Wine and cuisine are an important economic sector of their own accord but combined with tourism and culture they can be Croatia's drawcard, President Ivo Josipovic said on Friday opening the Zagreb Wine Gourmet Weekend which is being held in Zagreb's Sculpture Museum on 19 and 20 April.
Over 130 exhibitors are presenting their products from Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Italy, France and Spain.
Josipovic stressed that it was significant that the event was being held in the museum as it symbolically combined culture, tourism and cuisine.
Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin said that the significance of wine and gastronomy did not lie only in money which it generates as an added value but that they sent a strong promotional message.
This is obvious with the recent case of Croatia's Teran wine being taken off the shelves in Slovenia as that country has protected that name. Teran was taken off the shelves prior to Croatia's accession to the European Union and the government intends to react quickly in favour of Croatian wine producers, he said.
Lorencin explained that procedures existed in the EU to protect the label as a Croatian brand as Slovenia's version was not Terrano but Refosco wine.
