President Ivo Josipovic and about 30 foreign ambassadors on Thursday took part in grape harvesting near Jastrebarsko, marking the beginning of vintaging in the Plesivica wine hills.
Josipovic, his wife Tatjana and the ambassadors accredited in Croatia harvested Chardonnay grapes and tasted wines from last year's vintage.
"My wife and I played it safe when thinking which region to show the ambassadors. We decided on Jastrebarsko, a town with a young, agile mayor, industrious people and excellent grapes and wine," Josipovic said, adding that this was the right place to think about Croatia's future in Europe, "a model of how something can be done when we join forces."
US Ambassador James Foley said the grape harvesting was an excellent initiative on Josipovic's part that would make it possible for many people to find out about Croatia's beautiful countryside and taste its excellent wines.
This is a special experience for every Pole who doesn't have this, said Ambassador Wieslaw Tarka, whose country is the current European Union president.
He said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk would visit Croatia next week to agree with PM Jadranka Kosor when and where Croatia's EU accession treaty would be signed.
