Friday, December 26, 2014

Mon Ami, Part 2

You may recall my earlier post about our scheduled wine tasting experience at the Trapan Wine Station in the village of Siśan. Well, it was an experience alright.

We were warmly greeted by owner and winemaker Bruno Trapan at his winery and right away you knew this was not going to be your typical wine tasting. The winery is just a few years old and the decor is funky contemporary. Bruno is in his mid 30s and began making wine about a decsde ago. His winery produces about 5,000 cases per year. Bruno was very friendly and eager to share his wines with us.

We started with a sparkling wine made from the Teran grape indigenous to the Istrian peninsula. This was followed by a rosé, white wines from the Malvazija grape, and a red blend of cabernet, syrah, and teran.  They were all excellent. And as he poured we got an excellent education in Croatian wine, local soils, and how he got into the winemaking business by accident. We all enjoyed his entertaining and fun philosophy of life and the wine itself.

He then invited us to grab our glasses and follow him downstairs to the barrel room where we sampled vintages yet to be bottled straight from the oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. In a word, "Wow"! This was easily the best wine tasting experience we have ever had. Talk about getting in touch with my Croatian roots. We will remember this day for a long, long time. Here's to you Bruno, mon ami! Zivjeli!!

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