On June 30 and July 1, the yearly event promoted by Associazione dei Viticoltori del Carso-Kras, the local winemakers' association, in collaboration with local restaurants and producers, will feature once again carefully selected pairings between Vitovska-based wines and dishes by Friulian and Slovenian restaurants.
The festival is a conjoined celebration of Vitovska, the local variety generating a dry white wine with mineral and fruity flavours, both by the Friulian and the Slovenian side of the Karst, as its territory of origin stretches into two States – and its name is probably derived from the Slovenian language. 26 winemakers and 32 restaurants & food producers (click here for the full list), including farms and even winemakers who also grow vegetables and own cattle, from Slovenia and from Friuli – specifically the Karst area of Trieste and Gorizia – will attend with their wines, their dishes and their products. Of course there'll be wine tastings too, provided by professional sommeliers from AIS Trieste, the Italian Sommeliers' Association. Visitors can also shop for local products at the booths offering Karst delicacies such as cold cuts and salami, cheese, sweets and honey, EVO oil and of course wines.
The official program of Mare e Vitovska in Morje 2023 kicked off on June 28 with a special walk through winemaker Martin Merlak's vineyards, in collaboration with FAI – Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano (Italian environment Fund) and its “Fai un giro in vigna” routes (Take a walk in the vineyards).
June 29 – A welcome dinner will be held at renowned restaurant Lokanda Devetak in san Michele del Carso, near Gorizia, with a special menu (click here to see the menu)
June 30 – A wine conference at Duino Castle will open the two-days festival at 3.30 pm, and people who are interested can reserve a seat for free by writing to the following e-mail address: info@carsovinokras.it. Then, starting from 6 pm, there'll be two rounds of Vitovska's wine tastings by AIS Trieste's sommeliers
July 1 – Also starting at 6 pm and up to 10 pm, there'll be two more rounds of Vitovska's wine tastings by AIS Trieste's sommeliers.
Tickets: 45€. See the festival's website for all price reductions. A free bus to the Duino Castle location is available thanks to Associazione dei Viticoltori del Carso-Kras, starting from the central square Piazza Oberdan in Trieste. For the free bus' info and bookings: carsobuskras@gmail.com.
Photo Credits: cover photo and inner photos taken from Associazione dei Viticoltori del Carso-Kras's official Facebook account