Coronica

The first thing to do upon arriving in front of the Coronica winery is to walk some hundred meters towards a small hill where a magnificient view opens up. This viewpoint on gentle hills in Umag countryside is a magic place where the eye jumps from green forest to bright red soil imprinted with green vines, then to another meadow, vineyard or forest and finally ends up in the blue Adriatic sea on the horizon. On this area constantly ventilated by the sea breeze spread 21 hectares of Moreno Coronica’s vineyards from which he currently produces some 120,000 bottles a year.

From the moment you first meet Moreno you will notice his charisma and great knowledge he has about the history of winemaking in Istria. If Moreno is in right mood he will even give you a ride in his Lada Niva and show you tightly manicured vineyards he is very proud of. Due to its consistent quality, since many years Coronica Malvazija is considered as the benchmark bottle that defines the vintage quality in Istria. In 1993 he released the first bottles of Malvazija but only in 2000 he started to be more prominent on the market, first in Istria, then Zagreb and Dalmatia and only then abroad. In autumn 2014 a new barrel aging room and an adjacent tasting room, all located well below the ground, will be finished.

Although Malvazija occupies about 60% of the total surface under vineyards, Moreno is even more proud of the plots where Teran grows. Teran is a vigorous, acidic, hard to handle grape demanding only the best locale if one wants to get a decent wine but still it is Moreno’s favorite child. The result of this stubborn devotion is Gran Teran, produced only in the best years, the signature wine of Coronica winery and according to many wine experts in Croatia the best Teran in Istria.

On the basis of some Gran Teran bottles older than 10 years it became obvious this grape capable of producing stellar reds that profit for long years of aging. Moreno, fourth-generation winegrower in the family, remembers how his father Ottaviano was saying Teran should be as easy to drink as milk but only after it spends two years in barrels. Thanks to Moreno many Istrian winemakers are now aware that, after they grasped the art of making stellar Malvazijas, it is time to take much harder challenge and do the same with Teran.