The Kvarner Wines Association has become the most exciting and organized driver of the Croatian wine scene in recent years. It is not just another association - Kvarner Wines professionally, systematically and courageously builds a regional wine identity and is today a classroom example of how to conduct smart, modern and internationally relevant wine marketing. In 2026, Kvarner will be the first and only Croatian - European Region of Gastronomy and the Kvarner Wines Association is one of the four main stakeholders of the consortium that will implement the project along with the Kvarner Tourist Board, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
This year, the association made another big step forward: it presented wines of autochthonous varieties of Kvarner - žlahtina, jarbola, trojišćina, sansigot, cupaža belica and others - at one of the world's most prestigious wine events, the Merano Wine Festival, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Kvarner Tourist Board. As part of the festival, the masterclass The Best of Kvarner – European Region of Gastronomy 2026 was held, which delighted the audience and confirmed that Kvarner has arrived on the international map of great wine stories.
Kvarner Wines is the only Croatian wine association that is a member of the Council of Europe's Cultural Route - Iter Vitis, and Iter Vitis has declared the Kvarner region the best European sustainable wine region in 2024.
This status is not just recognition – it is a strategic stepping stone. The association is therefore developing an ambitious marketing platform, the Kvarner Wines Route, conceived as an umbrella that will unite:
• Kvarner wineries,
• food producers (prosciutto, cheese, olive oil, sweets, distillates),
• restaurants with the label “We serve Kvarner Wines”,
• food and wine events and festivals.
One of the most interesting novelties: expert guided tours of wineries with sommeliers, which is of particular significance because Kvarner is the region with the largest number of sommeliers in Croatia.
A major step forward in the world of olive growing is set to begin in 2026: the Kvarner Olive Oil project, which will unite and brand the region's olive oils. Already today, Kvarner oils are attracting attention - the latest edition of the Flos Olei guide includes:
• OPG Davor Andrić (Barbat, Rab)
• OPG Perišić (Poljane, Opatija)
Kvarner is thus systematically building a new recognizable gastronomic product, alongside wine.
The rebranding of the association continues in 2026. The most famous Kvarner wine festival, WineRi, becomes the Kvarner International Wine Festival WineRi.
Registrations are already open on their website kvarner.wine for the festival, which will take place on March 13th and 14th at Rijeka's Exportdrvo. According to the winemakers, this is one of the most organized and at the same time most relaxed festivals in Croatia – one where you can "get work done and have fun" at the same time.
The festival's timing is perfect: late enough for winemakers to showcase new wines, and early enough for them to be on the wine lists of restaurants in Kvarner, a region that accounts for 20% of Croatia's total tourist traffic. The media likes to call this festival an "Ode to the Mediterranean Way of Life.".
From 2025, the association will also launch the national-international Kvarner International Wine Trophy in Vrbnik, at the Gospoja premises. In the first year alone, more than 260 samples were submitted, and the judging was conducted by certified judges led by one of the most important Croatian oenologists – Prof. Ivana Puhelek from the Faculty of Agriculture.
In 2026, the judging will be expanded to include distillates and liqueurs, in collaboration with professor of spirits Marin Mihaljević Žulja. The judging will take place on March 26th and 27th, with samples being accepted until March 15th.
In early 2026, Kvarner will also introduce a special glass for Žlahtina, the result of a collaboration with the renowned glass manufacturer Italesse. This is the crowning achievement of the Kvarner Tourist Board's project - Žlahtina, the wine queen of Kvarner.
The glass is designed to emphasize the aromatics, freshness and elegance of the most famous Kvarner variety, and will be an important tool in the further branding of this wine.
But that's not the only novelty, the association prepares a specially branded wine from indigenous Kvarner grape varieties in magnum and jeroboam editions and its own olive oil.
Kvarner Wines has been publishing the annual magazine Kvarner Wines News for several years, and in 2025 they published two special editions:
• Kvarner Wines on Decanter – catalogue of wines awarded at Decanter
• Kvarner International Wine Trophy – with a presentation of the champion and all rated wines
In collaboration with Croat, they created ties, bow ties, and scarves with the Kvarner Wines logo motifs – another example of thoughtful and elegant branding at the European level.
In 2026, the region will be presented at a number of domestic and international festivals, among them:
Kvarner winemakers also participate in around twenty local events – from In Vino Veritas in Punat, to Ružica Vinodol in Novi Vinodolski, to Bela Nedeja in Kastav and Wine Days in Vrbnik.
From the launch of the association in 2021 until today, behind all projects, festivals and strategic steps has been Dr. Žarko Stilin, a marketing expert and director of the association, who has been organizing wine events since 2015.
Stilin has succeeded in what seemed impossible until a few years ago: transforming Kvarner into one of the strongest, most visible and most organized wine regions in Croatia and the region.
Today, Kvarner Wines is synonymous with a modern approach, a clear identity, professional management, and an internationally visible wine story - a story that is just beginning to be written.
