The harvest in all Kvarner vineyards has been completed or is in the final stages. After months of work in the vineyard, marked by extreme heat, drought and demanding decisions, the grapes arrived in the cellars. This is not really the end of the harvest - its second, equally important part begins.
The first estimates from Vrbničko polje during the beginning of the harvest spoke of a lower yield, but very good grape quality. In Žlahtina, sugar values were recorded at approximately 80 to 87 °Oe, with acids of around 4.5 to 6 grams per liter. After an extremely hot and dry year, preserving the balance of sugar, acids, aromatics and the health of the grapes was crucial. A lower yield does not mean a weaker wine year – on the contrary, expectations are very high from the best locations.
Now the focus shifts from the vineyard to the cellar. Next comes processing, fermentation, temperature control, lees work, transfers, aging, and a series of small oenological decisions that will determine whether the potential of the grapes will be transformed into great wine. Some cellars also use modern technologies that speed up and more precisely control individual stages of processing, but technology remains only a tool - the character of the wine is still created by the variety, location, year, and the knowledge of the winemaker.
We will be able to get to know the first young Žlahtinas more seriously in a few months. Aged styles, sparkling wines and other wines will require more patience. That is precisely why this is perhaps the most exciting period of the wine year: we know what kind of grapes have entered the cellars, but we do not yet know what kind of wines will come out of them.
And the 2026 harvest in Kvarner could bring a few surprises. Along with new interpretations of Žlahtina and other indigenous varieties, some new labels are also being prepared in the cellars. We won't reveal them yet. Part of the wine story must remain in the cellar until the wine itself shows what it can do.
Will 2026 be the year of a particularly concentrated Žlahtina? Which styles will stand out? Which indigenous varieties will get new faces and which labels will reach the public for the first time? We will get the answers gradually, as fermentations are completed and the first bottles are opened.
One thing is already clear: after a demanding year in the vineyards, we have a very exciting wine year ahead of us in Kvarner. In a few months, we will start tasting the first results. And some of the most interesting stories of the 2026 harvest have yet to be told.
Kvarner Wines – Taste the Kvarner Way.
