Facts from and about Croatia

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  Croatian wine has a history dating back some 2,500 years ago, to the Ancient Greek settlers and their wine production on the southern Dalmatian islands of Vis, Hvar and Korčula. Many traditional grape varieties still survive in Croatia.

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  Croatia has the highest number of UNESCO Intangible Goods of any European country, including lace making, gingerbread baking and wooden toy carvings. In 2013 Croatia was inscribed on UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as one of the countries that have Mediterranean diet as a part of their tradition, along with Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Italy, Morocco and Portugal.

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  Kulin (pron. cool-en), traditional sausage from Slavonia, northeast part of Croatia, is made from only four ingredients: pork meat, spicy red pepper, garlic and salt. Produced in Slavonia and nowhere else in the world. There is a smaller and lighter version of the kulin sausage, known as «Kulin’s baby sister».

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  The largest white truffle in the world according to the Guinness book of records, was found in Istria by our supplier Giancarlo Zigante in 1999. It weighed 1.31 kg. A previous white truffle found in 2009 was auctioned at a truffle festival for $150,000.

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  Flos Olei, the world’s “Bible” of olive oils, voted Istria the best olive region in the world in its 2016 edition. The excellent results show that extra virgin olive oil, along with truffle, is one of the most competitive products of this Croatian region.

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  Lord Byron named it “the Pearl in the Adriatic” and George Bernard Shaw said, “Those that seek paradise on earth should seek it in Dubrovnik”. In the Croatian region of Dalmatia along the Adriatic Sea lies Dubrovnik, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, as old as 7th century and since 1979 included in UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites.

   

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  The necktie, that most ubiquitous of modern accessories, originates from Croatia. It came to Western Europe in the 17th century, courtesy of Croatian mercenaries who served under Louis XIII, the King of France. He liked it so much that he made these ties a mandatory accessory for Royal gatherings, and to honor the Croatian soldiers, he gave this clothing piece the name “La Cravate”.

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  Simply divine Belic Oleum Viride oil rated 10/10 in the Fortnum & Mason tasting, amongst 130 oils from around the world. The Oleum Viride name itself was used by ancient Romans for olive oil produced from medium ripe olives.

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  Croatia has 1246 islands, isles and inlets of wich only 48 are inhabited. Almost 10% of Croatia is made up of 11 natural parks, 8 national parks and 2 nature reserves. It has 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites among wich is one National park- Plitvice Lakes, one of the oldest national parks in Southeast Europe.

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  Julius Cesar’s favourite olive oil was from Istria, a region in Croatia famous for some of the best olive oils in the world. The olive oil was reputed to be the best in the entire Roman Empire.

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  Croatia has more than 300 geographically defined wine producing areas with a strict classification system to ensure quality and origin. The majority of Croatian wine is white (more than 60 percent), with most of the remaining being red, and only a small percentage is rosé wines.