Thursday, October 31, 2019

All About Croatia

"Croatia is a country of great potential and greater opportunities."
--Understanding Croatia: A Collection of Essays on Croatian Identity by Božo Skoko

How much do you know about Croatia, its wine, cuisine, history, and culture? Maybe you're aware that Croatia was used to film certain locations in the Game of Thrones TV series. Maybe you've read of various celebrities vacationing at the gorgeous beaches on the Dalmatian coast. However, your knowledge may not extend much beyond that. Hopefully, more people will become aware of all of the fascinating aspects of Croatia, and seek out its food and wine, and maybe even journey there. It's a destination that I highly recommend, for many different reasons.

Located on the Balkan peninsula, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, the Republic of Croatia is a member of the European Union and it borders the countries of Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Croatia, with a population of 4.5 million, has become a popular tourist destination, and about 21 million tourists, a a record-breaking number, visited in 2019. The pandemic  significantly impacted tourism in 2021, but in 2022, there were still about 19 million tourists.

In September 2019, I made a journey to Croatia, part of a media trip, traveling from Zagreb to Dubrovnik, and numerous locations between those two cities. Over the course of ten days, I experienced much, from wineries to restaurants, from museums to ancient Roman ruins, from the beach to the mountains, from medieval fortifications to a farmers market. It was informative and fun, delicious and educational. I ate and drank plenty, though got ample exercise through extensive walking. My memorable experiences have spawned numerous story ideas.

Most recently, in May and June of 2022, I spent two more weeks in Croatia, traveling to Dalmatia, Slavonia, Istria and elsewhere. During that time, I visited 28 wineries, attended two wine festivals, and tasted about 350 wines. It was an amazing trip and I'll be writing about my wonderful experiences in the near future, so stayed tuned. 

Currently, I've posted 86 articles on Croatian wines, food, history & culture, with more articles planned for the future. I've also referenced Croatian wines, generally as a category, in other articles on my blog. 

To help bring more visibility to Croatia, I've compiled all of the links to my Croatian wine, food, history & culture posts into this single article. This post will be a repository of those articles, listed in chronological order from the newest to oldest, and I'll update it when I write a new article about Croatia. This should be helpful to my readers who want to delve deeper into the fascinating country of Croatia.

My May/June 2022 Trip to Croatia (51 articles)
Damjanić Vina: Teran, Borgonja & The First Awarded Wine in Croatia
Truffle Hunting In Istria
Vina Papak: Light, Fresh & Fruity
Feravino Winery: From Frankovka To Torn Underpants Celebrate International Pošip Day: Bring On The Oysters!2019 Black Island Merga Victa Pošip: A Famed Croatian White Grape
2020 Benvenuti Teran Rosé: Another Istrian Delight2016 K7 Plavac Mali: 7 Croatian Wineries, 1 Compelling Wine
2019: My Top Five Croatian Dining Experiences
2019: My Favorite Croatian Wines
Croatia: Always More To Learn
Croatian Wines Now Available Online
Peninsula Wine Bar: Dingač, Postup & The Bura-Mrgudić Winery
Zagreb: Bornstein Wine Bar & Shop (Part 5)
Restaurant Kadena: My Last Dinner in Croatia
Korak Family Estate: Plešivica, Sparkling Wine & Riesling
Grgić Vina: From Croatia to California, and Back!
Terra Madre Winery: From Pošip Sur Lie to Wine Tourism
Rizman Winery: First in Komarna & A Taste of Tribidag
Ten Reasons To Drink Croatian Wine
Proto Restaurant in Dubrovnik: A Seafood Paradise
Volarević Winery: Organic Rakija & The Complexity of Plavac Mali
Rant: How To Promote Croatian Wine
Croatia: A Brief Introduction
Bound For Croatia

"..., for the Croatians of every degree are an amiable, open-hearted, open-handed people, who give to hospitality a very high place among the cardinal virtues and take a sincere pleasure in exercising it."
--The Times (London), August 9, 1884

(Updated on December 13, 2023)
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