Hrvatska Istra

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• Istria consists of a low limestone plateau in the western and southern parts of the peninsula, in many places covered by terra rossa (crvenica) ('Red Istria'), flysch foothills rich in water ('Grey Istria'), and the mountainous upland area of Ćićarija ('White Istria').
• In 'Grey Istria', vineyards are situated on flysch hillsides composed of marl, sandstone, and softer limestones, where the soils are generally younger, shallow, and dry, and highly susceptible to erosion.
• Terra rossa soils are approximately 30 to 70 cm deep, poor in humus in the topsoil layer and low in nitrogen and phosphorus, with a more clayey red horizon beneath formed from the insoluble residues of limestone bedrock.
• Istria's climate is characterised by winds including a moderate bura from the northeast and east, bringing clear and cold conditions, the jugo from the southeast, bringing warm, humid, and rainy weather, along with the maestral during the day and the burin at night.
• All of Istria shares the same precipitation regime, with an average of 907 mm of rainfall per year, of which 421 mm falls during the growing season from April to September, and an average of approximately 2,400 sunshine hours annually.

• The Roman writer Pliny the Elder mentions vinum Pucinum in the first century AD, believed to originate from Istria, and claims that the Empress Livia attributes her longevity to it.
• In 1875, the Regional Viticulture and Fruit-Growing Station was established in Poreč, and in 1883 the oldest Croatian school of viticulture and winemaking was founded.

• Wines made from the Teran variety, produced exclusively in this area, are characterised by a ruby-red colour that reveals violet tones when swirled, with pronounced aromas of Marasca cherry, dark fruit, raspberry, blueberry, and violet.
• Dessert wines, obtained from overripe or partially dried grapes grown mainly on south-facing slopes, display deeper shades of yellow, high alcohol content, exceptional extract and body, pleasing acidity, and a characteristic complex aroma.

• The pronounced diurnal temperature variation characteristic of this area's climate favours the preservation of acidity, varietal aroma compounds, and colour compounds in red grape varieties.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Croatia

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-HR-A1652
• Official trade body site — Vinistra – Udruga vinogradara i vinara Istre