The Istrian Wine Roads

Istria's own grape is Malvazija Istarska, a white that at its best tastes of green apple and acacia and is drunk young and cold, and its red partner is Teran, sharp and iron-tasting, grown on the same soil that stains the interior red. The wine roads are simply marked routes through the hills around Buje, Momjan, Brtonigla and Vižinada, past cellars where someone opens bottles for you in a room that also holds the family's olive oil. Momjan is known for a sweet muscat. Most producers press oil as well as wine, and Istrian olive oil has a serious reputation, so a tasting usually covers both without being asked.

What you actually see

• Malvazija Istarska - the regional white, from fresh unoaked bottlings to heavier amber wines left on skins.
• Teran - the local red, acidic and mineral, traditionally drunk with cured ham rather than on its own.
• Momjan muscat - a sweet muscat from the hills near the Slovenian border.
• Olive oil tastings - the same cellars usually pour their own oil, pressed from Istrian varieties.

When to go

Late spring and early autumn are the good months, with warm days and cellars open. Harvest runs from late August into October and producers are working then, so call ahead. Many small cellars are appointment-only outside summer. Open cellar days at the end of May get you through doors that are otherwise shut.

Honest expectations

You need a car, which means someone spits or stays sober, and the roads between cellars are narrow and often unsigned at the last turn. Quality varies a great deal: a handful of producers are excellent, plenty are ordinary. Tastings are informal rather than polished, English is not guaranteed, and buying a bottle or two is expected after you have worked through six.

Nearby

The hill towns of Grožnjan and Buzet are close, and the coast at Umag is half an hour away.