The sixth edition of the international wine festival, Dubrovnik FestiWine, which will take place until April 28, was presented at the Press Conference held on April 22 at the Hotel Palace.
The director of the Festival, Tilda Bogdanović, welcomed the press representatives and thanked all the supporters, especially the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, the Festival partners – the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the Croatian Tourist Board, the Tourist Board of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, and the Tourist Board of the City of Dubrovnik. Special thanks was extended to the long-standing partners – the ALH Hotel Group, Sunset Beach Dubrovnik, the venue of last year’s Central wine exhibition, and the media sponsor, DUTV (Dubrovnik Television).
"As in the previous festivals, we will again primarily promote the wines of our county, such as Dubrovnik Malvasia, Grk, Pošip, Plavac Mali from Dingač and Postup. These varieties are the “brands” that speak for themselves", said County Prefect
Nikola Dobroslavić.
"We want to bring our wines closer to our guests, but also to wine merchants, connoisseurs, and restaurateurs – we would like to se our wines dominate the wine lists of all hotels and restaurants in the region. Without it, our guests can’t have a complete experience of Dubrovnik as a tourist destination.” Furthermore, the County Prefect thanked all the partners and participants, especially the Dubrovnik PartneR Agency, with whom the County has been successfully implementing the FestiWine project for six consecutive years.
Mayor
Mato Franković expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the 6th Dubrovnik FestiWine has turned into a traditional event, and
Terezina Orlić of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, recalled the first festival, launched six years ago, and its important goal – the promotion of local winemakers. She also highlighted the importance of the central wine exhibition and invited hoteliers and restaurateurs, all Dubrovnik citizens and its guests alike, to visit it, as there is really a lot to see:
"Our winemakers produce top quality wines, and their promotion is an important tourism segment, not just for our County but for the whole of Croatia, as a land of wine." She further emphasized the importance of education, especially the Gala dinner, whose proceeds will go to funding the scholarships of young culinary talents.
Nino Karaman addressed the guests on behalf of the winemakers, emphasizing that
"DUBROVNIK FESTIWINE must be the central place to predominantly promote the wines of the county – Dubrovnik Malvasia, Pošip, Grk, Plavac Mali from Peljesac". He also announced a meeting, as part of the Festival, to be held at Konavoski Dvori and organized by the
Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Malvasia, where a contract between the partners will be signed to continue the revitalization of the Dubrovnik Malvasia, which is a great success as it concerns the winemakers directly. The president of the panel od judges of the "Dubrovnik FestiWine Trophy"
Bojan Kobal, spoke highly of the great expertise of wine judges, and added that about 120 samples will be judged, among which a huge number of autochthonous varieties. He also said that he was very pleased to see that the entire world of wine is developing around the original, local varieties. The wine school "From Now on I Choose Wine" was announced and presented by its facilitator, sommelier
MIRA ŠEMIĆ, and wine journalist
Ivo Ivaniš spoke with great enthusiasm of pairing oysters with original wine varieties at the so-called "Blind Date". Coordinator of the Festival, Marija Vukelić, announced several Wine Workshops to be held during the Festival. The importance of autochthonous varieties is reflected during the first day – Friday, where Dubrovnik Malvasia, Pošip and Grk will be featured, while Saturday is intended for the guests of the Festival – The Salon of Sparkling Wines from Zagreb, the wines of Hvar and pairing dessert wines of Slavonia with the desserts of the south. Welcome to the 6th Dubrovnik Festiwine!
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