National Croatian Wine Day Date in the current year: June 25, 2024

The history of wimenaking in Croatia dates back to ancient Greece. It was Greek settlers who first started to grow grapes and produce wines on Croatian islands in the Adriatic See about 2,500 years ago. Many traditional grape varieties that originated back then still survive in modern Croatia and are widely used to produce local wines.

Croatian winemaking has had its highs and lows throughout its history: it flourished under the Roman Empire and during the early Middle Ages, experienced a setback under the Ottoman Empire, began to flourish again under the Habsburg Empire, and took a heavy hit in the 20th century due to a phylloxera epidemic, the focus on quantity over quality during the communist rule in Yugoslavia, and the destruction of vineyards and wineries in the Croatian War of Independence.

Fortunately, the situation has somewhat improved over the past couple of decades. Today, Croatia has three main wine regions: Eastern Continental, Western Continental, and Coastal. About two thirds of wines produced in Croatia are white, and the rest are red. While Croatian winemakers do plant international grape varieties like Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah, indigenous varieties grown by small, independent producers play a central role in the country’s wine industry.

National Croatian Wine Day was launched in 2020 by Anna Viducic. Born into a Croatian family, Viducic was raised in France and gained her first work experience in the hospitality and wine industry in Paris. In 1998, she moved to the United States, where she continued her work in the chosen field and eventually founded Aroma Wine Co., a company that specializes in helping European wineries promote their products in the US market.

Spending her summer vacations in Croatia, where she worked in her family’s vineyards, Viducic learned to appreciate Croatian wines and made it her mission to promote these amazing wines internationally. This is how National Croatian Wine Day was born. Viducic submitted it to National Day Archives in June 2020, and the first celebration took place on June 25, 1991, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of Croatia’s independence from Yugoslavia.

There are many ways to celebrate National Croatian Wine Day and learn to appreciate Croatian wines. You can read a book or watch a documentary about the Croatian wine industry, go out to a restaurant or wine bar that serves Croatian wines, attend a wine tasting or a wine and food pairing class with a focus on Croatian wines, buy a bottle of Croatian wine and share it with a friend, or even plan a trip to Croatia that will include a vineyard tour. And don’t forget to spread the world about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #NationalCroatianWineDay and #CroatianWineDay.