Liznjan: The soft hills of Croatia's northern, Istrian peninsula are covered in patches of vine groves that descend towards the Adriatic Sea, but there are no visitors here this year to drink the wine.
Famous for its winemakers, Istria takes pride in local Istarska Malvazija brand and other high-quality wines that have drawn visitors to Croatia's popular tourist destination.
The cellars are bursting with full barrels and bottles following the Europe-wide lockdown against the new coronavirus.
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It's virtually closed down tourism here, leaving Istria's small towns empty and its restaurants bolted.
The expected damage on the wine-producing industry is such that the Croatian Chamber of Commerce has asked the government to allocate funds to help the winemakers distil the surplus wine to reduce stock.
Nikola Benvenuti is the head of the Istrian Winemakers Association.
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"Problems started when all the restaurants and hotels were closed. Simply, the sale of Istrian wines, not only Istrian, we can say not only we have a regional, but a general problem. Of course, there will be a surplus of wine as we had two months when almost no wine or a very minimal amount of wine was sold. We're hoping for a better time to come of course, the opening of restaurants, hotels, etc. I believe there will be significant improvement when freedom of movement will be completely allowed. When people who come to Croatia don't have to worry if they have to go to the quarantine or not." Benvenuti explains.
A survey conducted by an association of wine producers has shown that they will have problems selling fifty to sixty percent of their stock.
They say they expect sales for the first six months of the year to be down by as much as eighty percent, a massive fall in income.
According to some producers, there isn't even the space to store the surplus wine.
Restaurant owner Klaudio Ivasic says: "This pandemic brought huge problems to all of us, maybe the worst for our winemakers there are many of them in this area who prepared their fresh wines to be ready now to be served on tables, Malvasia (local white wine) should be consumed fresh, newly made, and I think it is time for it to be enjoyed now. We hope soon the borders will open and that tourists will come at least in a certain number and will be able to taste our fantastic Malvasia."
Tourism accounted for 19.6 percent of Croatia's economy in 2018, according to figures from the country's Ministry of Tourism.
The European Union's newest member state still has one of the weakest economies in the bloc after going through the Balkans War in the 1990s.
Officials have announced the reopening of borders to attract tourists and save as much of the summer season as possible after the virus lockdown ravaged the spring months.
AP
