This post first appeared on Forbes Travel Guide
The compact historic center of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, is easy to explore on foot, and this itinerary will give you a taste of the lively culture and splendid food and wine in 48 hours without feeling rushed.
In less than thirty days, wine lovers, tour operators, and educators will gather in Zagreb, Croatia for the 5th International Wine Tourism Conference on March 15-16th. I can’t think of a more dynamic and exciting place for a conference on wine and wine tourism than Croatia. I’ve written more posts about the food and wine of Croatia than any other region. {See the full list of links below.}
Once again I’ll be speaking at the conference and you can see the list of talk and speaker bios here. I’m especially looking forward to the Wines from the Balkans Grand Tasting led by Caroline Gilby MW. I'm also looking forward to expanding my experience of this popular destination for fans of great wine, food and natural beauty. If you'd like to attend you can register here.
My bags were packed. My dollars changed to Kuna. The plane was at the gate. My seat belt was fastened and I was on my way to Zagreb Wine Gourmet Weekend. Then I heard the dreaded ''Um, This is your captain speaking... "
We were told we would have a one or two hour delay while they replaced a fuel pump on an engine. So I ate my lunch (NOTE: Never board a flight without your own food and water supply) and chatted with my German seatmates auf Deutsch--a skill I somehow dredged up from a long neglected language sector in my memory banks.
Then two hours turned to four, to six, to eight. (But at least they let us off the plane after the first two hours) Then we were told the flight would be canceled and we would be getting a replacement aircraft. In the meantime we all got in line to rebook our connections. Well things got complicated, connections were missed, fare classes were changed. I'll spare you all the details, but when the flight finally left over 9 hours later, I was not on it.
I boarded the same Airporter bus I'd taken that morning to the airport, and 16 hours after the whole ordeal began I was back home and it felt like I'd dreamt the entire episode
So instead of giving my presentation at the panel event along with Cliff Rames of @WinesofCroatia, Lada Radin and Nenad Trifunović, I participated by twitter and tasted the wines for breakfast along with the other bloggers tasting live via twitter. Here is a sampling of the tweets, but you can also search twitter for the hashtag #WoCroatia and #ZWGW to view more.
The event turned out pretty great and the power of twitter in wine culture confirmed --heck a sale was made due to the all the tweeting! I'd say that's one very compelling reason right there to join the conversation on twitter if you are in the wine business or just interested in discovering new wines.
Over the weekend I followed all the #ZWGW tweets and sank into a funk as I saw the wines and fun tweet by before my eyes. Tweets about the Piquentum party and human pyramids and the late night Bibich party. My recommendation if anything like this happens to you --Stay off Twitter--it will only make it worse as you read the tweets of all your friends and colleagues having a blast. Oh the agony.
Luckily I had a stash of Croatian wine, Chiavalon olive oil and some Ajvar (albeit store bought) to soften the blow and help me ease my pain.
So, I'm sorry I have no pictures or stories to report here, but next time. Next time for sure.
One of the highlights of the 2012 International Wine Tourism Conference was the Wines of Croatia tasting held to introduce attendees to next year's conference location in Zagreb. Of course this event was one I'd been looking forward to ever since the announcement was made in the conference program. I've become a huge fan of Croatian wines in the last year, and I was excited to hear what others at the conference thought about the wines as they tried them for the first time.
Over 15 wines from the regions of Danbue, Slavonia, Istria and Dalmatia were poured.
There were many raves for the whites including the Kozlović Malvazia from Istria and the Iločki Podrumi Graševina Vrhunska. The clear favorite among the reds was the "Donkey" Dingač Placvac Mali from Vinarija Dingač. People were quite intrigued by the Dingač and it's distinct briny notes. Also the Festigia Merlot was favored for it's balance and rich flavor.
I particularly enjoyed the Gracin Babić, the Korlat Syrah, and the Matošević Malvasija Alba. I was surprised there was no Teran to taste, but that will just give everyone something to look forward to when they arrive in Croatia next year.
See you in Croatia. Zivili! (Oh and if you can't wait a year, you may want to visit this week --April 13-15 2012 --at the Zagreb Wine Gourmet Weekend--details here)
Since Zagreb and it’s citizens were so cool I thought the ultra groovy music of Herb Alpert --A Taste of Honey-- would be the perfect swinging background tune for this short slideshow of what we experienced. Take a look--
Running a bit late, (only 45 minutes, according to Dino*) we arrived in Zagreb and dashed through a pedestrian only section of town to meet our local guide Mladen Car aka @funkyzagreb , at the Hotel Dubrovnik. In a meta twist of fate we discovered we were to be part of a film the Zagreb tourist board was making about the gastronomic pleasures and treasures of the city. Travel writers playing tourists playing travel writers in a tourist board film about travel. Okay. Whatever...Let's do it! (*Oh yeah, that 45 minutes is a meta–meta reference to a super meta songify song.)
So off we went to the market with the film crew in tow. We climbed the steps to the top of the Dolac Market, and then we climbed the steps again. Coverage, you know, need to get it from all angles.
Here is the video from that day:
At the market we met our host Chef Robert Ripli from the Gastronomadi Club restaurant, and the first thing he did was pour us all a glass of Rakija which helped us temporarily forget that our every move and remark was being recorded.
We also tasted the first release of 'Portugizac', a young Croatian wine that is sort of their version of Beaujolais. The rakija tasted of honey and apricots and it was harsh in a good way. But the Portugizac reminded me of Vinho Verde Tinto a wine I had in Portugal this past February, and it was reminiscent of Lavoris, the cinnamon flavored mouthwash that was popular in the late 70’s.
These libations made the shopping experience all the more pleasant. We cruised through the market with Robert sniffing and tasting and buying all sorts of items for the meal we would make back at his restaurant later in the day. First we shopped the produce stands in the open square, and then we went beneath the market to an underground zone for meats and cheeses.
After shopping, Robert left to prep for our lunch and Mladen “the urban sherpa” took us on a walking tour of upper and lower Zagreb.
A few hours later we returned downtown to Club Gastronomadi-- a private club where chefs hang out, hone their craft, exchange chef tips, and film cooking shows. It’s also a supper club open by membership to foodie citizens. The layout is part TV-set kitchen and part hipster style speakeasy and dining room.
At Club Gastronomadia Robert introduced us to his cohort Chef Grgur Bakšić—and we were greeted with shots of žižula, a grappa like concoction made from the čičimak fruit we bought in the market that looks like a date, tastes like an apple. Grappa, Rakija, Schnapps, whatever you call it it’s a potent hit of flavor and this particular version had a bright sweet and sour snap of lemon and apple.
Now the film crew was back too and we were once again in meta land. Cooking in a cooking show about a cooking show. The Gastronomadi club is also used for corporate team building sessions where executives can get together to cook and resolve resentments between the marketing and engineering departments. Or not. In my experience any corporate outing is always about competition, and accordingly we were split into two teams to create a dish called Pigs in a Vineyard. Pork sautéed with shallots and grapes.
The teams were Team Burek, the soft pasty cheese filled contenders consisting of Kimberley Lovato, Lavina Spalding aka Lil’ Accident, and our guide Malden. Team Rakija —included me, Mattie Bamman the ravenous traveler @ravenoustravelr, and writer Anne Kazel who disappeared in the middle of it all to drop off some microfilm. ( just kidding Anne...)
The affable Grgur gave us step-by-step instructions, but was entirely hands off for the most part. Meaning we really did all the cooking ourselves. While I browned the pork I noticed that several glasses of žižula were sitting unattended on a table so I convinced Mattie it was our duty as Team Rakija to finish the remaining shots. So we did. This may have affected the cooking and eventual outcome of the competition, although I think more rajika was the key to being able to stick your finger into a hot pan without worry.
As we prepared the meal, Robert opened more wines and Grgur rolled out the dough for the baked zucchini and cheese filled dish – a component of the Zagreb continental style of cooking that would accompany the Pigs in the Vineyard meal.
Judgment time: To judge the results each team was served the other teams cooking and Robert and Grgur cast the deciding vote. It was determined Team Rajka’s polenta reigned supreme, but Team Burek’s overall meal was a winner by a nose of a pig in a vineyard…just had to get in one more meta-meta reference. But it was all good; especially the company of Robert and Grgur--two of the most fun, knowledgeable and relaxed chefs I’ve ever met.
This post concludes my Croatia series. There’s no easy way to sum up the experience of Croatia or the food, wine and people that make it great-- except to say—Croatia is way more than you can imagine and far better than you’ve been told. But don’t take my word for it. Go see for yourself.
Eli's Caffé aka eliscaffe strikes me as the kind of place the protagonist in a Woody Allen movie would meet the wildly attractive (but totally unsuitable) love of his life. He would pursue the girl, get the girl, lose the girl, and end up back at Eli's where the perfect cup of coffee would be his only consolation.
He'd sit at the counter and tell owner Nic Orosi his tale of woe, but Nic (@nikorosi) would just keep sliding him perfectly brewed cups of coffee. No words necessary. No logo. Just taste. Pure love in a cup.
The all white interior of Eli's Caffé is punctuated by a bright red counter top along the bar. At first glance it looks like a gallery space--a gallery devoted to the art of coffee. The vibe is cool, but not pretentious. It's a refuge for those seeking a superior coffee experience and taste. After your first cup you'll know you are in the right place. One of the writers in our press group stumbled upon Eli's the week before our trip began and was anxious to take us there on our last day in Zagreb. You can read Kimberley Lovato's article about Eli's Caffé here. (NOTE: this is not a direct link to the article, look for November 4th post under the blog tab.)
Throughout our visit in Croatia we were constantly bumping up against Bourdain and his entourage, either they'd just left the place we were visiting or they were scheduled to arrive the next day. That could explain why once we got to Livade in Istria (the Disney World of truffles and home of restaurant Zigante) --instead of truffels all we found were cigarette butts, empty shot glasses and a trail of carnage in the wake of Bourdain's crew. Thank God we got to Bibich first, who knows what mayhem they may have caused there.
Eliscaffe was the perfect end-cap to our trip. I'm sure Eli's will soon be ferreted out by the No Reservations producers if it hasn't already, but I'm glad, at least for the day we were there, it was a Bourdain free zone.
You can find the location and hours of operation for elilscaffe here.
