For a refreshment before the evening film screenings on the Motovun hill, every evening from 7:30 to 9 p.m., as part of the press club at the Kaštel Hotel Garden, we present to you Istrian food and beverage producers, the keepers of Istrian traditions who share their elders’ knowledge of the preparation of delicacies for which Istria is widely known. Taste with us, get together over a glass of wine and delicious snacks, exchange impressions and stories. Here is what we have prepared for you:
Saturday 22 July
Winery Vivoda, Rovinj – Winemaker Davor Vivoda has achieved exceptional success with his matured Malvasia St. Euphemia, winning a gold medal two consecutive years at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards in London. This same Malvasia St. Euphemia also boasts the rare title of the official wine of the city of Rovinj! It is also an excellent recommendation for his other wines: the fresh Malvasia, Teran Rosé, semi-sweet white Muscat, and of course aged Teran from the 2019 harvest, all of which we will taste on the first Motovun festival evening.
More at: https://www.vina-vivoda.hr/index_en.html
Dragica Lukin is probably the most famous Croatian confectioner, while her pâtisserie Villa Soši in Umag is a cult spot where confectionary tradition and innovation meet. She is a member of the Croatian Culinary Academy and president of the Croatian Association of Pastry Chefs, holder of the title of International Culinary Knight. She has won hundreds of awards at world culinary competitions, and made the longest Istrian kroštula (24 metres) and the longest cake in Croatia (152 metres). In addition, she is a versatile educator and teacher to younger generations. Dragica Lukin conquers the world with her sweets and her big heart, while in Motovun we will taste her sweet and savoury pastries, pies and rolls.
More at: https://www.facebook.com/dragica.lukin
Sunday 23 July
Winery Kadum from the village of Buići near Poreč is one of the newest Istrian wineries, but it took the spotlight this year by winning the championship title for fresh Malvasia at this year’s Vinistra. Ivan Kadum creates his wines with great love for the family winemaking tradition, but also in accordance with the latest scientific accomplishments and modern winemaking practices. We definitely recommend a visit to the Kadum Winery in Buići, where you can taste some rather rare wines, while in Motovun we’ll be tasting his champion young Malvasia from the 2022 harvest, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Refosco rosés, and young Teran from the 2022 harvest, which is quite rare in Istria today.
More at: https://www.kadumwines.com/
Winery Matiška from Nedešćina in the municipality of Sveta Nedelja in eastern Istria has a history that reads like a thrilling movie script. Imagine this: it is 1912, the Titanic is sinking, there are hundreds of people in the sea, the ship Carpathia arrives and starts rescuing the shipwrecked. Among the helpers is Mate Kiršić, and many who survived that fateful night owe their lives to his helping hand. Awarded the Imperial Order, Mate Kiršić returns to his native Nedešćina and plants his first vineyard in 1913. This is how the Matiška Winery was created, today managed by Mate’s great-grandson Bojan Kiršić, and in memory of the brave saviours from Carpathia, we will taste fresh Malvasia, semi-sweet yellow Muscat, and of course Teran.
More at: https://www.vino-matiska.com/
Konoba Jadruhi in the village of Jadruhi near Vižinada runs an unusual concept in the Istrian context, because the family estate produces the most important delicacies for the Istrian table under the same roof as the restaurant where these delicacies are offered. Led by the young Marko Šimonović, next to the konoba – a traditional tavern offering Istrian cuisine and seafood specialties – the family runs a winery and a prosciutto manufacture, whose products have won championship titles and gold medals at prosciutto and charcuterie competitions for years. We will taste some of these delicacies in Motovun.
More at: https://jadruhi.com/
But that is not all, because on Sunday, as a bonus, we treat you to fine Slavonian wines brought over by the director of the One-Minute Film Festival in Požega, Željko Balog!
More at: https://www.crominute.hr/hr/pocetna/
Monday 24 July
Konoba Marino in Gračišće, not far from Pazin, is one of those iconic places you visit when you want to have something homemade, something that binds you to the genetic memory of tastes from childhood, evoking emotions of a time your world was carefree, safe and young. Ombolo and sausages, sauerkraut, stone baked dishes, these are some of the trademarks of the tavern Marino in Gračišće, run by Svetlana Buljan. Add to that the traditional maneštra (bean stew) for which the team of this tavern regularly takes home prizes, such as the one from the Istrian maneštra festival in Gračišće in mid-June. For the Motovun audience, Konoba Marino’s culinary team is preparing two classic Istrian bean stews ideal for summer: with sweet corn and with fennel.
More at: https://www.instagram.com/konoba.marino/
Wine for Nothing: Matošević, Kozlović, Degrassi – We remember, we remember well, not only the first Motovun film festival in 1999, when the Propeller of Motovun award was not awarded, but only the one for best short film, and when Ivica Matošević, Gianfranco Kozlović and Moreno Degrassi, the pioneers of the Istrian wine revolution at the time, treated all the visitors to their wines. They called this “Wine for Nothing”, which they repeated at the 5th edition of the festival, and they are repeating it again this year, at the festival’s 25th jubilee to toast their parallel founding, maturation and growth into respectable wine and film institutions.
More at: https://matosevic.com/, https://www.kozlovic.hr/, https://www.degrassi.hr/
BOOKALETA is a specialized oenology, gastronomy and agronomy web portal for table culture in Istria that reports on the most valuable gifts of the Istrian climate, from where, when and how they are produced, to the place, time, and manner of their consumption, in conjunction with tradition and modernity. It is headed by journalist Davor Šišović.
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