30 years of Vinistra: Where to now?

Vinistra president Luka Rossi.

(Image credit: Vinistra president Luka Rossi)

Istria is the smallest of Croatia’s wine regions, but it is one of the country’s most dynamic and most celebrated. Why? The answer lies in its ambitious producers, who in 1994 created the advocacy and promotional association Vinistra. Now over 30 years old, Vinistra plays an important role in supporting research, expanding markets and creating promotional opportunities for its 120 growers and winemakers.

At the Decanter Winners’ Showcase event in Istria in July, Decanter sat down with the association’s president, Luka Rossi, to learn more about the association’s outlook, successes and future.

Natural advantages

Istria is Croatia’s top tourist destination and Rossi is convinced that its natural riches can help propel the region’s wines on the world stage: ‘Food and wine tourism is a focus. People come here and enjoy our landscape, as well as our outstanding produce, and logically they also love our wine.’

Visitors can certainly enjoy every aspect of this environment: Rossi’s own winery, Vina Rossi, was the first in Europe to offer helicopter rides, providing a unique perspective of this beautiful landscape and the surrounding Adriatic Sea. Now, he explains, ‘with social media, we can create a lot of noise about these activities and access new markets.’

Ivan Mari&#263;, Maria-Paola Brgi&#263;, Ema Piljan, Sanja Brnobi&#263; and Luka Rossi — From left: Ivan Marić, Maria-Paola Brgić, Ema Piljan, Sanja Brnobić and Luka Rossi.

Changing of the guard

Rossi is particularly excited about how Istria’s younger producers are adopting not only innovative winemaking techniques, but also novel marketing strategies. ‘Our older growers and winemakers are very supportive of our young people. Previous generations paved the way, but the new generation studied internationally’, he notes. Rossi is passionate about ensuring the next generation get all the support they need: ‘they have shown they can fly but now they need the gas to fuel their passion; they need help because they are primed to do something truly great.’

Vinistra is urgently campaigning for political support to ensure its funding into the future. The region is small, and Vinistra’s budget relies on producer fees. ‘Our winemakers have shown they can win the top medals and collaborate with the biggest names in the sector’, Rossi reminds us, ‘but now they need more investment to grow.’

A busy wine fair — Vinistra holds many events each year.

Global connections

At the same time, Rossi is proud of how much Vinistra has already achieved to put Istria firmly on the map: ‘We are enjoying the success of international initiatives – like hosting the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in 2023, much sooner than expected.’

And what about events like the Winners’ Showcase? ‘[Working with] Decanter is such a big honour – the generation before could only dream

about it. Decanter is the biggest door to the world of wines’, Rossi notes. ‘Our only fear now’, he adds with a smile, ‘is that we must be sure of what we show the world – because people are now paying attention!’

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