “Wine reading room”, a series of workshops on a large spectrum of wine-related topics held by two of the well respected wine experts on the Croatian scene.
The project was conceived and workshops are held by Ivan Salopek and Nenad Trifunović. Nenad Trifunović is one of the most influential wine critics in Croatia, with the work he’s been doing on his vinopija.com blog. He also held numerous workshops at almost all major Croatian wine events. Ivan Salopek has a 3rd level sommelier diploma, and not many people in Croatia can say that – but he still considers himself to be an independent wine enthusiast. The two of them organized their workshops in a program where first workshop leads to the next, and they aim it at those who work in the hospitality industry and wine enthusiasts who do not plan to become wine professionals.
The workshops are organized to follow the theme of reading room, so the beginner’s stage (called Prva slova, or First letters) includes introduction with wine, its characteristics and styles. The second stage is the Spelling (Pravopis), where you get acquainted with the wines offered on the Croatian market, both Croatian wines and those imported from the major varieties and regions around the world. Punctuation stage (Interpunkcija) presents to the participants the methods which should be used to pair food and wine, using the menus of the renowned Croatian restaurants and their wine lists. The More demanding reading workshops are intended for wine enthusiasts wanting to learn more about wine trends, unknown varieties, less popular regions and premiere tastings (recent examples include Wines of Greece, Unknown Wines of Macedonia etc).
Last but most certainly not least, they offer workshops in English for those who do not speak Croatian, and would like to learn more about Croatian wines and varieties – similar to what we are doing on this website. They also want to help professionals who conduct their business over a lunch or a dinner deepen their grasp of the culture of the table, including the basic knowledge of Croatian indigenous varieties and winemaking regions and pairing of wine and food applicable to Croatian restaurants.
The workshops are held in Vinodol restaurant in the centre of Zagreb; however, they are happy to organize the workshops when and where the customer wants it. The prices for the basic courses are around 500 kuna, while the “More demanding” workshops range from around 100 to also around 500 kuna. If you’re interested, follow make sure you check on their website (http://www.vinskacitaonica.com) which workshop they have planned in the near future.
