On March the 28th, the wine fair Refuscus Mundi – Un mondo di refosco/Svet Refoska is taking palce in Izola, and, as you can easily figure out from its name, it’s completely dedicated to this typical, local vine variety, which tastes at its best when produced on the Karst plateau and in Istria.
We asked Zaro family from Izola, who are the event’s organisers, to tell us something about their activity in winemaking and about this incoming wine fair.
1. First of all, please introduce yourselves.
CHow did you step into wine’s world and how did you come to organise an event like Refuscus Mundi?
Viticulture and agriculture, as well as fishing, have always been a fundamental part of life in this region.
Twenty years ago or so, I inherited a one hectare wide plot of land from my father, and since then, through hard work, hard efforts and the help from my family, I (well, “we”) made this farm grow, so that nowadays we are the owner of a modern cellar, and of 24 hectares of land.
Our brand name is “Zaro 1348”, and we chose it in order to represent how ancient our family is: we are one the two most ancient families in Izola.
Nowadays we also are the owners of the Manzioli wine bar, which is located in the old town of Izola, and of “Negratenera”, a 12 metres long ship we use to organise tasting events in blue water.
All our vineyards are located within the so-called “Izolan amphitheatre”, that is just by the sea.
2. This is not the first time Refuscus Mundi is organised. Can you tell us something about this event’s history?
As a winegrower and as a lover of my native land, I’ve always tried to nurture autochthone varieties and these wonderful places.
That’s why we created – even thank to the cooperation of some other wine and tourism professionals – the headquarter of all our events.
3. I might be wrong, but I’d dare to say that last year this wine fair was named just “Svet Refoška – Un mondo di refosco”. Why did you choose to add the latin name and to give it so much emphasis?
Since Refosco is the quintessence red grape in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea, we chose to call this wine fair “Refuscus mundi”, so that its name, just like the vine variety, is limited neither by languages, nor by confines.
4. This is not the only wine-tasting event you organise: Orange wine festival is taking places in April in the same location.
We’ll talk about Orange Wine Festival later, now I would like you to tell us something about the location you chose for these events.
Svet Refoška takes place in Izola, which is (let’s say it for our readers who live far away) a small town in the Slovene coastal region. Why did you choose Izola for your event?
We chose Manzioli palace and Izola because they are, first of all, our home, and because they are places where people who lived of the products of their land have always lived. Moreover, Italian community in Izola is very kind and rents us out appropriate locations, and the parish priest allows us to hold our opening ceremony by the church.
Manzioli and Lovisato palaces are also places of historical interest, as they are the two most ancient building in Izola.
Nowadays they house both our wine bar and the headquarters of the Italian community of Izola.
5. What will we find at Refuscus Mundi? I mean: Refosco wine, for sure, but what els?
There will be more or less fifty winemakers, coming from Slovenia, Croatia and Friuli, who will display their products at the fair. Plus, as always, many restaurateurs will delight us with their culinary inventions.