The 50th edition of the wine grape harvest festival took place in the northern town of Pregrade on Saturday under the auspices of Croatian President Zoran Milanovic.

Attending the feast in the vineyards of the wine-making cellar Zdolc, President Milanovic commented on the grape harvest rituals in the country, and called on the Croatians “to drink a little, drink well”, and in this context he called for the consumption of local wines produced throughout Croatia.

Representatives of the tourist board recalled that the roots of the traditional grape harvest feast in Pregrada went back to1939, and the first edition of the festival was held in 1971.

Average wine consumption per capita in Croatia 22 litres in 2018

In the 2017/2018 wine-making year in Croatia, the average wine consumption per capita was 22 litres, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) data.

The total production of wine in 2018 was 726,000 hectolitres, and wines with protected designation of origin accounted for the majority of the total production (470,000 hectolitres, 64.8%).

Varietal wines account for 4.1% of the total production, and other wines for 31.1%.

The DZS data show that the total wine export in the 2017/2018 wine-making year was 232,900 hectolitres, while the initial stock was 712,800 hectolitres.

Total domestic wine consumption in the 2017/2018 wine-making year was 984,700 hectolitres, and other wines accounted for the largest part in the total consumption (468,000 hectolitres, 47.6%). The degree of self-sufficiency, that is, the ratio of production and total domestic consumption of wine, was 74%.