The Decanter 2024 Winners Showcase by Vinistra brought together around two hundred guests, including wine professionals and journalists from across Europe. At this inaugural Decanter event in Croatia, attendees savoured wines of about forty Croatian winemakers, who recently triumphed at the Decanter Wine World Awards (DWWA) in London, winning a total of 364 medals.

The esteemed event, organized by Vinistra, the association of winemakers and winegrowers of Istria, took place on June 27 in the opulent Golf Adriatic Clubhouse at the Kempinski Hotel in Savudrija, near Umag.

The pure romance of Croatian wines was celebrated
Caroline Gilby, a cherished friend of Istrian wines, Master of Wine, and regional chair of the DWWA judging panel for the Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe, Croatia, and Slovenia, presented the medals to Croatian winemakers. On the morning before the event, she also led an inspiring masterclass, "Meet Istria," where foreign journalists and guests experienced our most captivating wine region through 13 selected Malvasia and Teran wines.

“Today, in a glass of Malvasia and Teran, you can behold the myriad beauties of the Istrian peninsula, as well as the true character of its Istrian winemakers. It is wonderful to witness the enormous progress that Istrian winemakers have achieved over the past decade, as evidenced by the medals awarded, despite Decanter's very strict judging criteria. The focus is exclusively on quality, with an entire year of viticulture encapsulated in a single glass," Gilby emphasized at the beginning of the ceremony, as she presented the medals to Croatian winemakers.

Sylvia Wu, the representative of Decanter China and regional editor for Asia, Northern, and Eastern Europe, expressed her exceptional honour in participating in the Decanter event and celebrating the pure romance of Croatian wines. "Through our collaboration with Vinistra, we have discovered top-quality wines not only in Istria but throughout Croatia. Since last year, Croatia has taken its place on the Decanter wine map," Wu remarked.

World wine professionals in Istria
Following last year's hosting of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles competition, the arrival of Decanter and the world's most influential wine judging event is a great honour for Istria, its winemakers, and the Vinistra association, which is also celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

For wine journalists from Europe and beyond, a visit to Istrian wineries was arranged to introduce them to indigenous varieties and to showcase Istria in its finest light. This included a helicopter tour of top vineyard locations, highlighting the latest offerings crafted on the peninsula.

Along with Decanter, the global wine brand, the Vinistra association, and the Croatian National Tourist Board, the partners in organizing this important project for the Croatian wine scene were the Istria Tourist Board, the Umag Tourist Board, and the Kempinski Hotel Adriatic Istria.

»» The results of the Decanter judging were published on June 19th!

[20/06/2024]