Sparkling breakfast in Novi Vinodolski as an excellent promotion of local exhibitors, winemakers and OPGs

On Saturday, June 8, in the rural setting of the Pavlomir winery, for the second time, Sparkling breakfast, a truly hedonistic event that brought together numerous visitors eager to enjoy sparkling wines, local snacks, nature and quality music to the maximum, and this year it also had a special opening.

Director of the Tourist Board of the City of Novi Vinodolski, Tena Peričić opened the event by opening the premium and award-winning sparkling wine 1288 of the Pavlomir winery from 2013 with an attractive sabrage technique, i.e. sabre.

"A large number of exhibitors, winemakers and OPGs from all over Kvarner are present this year at our second sparkling breakfast. Gastronomy is one of the reasons why visitors come to the destination, so I think this is a very good manifestation, because it tries to gather the best of Kvarner in one place and provide the guest with a special eno-gastro experience. What gives it exclusivity is the limited number of visitors, and this also gives us the opportunity to maintain a high level of manifestation. I must say that this is one of my favorite events, precisely because it it is organized by a team of people who enjoy doing what they do, and then the visitors feel that too", she said Tena Peričić, director of the Novi Vinodolski Tourist Board.

The winemakers gathered around the association Kvarner Wines, Krk winemakers from the Nada winery, Šipun, Ivan Katunar, Anton Katunar and the agricultural cooperatives PZ Vrbnik and Gospoja, as well as sparkling wines from winemakers from OPG- and Plovanić and OPG Ružić and Vinske kuće Pavlomir. There were also representatives of the Karleuša boutique winery from Rijeka, who presented their still wines, and the always welcome guest from Slovenia, the Albiana winery from Dolenjska.

"Our winery was created during the war, when we came to the Vinodol Valley, where we planted a vineyard in 1994. Today, we have 30 hectares of vineyards and produce four types of sparkling wine, and we are especially proud of the Zlahtina that we brought back to this valley. I am personally very happy that we achieve great success in all competitions, and just today we opened the event with our award-winning sparkling wine 1288, which was declared the best sparkling wine in Slovenia in 2013", he pointed out Miroslav Palinkas, owner of Pavlomir winery.

As befits a sparkling breakfast, the sparkling wine was excellently complemented by a whole series of the most diverse and delicious gastronomic delicacies, mostly from local producers. Every dish we eat "awakens" our senses, creating pleasant, delicious experiences, and all senses were awakened by the gastronomic table where you could find bites of Runolist cheese from Krasno, Buretić Brega cold cuts, Bakarski baškoti, prisnac, fresh and dry cheeses local OPG, but also Dalmatian prosciutto and numerous fish delicacies such as salted anchovies, octopus salad and various fish pâtés since this year the emphasis was precisely on the combination of sparkling wine and the sea.

There was no shortage of delicacies on the sweet table, which was catered for by Vilma Cakes and Sweets with their traditional Rab cake, Kavana Toš pralines with pistachio, hazelnut and fruit fillings as well as their special chocolates, OPG Trešnja from Ledenice with their local cherries, as well as numerous other desserts that were excellently complemented with sparkling wines and Aperol Spritz or Gin.

Kvarner shrimp is said to be one of the best and highest quality shrimp, and this was confirmed at the extremely interesting educational part of the Sparkling Breakfast, more specifically at the workshop on combining Kvarner sparkling wine and Kvarner shrimp, for which more space was sought. The workshop was led by prof. Marija Vukelić, who is also the originator of the sparkling breakfast, while Mladen Komadina, a shrimper and owner of the widely known tavern Pod Orajem from Klenovica, took care of the freshly caught shrimp. At the workshop, this Adriatic pearl was tasted in two ways, raw and grilled.

It was interesting to feel how completely different flavors pervade while tasting raw shrimp, shrimp paired with olive oil or Croatian spices for fish. Oi Vivo took care of the olive oil with its two autochthonous varieties of olive oil from Istria, while the spices were provided by Fjori Fora. Along with the shrimp, four sparkling wines made from Zlahtina, produced in Kvarner, were tasted or combined in order to feel the difference of terroir, that is, of each Zlahtina in relation to the soil on which it grows and whose characteristics it has.

To make the experience complete, Mateo Žmak and Suzana Matušan Avgustini took care of a good and relaxed atmosphere, and the most beautiful piano and violin melodies spread through the vineyard. While we are enjoying time passes quickly, this beautiful event was also approaching at the end of En Primeur Kvarner, where many visitors were presented with still wines from the participating wineries.

The sparkling breakfast in the vineyard proved to be an extremely successful and interesting event this year as well, which will surely delight a large audience with its program in the future as well. The romantic surroundings of the Pavlomir vineyards, a glass of sparkling wine on blankets, a relaxed and pleasant ambience proved to be an excellent start to a sunny June morning, and that beautiful scenery was completed by the Čarolija craft team, details make the difference.

The sparkling breakfast is a sub-project of the Zagreb Sparkling Wine Salon, and is organized in cooperation with the TZ of the City of Novi Vinodolski, the TZ of Kvarner, the Pavlomir Winery and the Kvarner Wine Association.

"This event is important, because it promotes the entire sparkling scene of Kvarner, and with it we want to celebrate the hedonistic lifestyle and enjoyment of sparkling wines. In addition to the presentation of winemakers, we always have a workshop or education and, of course, music. At the workshop, we will taste shrimp from Klenovica in two ways , two autochthonous varieties of olive oil from Istria, spices for fish from Hvar, and in addition we will combine four žlahtines", she said Marija Vukelic, director of the Zagreb Sparkling Wine Salon.

Photo: Paula Vidović