The Great Winery Hunt of Rovinj

The Great Winery Hunt of Rovinj

“It’s easy, you can’t miss it”, is the kiss of death – I swear I never find something when told that.

It happened three times today – yes, three! – although admittedly two of those times I said it to myself.  San Tommaso Winery and Vivado winery looked so easy to find from the apartment.  And when I couldn’t find them, I tried maps.me which failed me.  And then, it was Cicibela winery, which I couldn’t find, despite the “very easy, it’s only 5 minutes away,” instructions from the friendly, helpful girl at Lidl.

What we did find 10 km past where Cicibela should have been, was the handmade wine sign directing us down a gravel road, and ending at a house that looked in total disarray and a building that looked mid-construction.  Never mind, carry on, it will be an experience.  And of course, it turned out to be a charming experience.  I interrupted a young girl vacuuming the car who ran inside and out came Grandma, who led us up the house stairs, to the side of the house and those stairs, where her burly son was cleaning out vats, and then down more stairs to the cellar of the newish building, which turned out to be the cantina.

We had caught them in the midst of cleaning out the cantina and vats in preparation for picking the grapes tomorrow, to make this year’s batch of wines.  The son came to help his Mom with speaking English to us, and we tried the Merlot and the Moscato as the other wines were sold out.  Then we tried a liqueur made by his Mom, made from her own recipe.  He knew that it contained five fruits, but wasn’t sure which ones.  And while we were at it, we tried her tomato juice, too, which was the best tomato juice ever!

The son lives in Rijeka and comes to help his parents when needed.  He had his daughters cleaning the car because it’s better for them than being on gadgets i.e. smartphones etc. and later they would all go picking walnuts. A wholesome weekend for them!

Stopping at a rustic sign pointing down a sketchy lane turned into a lot more fun, and less expensive than the “real” wineries might have been, and we had a great time speaking with the family, too.

But who knows, I may still try to find the other wines sometime, although not tomorrow.  I have a truffle festival to attend!