“Three generations of a family on a mission to preserve the traditional grape varieties and the wine culture of Istria and Motovun…”

So says the website of the Benvenuti Winery, located about 20 minutes away from where we used to live in Istria. And, if there’s one thing that Istria is not short of, it’s wineries. Most that we have visited are excellent – the kind of wineries where you to go to buy a gift, or really treat yourself. Most of the others are great – producing good quality, drinkable wine, often sold as open wines, so you’re not restricted to bottles. You fill by the litre, or five litres or ten litres. These open wines are usually the local variety – as in not a speciality wine, but apart from one or two exceptions, they are really good value, if you like to have a stock of “every day” wines. The one or two exceptions, we visited and purchased from – and didn’t repeat the experience – shall remain nameless, however, as this may have just been down to our personal taste. Although I don’t think so…

So, Benvenuti. The winery has been producing wine in the family for a very long time, having vineyards, some of which were planted in the first decades of the last century – confirmed by the remains of a jug, now on display in a museum in Trieste, from the Roman period, which was found in one of the vineyards. Vineyards which produce three varieties – Malvazija Istria, Terana and Muscat.

The winery itself is located in the small town of Kaldir, across the valley from Motovun. In a commanding hilltop spot, it has stunning views of the northern Istrian countryside, taking in rolling hills, vineyards, small villages, abandoned houses, majestic villas and of course, the jewel in the crown – Motovun itself. Like many wineries, the operation is housed in a cluster of stone buildings, beautifully renovated and with a grand tasting room, where all of the magic happens. Barrels and barrels of wine are stored in other buildings in other parts of the grounds, which themselves are beautiful.

By a very strange twist of fate, when we sold our home in Istria in summer 2024, Benvenuti became a part of the memory of our time there. The new owners lived in Rijeka, on the eastern side of the peninsula, some 80kms away from our house. And as they were buying our home, one of them took on a new job – at the Benvenuti Winery. So, until we left, she was doing a round trip from Riejka to Kaldir every day. We didn’t know this until shortly before we left, so when we had friends to stay who were helping us to pack up the house, we decided to say hello at the winery.

A wine tasting was in full swing, but we ushered into the coolness of the tasting room – a welcome relief, as the middle of July in Istria can be hot, hot, hot! I think because we were the people who were selling the house, we were given a bit of special treatment and whilst the group tasting was going on, we  were kind of invited to join in on the periphery. A good way to get to know the wines, with out the pressure of being part of the tasting group. It was nice to introduce our friends to the winery and especially nice to make a purchase of Benvenuti wines – which have now made their way, boxed up, all the way to Andalucia. To be opened when our friends who accompanied us, come out to visit us in our new home in Spain.

This visit is definitely a lovely memory and was a special way to bring to an end our time in Istria – wine tasting, in beautiful surroundings, on the top of a hill in Istria, with the new owner of our home.