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wine, whose bouquet reminds us of roses. The wines are semisweet<br />
or sweet, of very intensive bouquet, moderately coloured<br />
and of full taste, balanced and with very long ending. Besides<br />
the varieties mentioned above, which form the majority in the<br />
vineyards of Istria, we can also mention draganela, brajdenica,<br />
opačevina, dolcin, duranija, surina and some other varieties,<br />
which are today almost forgotten. They are not used separately,<br />
but as part of a mixed, mostly old plantations. We consider<br />
them the native varieties and measures have been taken lately<br />
to revitalise them.<br />
Principal producers<br />
According to many indicators, Istria is one of the leading<br />
Croatian wine-growing regions. The number of producers is on<br />
the rise, and the areas covered with grape-vines are expanding.<br />
Most of them are located in western Istria and the majority are<br />
small wine cellars, companies and family farms. During the 90s<br />
of the last century, a new Istrian wave started from here. A few<br />
young<br />
producers started production in a new, modern way and have<br />
quickly risen to the Croatian peak. They are successful on the<br />
world markets today and their products are often given excellent<br />
marks and receive awards. Among them, distinguished are the<br />
Matošević (with famous, recognised malvasia Alba and Alba<br />
barrique, Grimalda, excellent Cuvée Chardonnay, Sauvignon<br />
and Istrian malvasia) and Kozlović (with Santa Lucia, from the<br />
location of the same name, is one of the most sought after<br />
malvasias, and semi-sweet Momjanski Muscat in the category<br />
of dessert wines), but also Coronica and Trapan, who have been<br />
attracting world attention lately with their malvasias. There are<br />
also the Pilato, Degrassi, Arman and a dozen other less known,<br />
but perceptive wine makers.<br />
The largest producers are the Agrolaguna and Istravino. They<br />
offer many varieties of wine of moderate price and good and<br />
excellent quality (particularly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon of<br />
the Agrolaguna, and Teran Dajla of the Istravino). It is important<br />
to mention also the wine maker Roxanich and Franco Arman,<br />
whose wines have recently been positioned among the best<br />
Istrian teran wines. Some of the best Croatian sparkling wines<br />
are produced in Istria, under the name of Misal, where we find<br />
several sparkling wines produced in a traditional procedure of<br />
bottle fermentation. Besides the usual varieties of chardonnay<br />
and red pinot, produced in the traditional, champagne method,<br />
the native Istrian varieties are also being vinificated, making<br />
those wines rather specific and interesting.<br />
The Association of Vine and Wine Growers, Vinistra, is largely<br />
responsible for the development of vine-growing and wine<br />
making in Istria. They organise regular exhibitions of wine,<br />
Vinistra, (at the beginning of May) and the international<br />
competition, The World of Malvasia, which is a sort of a world<br />
championship of wine produced from different malvasias.<br />
They have initiated the programme Malvasia IQ, the system<br />
for awarding a specific marking IQ (Istrian Quality) to the best<br />
alvasias. In this way, they promote and raise the quality of the<br />
most important Istrian wine.<br />
100 MILES OF ISTRIA 2016 87