Motovun Wine

Wine lists and tasting rooms around Motovun focus on Istrian grapes, especially Malvazija Istarska and Teran. The same grapes may appear as simple young wines, sparkling wines, longer-aged bottles, or wines made with extended skin contact. Our Istria Wine page explains the region’s grapes, wine areas, producers, and routes in more detail.

Malvazija Istarska is the clearest first white. Fresh versions are usually the easiest choice for a glass before dinner, but the grape can also produce fuller aged wines and amber or skin-contact styles.

Teran is Motovun’s main red-wine cue. Its acidity and structure make it a natural match for cured meat, truffle dishes, game, beef, and richer pasta sauces.

Muškat may appear as a fragrant dry wine, but it is especially useful to recognize when you want a sweet or aromatic finish to the meal. Producers around Motovun also work with grapes such as Pinot Gris, Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay, though these do not define the town’s wine choices as clearly.

Choose Malvazija with eggs, cheese, lighter pasta, vegetables, or a simple truffle dish. Teran is better suited to pršut, sausages, ombolo, game, steak, and stronger black-truffle sauces. Muškat works with dessert or as a final glass on its own.

A fresh Malvazija or Teran makes the most practical bottle for an apartment dinner or picnic. For a special bottle, look for an aged Teran, a single-vineyard wine, an amber Malvazija, or a sweet Muškat. Our Motovun Food page explains the truffle dishes, pasta, meat, and restaurants behind these pairings.

Motovun’s wine choices fall into three areas: the uphill old-town approach for a glass or bottle without driving, Kanal for the closest producer visits, and the villages around Brkač and Kaldir for a longer winery day.

Gradiziol is the best place to begin without a car. Theodora Wine Bar pours local Istrian wines alongside bottles from farther afield, while OPG Vivoda and OPG Benčić sell wine with other local farm products.

Continue uphill to Enoteka Fakin on Josef Ressel Square when buying a producer bottle matters more than sitting down for a full tasting. Restaurants in and around the upper town also give you an easy way to order Malvazija or Teran with dinner.

Vino Novak, Roxanich, and Tomaz sit at Kanal 23, 30, and 38A below Motovun. Their proximity makes Kanal the simplest area for comparing more than one producer without crossing the wider countryside.

Do not assume that the Kanal addresses form an extension of the old-town walk. Plan a car, taxi, or driver and confirm the tasting arrangements directly with each producer.

Fakin and Fachin lie around Brkač on the northwestern side of Motovun. Kaldir has three more producers—Benvenuti, Valenta, and Bertoša—within the same rural wine and fruit-growing area.

These villages suit a planned half-day or full-day outing rather than an unstructured drive. Pick one producer around Brkač and one or two in Kaldir, leaving enough time for each tasting and for food between stops.

Motovun has a small wine-bar scene, but Theodora now gives travelers a serious by-the-glass option without leaving the uphill approach to the old town.

• Address: Gradiziol 16, 52424 Motovun

Theodora Wine Bar carries more than 50 labels, all available by the glass. The list includes Istrian wine as well as bottles from countries and regions once connected to the Byzantine Empire, and the bar also arranges wine-tasting experiences.

Start here when you want to compare several wines without committing to a winery day. Ask for a tasting centred on Istria when Malvazija, Teran, and regional producers are your priority; choose individual glasses when you also want to explore the bar’s wider list.

Motovun’s bottle-buying choices are small and informal. One producer enoteca and two agricultural shops give you practical ways to buy wine without driving to a winery.

• Address: Gradiziol 49, 52424 Motovun

OPG Benčić, shown on some maps as Vino Fruit Vegetables, sells local wine alongside fruit, vegetables, and other everyday products.

This is a practical stop for simple wine to drink during the stay rather than for a formal tasting or detailed cellar advice. Larger containers of loose wine make more sense for an apartment meal than for carrying home in your luggage.

• Address: Gradiziol 7, 52424 Motovun

OPG Vivoda produces wine alongside fruit liqueurs, rakija, olive oil, fruit, vegetables, and preserved foods. Its location low on Gradiziol makes it an easy stop at the beginning or end of the old-town climb.

Choose Vivoda when you want a mixed selection of local farm products rather than a specialist wine shop. Check the bottle label carefully so you know the grape, producer, and style you are buying.

• Address: Trg Josefa Ressela 4, 52424 Motovun

Enoteka Fakin is the producer’s town shop on Josef Ressel Square, beside Konoba Fakin. It sells Fakin wines with truffle products and olive oil.

Stop here when you want a Fakin bottle but do not have time to visit the winery at Bataji. The shop is also convenient for checking the producer’s Malvazija and Teran ranges before deciding whether a full winery visit belongs in your route.

Eight producers form the practical Motovun winery inventory. Vino Novak, Roxanich, and Tomaz are below town in Kanal; Fakin and Fachin are around Brkač; Benvenuti, Valenta, and Bertoša are in Kaldir. Confirm the visit directly before setting out, and arrange a non-drinking driver when planning more than one full tasting.

• Address: Kanal 23, 52424 Motovun

Vino Novak is a small local producer at the beginning of the Kanal group. Its position places it close to Roxanich and Tomaz, but current public information about regular tasting visits is limited.

Contact the producer directly before making it part of the day. It works best as an optional third Kanal stop when a tasting has been confirmed rather than as the route’s only guaranteed appointment.

• Address: Kanal 30, 52424 Motovun

Roxanich Winery combines a cellar, tasting program, wine shop, restaurant, and design hotel. Its range includes fresh wines as well as long-aged, macerated, amber, and natural styles.

Roxanich suits travelers who want a longer food-and-wine stop rather than a brief cellar visit. It also gives you a useful contrast with producers whose ranges centre more closely on fresh Malvazija and Teran.

• Address: Kanal 38A, 52424 Motovun

Tomaz Winery has a modern cellar and a broad range based on Malvazija Istarska, Teran, Sauvignon, Merlot, and white Muškat. Its labels include sparkling, fresh, aged, and sweet wines.

Tomaz works well when you want to compare several winemaking styles at one stop. Pairing it with Roxanich creates the clearest half-day contrast in Kanal without trying to fit too many producers into one session.

• Address: Bataji 20A, Brkač, 52424 Motovun

Fakin Winery focuses on estate-grown Istrian grapes around Motovun, particularly Malvazija and Teran. The winery accepts visitors for tastings, gastronomic meals, vineyard tours, and wine-focused learning experiences.

Choose Fakin when you want a structured producer visit with the option to connect wine and food. Its setting around Brkač also makes it the natural starting point for a route that continues toward Kaldir.

• Location: Rodeli, Brkač, 52424 Motovun

Vina Fachin is a family producer in Rodeli near Brkač, with Malvazija and Teran at the centre of its range.

Fachin fits travelers who prefer a smaller producer visit. Contact the winery directly to confirm tasting arrangements, then pair it with Fakin or continue toward Kaldir rather than driving back and forth between wine areas.

• Address: Kaldir 7, 52424 Motovun

Benvenuti runs structured cellar visits and tastings in Kaldir. Its tasting programs place particular emphasis on Teran, Malvazija, Muškat, and local food served alongside the wines.

Start with Benvenuti when you want a guided comparison rather than an informal cellar stop. Its deeper Teran and Muškat tastings also make it a useful choice after trying younger examples of those grapes in town.

• Address: Kaldir 9A, 52424 Motovun

Valenta Wines is a family producer whose range includes Malvazija Istarska and Teran from the hills around Motovun.

Valenta makes sense as a second Kaldir appointment when you want to compare how two nearby producers handle the same principal grapes. Confirm the visit before travelling to the village.

• Address: Kaldir 20B, 52424 Motovun

Bertoša Wines works mainly with Malvazija Istarska, Teran, and Pinot Gris. Its small tasting room sits at the edge of Kaldir with views toward Motovun and the Mirna valley.

Finish a Kaldir route here when you prefer a small-scale tasting and want to compare Pinot Gris with the area’s more familiar Malvazija and Teran. Contact the winery before arrival because the tasting room has limited capacity.

Addresses: Trg Andrea Antico 7 and Mure 11, 52424, Motovun, Croatia

Known for fruit brandies and herbal liqueurs. Two tasting shops in Motovun.

Wine is Motovun’s main drink connection, but the upper town also has a tasting stop for Istrian brandies and liqueurs.

• Address: Trg Andrea Antico 7, 52424 Motovun

Aura Motovun sells Istrian brandies, liqueurs, gin, jams, and other regional products. Teranino, made with Teran wine and spices, gives the shop a direct connection to one of Motovun’s principal grapes.

Stop here when you want to compare Istrian wine with the region’s fruit and herbal liqueurs. Keep the existing Aura photograph beneath this entry.