The Agriculture Ministry will commence bilateral and trilateral activities to resolve the problem that has arisen in the wine producing sector after a Slovenian retail chain withdrew Istrian Terrano wine off the shelves, Agriculture Minister Tihomir Jakovina said on Thursday.
Jakovina told a press conference that talks would commence as early as Monday with the Council of Ministers in Luxembourg at the bilateral (Croatia-Italy) and trilateral (Croatia-Slovenia-Italy) levels to initiate a cross-border application to protect the Terrano wine which would include the three countries that produce this wine.
If the initiative does not bring forth any results and we cannot convince Slovenia and Italy, Croatia will take all the legal steps necessary to protect Croatia's wine sector, the minister said.
President of the wine producers association with the Croatian Chamber of Commerce Ivica Matosevic expressed concern with the incident in Slovenia's stores, underscoring that this was not just a matter of the label but that Terrano was an Istrian heirloom grape which is part of the region's identity and tradition, hence it was vital that all available means were invested to protect Croatia's wines on the market, he said.
