‘The Government Will Support Winemakers from the Heart’

Prime Minister Zoran Milanović opened the event Svetoivanjski dani 2013 and the 45th exhibition of wines from continental Croatia this evening in Sveti Ivan Zelina, urging winemakers to be themselves and successful, to fight, and that the Government will support them from the heart.

Awards were also presented to producers of the best wines. The champion of the 45th exhibition of wines from continental Croatia, the wine with the highest rating is ‘Silvanac zeleni’ selective harvest 2011, produced by the Agricultural Company Orahovica d.d..

-I can tell you as a wine lover, moderately I hope, that a very serious and demanding match awaits you. Our wines will not flood German supermarkets, because there are not enough of them, and the only way is for these wines to be sold here and in Croatia, in combination with local gastronomic offerings and to be special and different; you will have to figure out how to do that- emphasized Prime Minister Milanović.

He added that he would love for the Government to be able to buy them all, but that is not the rules of the game and that they cannot provide that kind of support.

Prime Minister Milanović explained that “we cannot do it by quantity and force, because we are too small, but we can do it by uniqueness.”

-As a good amateur for wines, I can say that Croatian wines, our wines from the north and southern wines, are special. I cannot say they are the best, but they are special- he emphasized.

-In these large countries when you open a bottle of wine, if it is not the most expensive, they are all the same. As if they are instant, everything is the same, it is solid, it is technical, but whether you paid five euros, 15 euros, 20 euros – it is the same. We still have – I say this as a consumer, as a person who buys wine – diversity and uniqueness- assessed Milanović.

He emphasized that from July 1, all tariffs and restrictions on European wines will fall, and that there are still some on non-European wines from the New World.

-So, there will be your competitors, they will be cheaper, they will be more affordable. Therefore, you must be competitive in price and you must be different. So, survival and progress, but progress is important, not just survival, evolution, I see in that it is sold here together with local food offerings and everything that makes us different yet European, and formally today it is just a few days away- said Prime Minister Milanović.

He wished winemakers and vineyard owners much success, good climate, blisters, but not just blisters, because, as he said, ‘winemaking has long ceased to be just blisters, it is also intelligence, it is technology, it is also skill and cunning and speed and reaction and recognizing trends but also preserving what is ours, by which we are different.’

The Mayor of Sveti Ivan Zelina, Hrvoje Košćec (HNS), emphasized that they have ‘opened a new page in the future of the city’, and that today’s record turnout at the 45th exhibition of wines from continental Croatia confirms that they have awakened positive reactions and optimism among all structures, which not only encourages the state of mind but directly leads to the creation of added value for the local community.

He said they are proud that the Government, with the arrival of President Milanović, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Crafts Gordan Maras, and Minister of Construction and Spatial Planning Anka Mrak-Taritaš and other high officials provided them with direct and clear support. He emphasized that viticulture and winemaking are an indispensable part of their region, part of a long-standing tradition and cherished customs.

“We are on the verge of entering the EU, a large family that provides us with new challenges but also numerous opportunities, and it is up to us to recognize them,” said Mayor Košćec.

The County Prefect of Zagreb County, Stjepan Kožić (HSS), emphasized that we are on the verge of entering the EU and that a market of 500 million people is opening up to us.
-The competition will be exceptional, it will be strong, and only those who have quality will be able to survive in that market, and I am sure that our winemakers from Zagreb County are among them- said Prefect Kožić.

The exhibition of wines from continental Croatia in Sveti Ivan Zelina is open until June 24.