Almost 50 Croatian indigenous wines introduced to US wine lovers

Members of the Wines of Medjimurje Association – from left to right: David Štampar, Petar Kocijan, Alen Švenda, Nenad Preiner, Tea Dvanajščak, Gordan Horvat, Tatjana Hažić, Robi Horvat, Branimir Jakopić, Marko Cmrečnjak

BOSTON, Sept. 16, 2020 – Croatian Premium Wine Imports, Inc. (CPWI), importer, promoter, and online store for delivery in the US, today announced availability of almost 50 boutique, indigenous wine labels from three distinct Croatian wine regions, including Dalmatia, Istria & Kvarner, and Croatian Uplands.

“We planned from the outset to make our online store representative of all Croatian wine regions,” said Mirena Bagur, co-founder at CPWI.  “The Dubrovnik area is where I am from, so that was a natural start. We now represent three out of four wine regions, and we will add Slavonia and Danube in the future.”

CPWI started by importing and promoting the naturally-produced wines from the Komarna Appellation in the Dubrovnik-Neretva county, including Zinfandel/ Tribidrag, Plavac Mali, and Pošip. The company now represents more wineries from Dalmatia, including vineyards in Konavle, Pelješac, Dingač, Šibenik, and Brač with other autochthonous varieties, such as Malvasija Dubrovačka, Babić, Debit, and Vugava.  

Istria’s Most Prevalent White and Red Varieties:  Malvazija and Teran

The company started working with two wineries in Istria both of which produce Malvazija and Teran — Winery Fakin, from the Istrian inland and with a namesake Konoba at the old medieval hilltop town of Motovun, and Vina Ritoša, with vineyards close to the Adriatic in the old Roman town of Poreč, which also produces a little-known grape called “Red Rose of Poreč”.

Fakin Winery – Harvest below MotovunFakin Winery – Harvest below Motovun

Pušipel and Graševina representing Croatian Uplands

Collaborating with eight wineries in the area around Zagreb, CPWI selected white wines, including Pušipel (aka Furmint), Graševina, Sauvignon Blanc, and two dessert Yellow Muscat wines.

Bottles representing Croatian wines: from Istria on the left, Dalmatia and then Uplands

“We collaborated quickly as a team to prepare for export and share our winemaking tradition with wine afficionados across the pond,” said David Štampar, president of the Wines of Medjimurje Association and owner/winemaker at Vinarija Štampar. “We are eager for market feedback, particularly on Pušipel.”

Ana Ritosa, winemaker at Ritosa Winery, Porec in Harvest 2020

About Croatian Premium Wine Imports (CPWI)

Based in Boston, Mass., CPWI imports, distributes and promotes boutique Croatian wines in the US. The company expanded its wine portfolio from the Komarna region, Dubrovnik county, to the larger Dalmatia, Istria and Uplands. For more information, inquiries or to place an online order, visit www.croatianpremiumwine.com/shop-online, contact [email protected], and follow at Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.