 Istria Croatia is renowned for its award-winning olive oil and wine. Join us as we revisit the region and eat and drink our way through the peninsula. Meet new friends and learn about what makes this place special. It's all in the latest episode of cracking Croatian wine. After months of being locked down in Zagreb thanks to COVID-19, we're ready to get some fresh air. We're headed to Selena. It's a sleepy village that has a handful of holiday homes and villas. Our base for the month is Villa Familia, a luxury house we'll be sharing with our friend, Vederan of Chin Chin Dot Guy. We've seen the house in photos before, but it's more stunning in person. Somebody's excited about wine. Priorities. We get our tasting samples sorted before we go upstairs to rest. In the morning, Vederan hunts down some wild asparagus and prepares a staple Croatian dish, frittaya. This freakishly good omelet has won fans around the world, including Shireen. The town of Vodnian is home to a fantastic wine and olive oil producer called Medea. We've been fans of their products for years, but this is the first time we've visited this state. Winemakers Marco Kirstečić and Ivana Peršić greet us. After a quick look into the cellar, we start tasting the wines. The new vintage of the rosé immediately catches our attention. Very good to me. I really appreciate the spicy notes. Almost like a bird's eye chili kind of smell on the nose. And it's also quite herbal. On a palate, you also have a little bit of capsicum. Obviously citrus. So I find it really complex. And the finish is spicy and quite persistent as well. We get to our favorite wine from Medea, the Punta Greca. It's a single vineyard Merlot from Medea releases olive oil under the name Cervela. They use their own olives and press the fruit themselves. They make several monovarado oils. Some are extra spicy. Shireen's favorite is made from the local variety Buja. It also has a certain freshness, fruitiness on the nose. I think like for me, I don't chase for too spicy, too bitter, to whatever. I like everything but that is hunting for oysters. Just a five minute drive from our villa is the Estrada Seashell Shack on the Limsky Canal. We got the contact from a friend and it looks like we're on the right track. Unlimited oyster. This place sells or produced to local restaurants, but private customers can get in on the action too. We're anxious to chow down so we rush home to shock them. The result of the oysters. The quality is summed up in Shireen's expressions. High above the River Mirna is Ipsha. They're regarded as one of the finest olive oil producers in Istria and thanks to Ivan Ipsha they started the production of high quality wines in the recent years. Their vineyards are among the highest in Istria. This is an impressive vineyard. We take a quick stroll through Ivan's hometown of Operatalia where Ipsha tasting room is located. The village offers splendid views over northwest Istria. We don't have time to stick around though. We're heading to the cellar to taste a few barrel samples. The latest vintages are excellent, but Shireen has her eye on Ipsha's prosciutto. Are you excited about the prosciutto? It's as nice as the wines. Ivan takes us up to taste a few wines from the bottle. We're big fans of the Santa Elena Red, a blend of Merlot and Rafasco. Ipsha is set to release their first single vineyard malvalesia, also named Santa Elena. It has a good balance between the freshness and also a little bit more oxidation to give a little bit more complexity. Just a little bit of nuttiness, also a little bit of tendering fuel and tannins into it. But I think this is the kind of wine that shows that it can break convention. Orange wine doesn't have to be just one style. This is a winery to keep your eye on, but Ipsha still thinks it's had an olive oil production. Ivan tells us what it takes to produce great olive oil. So to produce a great olive oil first we need to be ecological, so without chemicals, without pesticides, everything natural. To have a fantastic olive oil we need to know when to harvest. So the most important thing is to know when they're half black, half green. So it's important, why? Because it's impossible to have all olives around to be black from the outside, green from the inside, because if we have the black from inside it means they're oxidized. So we're trying not to have oxidized olive oil. The third thing it's very important to press it fast. So it's been four to six hours from the harvest. Producing wine you need to work more in the in the cellar, to work with wine, to live with wine. Olive oil, if you do the perfect harvest, if you do the perfect mill, you have the perfect oil. Back at the Villa Familia we try to get some rest and relaxation in before some friends come over. Our house is drawing so much attention. Look how nice it is on the inside. Oh no. Our local friends and wine makers want to come over and eat. So tonight we're cooking up an Austrian seafood feast. Yes boss. Time to scale and clean the fish and then fire up the grill. There's something special about fresh seafood and an open fire. Psychedelic fish. This is the best thing tonight. What is it? It's a meal well done, complete with the wine. The mornings at Villa Familia are fabulous and I treasure my cup of coffee in the peace and quiet. I'm going to miss my daily routine here my morning cup of joa with this outstanding view. Degrassi is one of the original high quality wineries in Istria. Today I've brought along a friend. Giannis is traveling through Croatia back to his native country of Greece and he stopped by for the afternoon. Say hi Giannis. Thanks for coming. This is the first time I actually have been to Degrassi. I like the wines a lot. I haven't been to the cellar. I'm glad I brought Giannis along because proprietor and winemaker Moreno Degrassi only speaks Croatian and Italian. Moreno is a high energy guy that brims with enthusiasm. He's also regarded by his peers as the finest blender in Istria. I think Giannis is impressed. After tasting through the cellar we find that Moreno has prepared us lunch. First up is fresh prosciutto made from wild boar. Next Adriatic scampi which Moreno pairs with some of his finest whites. I wasn't expecting to have some fresh scampi but I'm not complaining. I must say the Terebianke Kuvei Blanc Reservo went outstanding with scampi. Wild boar steaks. Moreno hunted down the animal just a day before we arrived. They go great with Degrassi's signature red wines. Moreno opens up an older vintage of his Terebianke Kuvei Reservo, a serious Bordeaux blend that tastes like a fine super Tuscan. Giannis and I think the tasting is over but Moreno has a surprise for us. He discorges a few bottles of sparkling wine that he makes for his friends and family. We love the wines of Degrassi and Moreno has given us an afternoon that we'll never forget. A few days later our friend Milan Budinski, head winemaker at Vina Luguna comes over for dinner. He's a professional spear fisherman and brought us the daily catch. Scampi, scallops, dentex, sea bream and skousha, also known as macro. I know the show is like scampiorama. We're just lucky I guess. The dentex is superb. How much do you like dentex? It's a great evening filled with fabulous food and wine. However my annoying personality is starting to get to everybody. The village of Caldeir is home to another one of Croatia's wine superstars Ben Venuti. It's great to see brothers and proprietors Nicola and Albert Ben Venuti again. Albert agrees to take us through all the vineyards. Our first stop is Ben Venuti's prized vineyard Santa Elisabetta. Ben Venuti farms four separate positions, some are among the highest in Israel while others face nearby multivroom. The lowest position is on fertile soil which is reflected in the big yields. We need some serious green harvesting. Back in the tasting room, somebody looks excited to try the latest vintages. The Ben Venuti Anodomini Malvazia is macerated and barrel aged. It's one of the finest examples of the grape in Croatia. Any age is brilliantly. Next up are Ben Venuti's two premium red wines, the Anodomini Taran and Santa Elisabetta which is also made from taran. This is only the second vintage of the latter. It's great to see the winery getting a steady stream of visitors, something that's a rare day during this odd year. We finish the tasting with Ben Venuti's legendary sweet wines. Is that your favorite? Yeah, it's my favorite. Fine, it's right. You want to smell it? You want to smell it? Ah, tasting room. We wish we could stay here all day but it's time to move on. What are you doing? Cleaning the pool. Back at the Villa Familia, we try to clean up and burn off as many calories as possible. It seems as all if we do here is eat, though there are no complaints. It's not fully cooked. I just wanted it to sit in the marinade for me. Sudanese like you do. Oh, the beans are done. For our last meal, we're going to make a traditional Croatian dish. So Pekka is a traditional dish cooked under a ceramic bell over an open fire. We've had one with fish, with lamb, with octopus. So we're going to try to do our little homemade version. Capsicum, some potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, and a little bit of red wine. And finally, the octopus. Put down the octo cover and stick it in the oven. Let it bake slowly until voila. It's so soft. Did we succeed? Let's ask Shireen. No, seriously. I like that it's still quite soft. Perfectly cooked. It's so salty. It's our last morning, so we pack up and hit the road. The space. It's been a great stay at the Villa Familia. And Istria holds a soft spot in our hearts. We got the chance to see some old friends and taste the latest vintages. Goodbye now for Istria. We'll be back soon. Hello. Thanks for watching. Hey, you made it to the end. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Click the bell so you know when new videos are out. If you like content like this, check out our Patreon page where you get some behind the scenes exclusive content. Thanks for watching. Cheers.