ISTRIAN WINE
It is said that it were Phoenicians and the ancient Greeks who brought wine to Istria. The ancient autochtonous inhabitants of Istria, Histrians, successfully mastered the skills of growing the precious plant, as well as the skills of the wine production.
Among many sorts of wine in this region, the most important are the Istrian white malvasia, as well as the typical Istrian teran, followed by red borgonja, red hrvatica, and many world-famous quality sorts of wine like white pinot, chardonnay, grey pinot, red merlot, refošk and cabernet sauvignon. It would be a sin to forget the two sorts of muscat, the Momjanski and the Porečki.
Therefore, it is not wonder that in Bujština, the region in Istria between two rivers, Dragonja and Mirna, one of the most famous wine-roads in Croatia can be found, with as many as 22 well-known producers of Istrian wine.
ISTRIAN CUISINE
What is the Istrian cuisine?
Does it mean dishes that the Istrian peasants used to eat in ancient times? Or, maybe, those dishes once prepared in patrician houses? All of there and a lot of more, since the stormy Istrian history has left its traces in the cuisine, too. Different traditions have been entangled in Istrian national cuisine, which has its basis in the nature (aromatic spices, wild plants, vegetables, sea food), but it was influenced by Frankish and German rules, too, Serenissima, Roman dishes, and certainly by the Slavic influence from the East.
Fish, shellfish and mollusca used to make the basis of the coastal cuisine once. But today in Istria on the very coast, one can be offered sauerkraut, baked sausages and ombolo, as well as gnocchi hare-meat, fuži with venison, macaroni with sausage sauce. Istrian smoked ham and sheep cheese are irreplacable, both dry-smoked by the mixture of alpine and mediterranean air and blessed by the bora from the Gulf of Trieste. Different sorts of minestre, jota and fritaja make the most distinctive flavours and fragrances of this area. And at the end of the feast the obligatory Istrian delicacies: pinca, fritule, kroštule...
At the pinnacle of Istrian gastronomy, the truffle of Istria, his majesty, nobody knows whether it is food or spice! in the year 1999 the biggest and the heaviest truffle was found in Istria (1,31 kg) which has entered into the Guiness book of records.
All of these can easily be found within reach in more than five hundered restaurants in Istria, many of which can be found in the Bujština region close to Umag, the famous Croatian tourist destination. So many quality restaurants, taverns, pizzerias, pastry-shops are no wonder, since the development of tourism half a century ago began with the development of restaurants. At present, some names of restaurants have the significance of institutions of the area. We shall name only a few, without any logical or chronological order: Bruno, Maruzza, Toni, Badi, Dante, Koralj, Kristal, Giovanni, Buščina, Valica, Kažun, Kremenje and many more.
For hospitality's sake and to help you in this adventure of Istrian food and beverages, we have prepared this guidebook along with our good wine and good apetite!
Welcome to Umag and its surroundings!
