Medea

The Agroprodukt company is familiar to anyone in South Istria who is, even barely, connected with agriculture. It was created in 1956 by merging farmers’ co-ops that had existed in the countryside of Rovinj, Pula and Barban. For decades it keeps position as the leading producer of fruits, vegetables, olive oil and wine in South Istria and even today it is the second largest agricultural company in the whole Istria, immediately after gigantic Agrolaguna. Today they own 48 hectares of vineyards and the largest part is located in vicinity of the road Pula-Medulin.

As in the socialist era quantity was more important than quality, for decades their cellar was releasing only bulk or table wine that was bland but cheap. Some ten years ago Agroprodukt got a new owner whose vision was to drastically improve the quality of olive oil, under the brand Salvela, and wine.

Very soon, Salvela olive oils were winning gold medals all over Croatia and abroad and were one of the first to produce excellent monovarietal oils that acclaimed Istrian chefs started to use. But it was not until 2010 that wine quality experienced much needed quantum leap. That year Marko Krstačić and Ivana Perišić took the winery, now branded under name Medea, in their hands. These two young enologists recognized the value of 37-years-old Malvazija vineyard located on the Montiron locale where red soil is heavily interlaced with limestone structures. The results was Malvazija Montiron, a serious white wine that was immediately praised both by experts, restaurants owners and wine enthusiasts. It was the first South Istrian wine that was officially classified into “vrhunsko” (excellent) quality category.

Despite noteworthy amount of hectares it owns, Medea winery currently produces only 30,000 bottles a year of high quality wine while the rest still finishes as table wine. The switch towards quality is owner’s long-term goal and the work has already started. In 2013 they planted a new vineyard on Punta Grkova promontory in the vicinity of Ližnjan. At this magnificent spot vines of Merlot, red stem Refosco and Cabernet Sauvignon are thriving in harsh conditions, sprayed by the sea and wind whipped by strong Bura in the winter. This southernmost commercial vineyard in Istria has great potential to provide grapes for stellar red wines spiced up with South Istrian terroir.