Where the grapes ripen and the wine whispers! Tomislav Veic's Empire of Babic from Zagreb is the best wine photograph

The closing ceremony of the fifth National Competition for Croatian Wine Photography was held at the Croatian Hall (Hrvatski dom) in Križevci on Saturday, 24 January 2026. Awards and commendations were presented to the authors of the most accomplished photographs, and the photo catalogue Where the Grapes Ripen and the Wine Whispers was unveiled. The jury, made up of the distinguished professional photographers Goran Matošević, Mišo Lišanin and Bernard Čović, named Carstvo Babića (The Empire of Babić) by Tomislav Veić of Zagreb the best photograph. Second prize went to Domagoj Sever of Ivanec for the photograph Iločki podrumi (The Cellars of Ilok), and third prize to Branko Težak of Ivanec for Gnječenje grožđa (Crushing the Grapes). The public chose its favourite photograph on the Facebook page of the Križevački štatuti Society, and the most votes went to Trenutak prije prvoga gutljaja (The Moment Before the First Sip) by Niko Magdalenić of Čakovec.