On the eve of the 24th Vegeta Croatia Open, which will be held
in Umag from July 18-28, the fourth Istria Gourmet
Festival was presented, which will be even more eventful
in presenting everything that Istria can offer to lovers of great
food and wine. Namely, as before, this year's IGF will be composed
of the Istria Gourmet Restaurant, whose partner from this year is
the widely-known gourmet restaurant San Rocco; taverns Buscina,
Nono and Food&Wine Primizia will serve their specialties in Our
Cuisine; while it will be possible to taste the best Istrian wines
at the premises of Vinistra. This year's novelty is the Taste
Istria zone, where the best Istrian producers of wine, olive oil,
dry-cured ham, and cheese will be presented every day.
"This year's Istria Gourmet Festival, for the fourth year in a row, is even richer in content than the previous ones. I would single out this year's novelty, Taste Istria, a carefully devised show of selected Istrian winemakers and Istrian delicacies. During the festival, eight evenings of wine tasting will be held, and the ATP wine will be declared in the end. The partners of the festival are three among the best restaurants of Northwest Istria, and we will also be able to enjoy the gourmet specialties of restaurants that are members of the Jenues Restoratuers d'Europe association and of Michelin-starred restaurants. The superb jazz of Ante Gela will be the music backdrop of the festival,"stated Arlen Brozic, the director of the tournament's executive board, while she also pointed out the events this year's IGF can boast about.
This year's partner of the Istria Gourmet Restaurant is
San Rocco gourmet restaurant, a member of the Jeunes
Restorateurs d'Europe association, with chef Zoran Cobanov. The
restaurant will be open to any who are interested every day of the
tournament from 12 am until midnight. What will be offered are a la
carte menu of the restaurant and the tasting menu of Green Istria,
Blue Istria and Mediterraneo. Emanuele Scarello, from the Italian
restaurant Agli Amici, will be a special guest of the Istria
Gourmet Restaurant. The restaurant is located in Udine, it is a
member of the JRE, and it also received its second Michelin star in
2012 as the result of extremely high-quality work. Emanuele
Scarello will be the guest at IGR on the day of semi-final
matches on Saturday, July 27. One of the most respected Slovenian
chefs, the young Tomaz Kavcic from Pri Lojzetu
tavern, a member of JRE, will perform at the end of the
final match on Sunday, July 28.
This year's novelty - Taste Istria
Taste Istria is a complete novelty of the IGF, and it is a show of selected Istrian delicacies. Some of the best Istrian winemakers will be at the Taste Istria zone: Kozlovic, Coronica, Degrassi, Cuj, Kabola, Cattunar, Matosevic, Benvenuti, Franc Arman, Laguna Vina. Besides premium wines, it will also be possible to taste top-quality Istrian cheeses Kumparicka and Laguna Histria there, as well as Istrian truffles and dry-cured hams.
Our Cuisine (Nasa kuzina) will be jointly presented by some of the best taverns of NW Istria - Buscina tavern, Nono tavern and Food & Wine Primizia. Our Cuisine will be open every day of the tournament, and it will present the specificities of Istrian specialties to all visitors. A specially prepared ATP menu will also be offered at a promotional price.
This year as well, Vinistra has been tasked
with the promotion of the wine culture at the tournament. The best
Istrian wines, which participated at Vinistra 2013, will be
presented at Vegeta Croatia Open.
Guided wine tastings are dedicated to discovering and valuing of the specificities of Istrian sorts. The tastings are organized in cooperation with the Croatian Sommelier Club, and are guided by Sandi Paris, one of the most respected Croatian sommeliers. Three wines will be tasted according to the principle of blind testing, while the day's topic will be related to the specificities of the Istrian indigenous varieties. On the last day of the tournament, depending on the vote of the jury, President of the Republic of Croatia, Ivo Josipovic, PhD, will present the award to the maker whose wine received the most points, with which the ATP wine will be declared. Admission to all tastings will be free to visitors upon prior notification.
