Co-financing participation at fairs and similar wine events, the lease of space and/or airtime in the media, and posts on social networks are some of the promotional activities for which the regional winemakers’ organisation of Slavonia and the Croatian Danube region, Graševina Croatica, and the Spanish wine region of Rueda have received 3.56 million euros, of which 2.77 million is non-repayable. The funds were provided by the European Research Executive Agency (REA) under the EU AGRIP – Promotion of Agricultural Products programme; the project runs from January 1 this year to December 31, 2028, and was presented at En Primeur at Zagreb’s Esplanade hotel, the traditional first annual showing of the young wines of the winemakers who are members of Graševina Croatica. Eligible for promotion are Graševina wines with a protected designation of origin in Croatia and wines from Rueda bearing the D.O. mark (denominación de origen, that is, designation of origin) in Spain.
Kristijan Harjač presents Graševina under the motto ‘Sharing it is living it’
Preparations have been under way since April 2025, and implementation in Croatia began at WineOS. The condition for receiving the funds was that two organisations from EU member states take part, and the slogan is Sharing it is living it, or Dijeliti znači živjeti according to the official translation. Rueda will begin in April, they explained to us at Graševina Croatica. At En Primeur in Zagreb, director Tomislav Panenić said that the authorisation and support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the regional winemakers’ organisations were a key precondition for applying for the joint project with Rueda. Our part is entirely focused on promotional activities to strengthen Graševina’s recognisability on the European market, Panenić explained. Tugomir Majdak, State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, added that this is a rare example of successful international cooperation achieved at this level in Croatia.
A springtime view of the vineyard from the tasting room of the Montepedrosso winery in Rueda
Incidentally, in Rueda the white verdejo and the red tempranillo yield the finest wines, incomparably more esteemed than those from sauvignon and chardonnay, or cabernet sauvignon and merlot. One of the aims of this cooperation is precisely to place local wines on lists of authentic European ones. And better informing of consumers and the professional public about the importance of protected designations of origin should also see Slavonia and the Croatian Danube region, together with Rueda, added to the European list of recognisable wine regions.
31 January 2026
Written by: Ivo Kozarčanin
