The 5th International Wine and Culinary Festival Opens

The fifth International Wine and Culinary Festival, which gathered more than two hundred exhibitors from Croatia and abroad, was opened today at The Regent Esplanade hotel in Zagreb.

Opening the fair, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development Petar Čobanković emphasized that wine and culinary arts are a significant part of the tourist offer and that efforts should be made to promote them. Highlighting that Croatia needs such events, Čobanković pointed out that Croatia has stabilized its vineyard areas at this moment, significantly increased them, and reached some optimum. Negative trends in areas have been halted and stabilized at around 35 thousand hectares.

The increase in areas has resulted in increased production, but due to the crisis, there has been a decline in consumption and an increase in stocks. Therefore, efforts must be made to improve the placement of wine, especially in foreign markets. Čobanković noted that the Ministry will help to change things and will support the need to organize an association that will work on the promotion of wine, particularly in foreign markets. He also stated that work needs to be done to increase the competitiveness of the wine sector.

The festival showcased a thousand wines from around the world, and it is a wine event that promotes the culture of the table, in which wine plays an exceptional role, and represents a significant contribution to the development of tourism and the economy. From foreign winemakers, producers from France, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Chile are represented. Alongside winemakers, producers of cheese, prosciutto, kulen, truffles, and olive oil gathered at the Festival to present their products and gastronomic offerings.

The Festival is sponsored by the Ministries of Agriculture and Tourism, the Croatian Chamber of Economy, the City of Zagreb, Zagreb County, and Croatian Forests. It was also highlighted that at the wine auction and charity gala dinner held last night, 80 thousand kuna was raised, which will be donated to the Children’s Hospital Clinic in Zagreb and will be used for the procurement of medical equipment and furniture for the Oncology Department, as stated in the announcement.