Croatia's foodie capital has numerous small wineries vying to be the best in the region producing innovative and interesting wines. This coupled with the fact that Istria has a comprehensive network of cycle trails which zig-zag the entire area making wine tasting by bike a fantastic way to explore and taste Istria.
Before you start cycling it's important, you learn a little about the local wines before starting your ride. Istrian Malvasia, a white grape variety which you will find across the entire peninsula is a superb full-bodied, well-rounded, fruity and floral wine. Malvasia is one of Croatia big success stories and hugely popular here and abroad. The other dominant wine is Teran, which is a red grape variety that the locals have been drinking for hundreds of years. This wine has a higher acidity and is rich and robust and is said to have the colour of hare's blood.
The wine trails of Istria have an almost endless set of possibilities. They'll take you to some of Croatia's best wineries, which include Kozlović, Degrassi, Kabola with its famous amphora wines, Cattunar and Clai.
One great option is to start a 34 km round trip route which starts in the tourist settlement of Katoro in the Umag region. This is the perfect trail to mix wines with historical sites.
From Katoro, you'll ride through the villages of Zambratija followed by Brašanija where you can make your first winery stop at the Degrassi Winery for a little tasting with Moreno, the wine aficionado and his father Nino the creator of wine.At
Once you've had your tasting, cycle the short distance to the famous Savdudrija lighthouse which was built during the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is the oldest working lighthouse on the Adriatic coast.
By Mihael Grmek - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
After exploring the oldest operational lighthouse on the Adriatic, it's off to Alberi where you'll get spectacular views of Piran Bay and onto Crvenih Vrh and Valica.
From here you'll push on further east to Momjan, to visit the exceptional Kabola and Kozlović wineries. Sat between the two wineries, is Stari Podrum - the ideal place to grab a traditional Istrian lunch made from local ingredients.
The Kobola winery is owned by the Markežić family and dates back as far as 1891 when the Momjan Muscat was laid. From then, the company has carved out its own recognisable style, including with the development of their Amphora Wines.
At the Kozlović Winery, you can sample many of the area's indigenous varieties which are hand-picked each year, including Malvazia, Muscat Momiano, Muscat Rose and Teran.
