Wobbling Winos: Day 17 - Rovinj to Porec

Day 16 - Rovinj to Porec. 45km, 3:30

Our route today took us along the Limski fjord over mixed terrain with quite a climb along the edge of the fjord. The Limski fjord is 20 km north of Rovinj and a popular boat trip from there. The deep inlet is flanked by steep forested terrain. At the top of the climb,there is a view point which gave us a beautiful vista across the fjord.

Matosevic Winery was not far so we set off for a wine tasting. The heavens opened when we arrived there,w so fortunately we could get some shelter with a wine tasting thrown in.

Slaven, the assistant winemaker took us through the wines. He is absolutely passionate about his job and gave us an interesting overview of the various wines. All the whites were Malvasjias; the first was the Alba, an un-wooded wine vinified in stainless steel tanks and made to drink early. The other three were wooded and more serious wines. Interestingly they were aged in French oak as well as Istrian acacia barrels which gave the wine a different complexity with which we were not familiar. The red wine we tasted was a Merlot Teran blend; although it was a 2012 vintage the tannins were still quite firm and I suggest one should give it another three years at least. It will last well for 10 - 15 years.

Fortunately it had cleared when we left the winery but it was really cold so we put on our leggings and extra sleeves and set off.

It is unbelievable that we have been in Croatia for over 2 weeks now and we have had only 4 days of sunshine. Slaven said that the season had been unusually cold and wet which did not bode well for a good harvest.

A few of the restaurants along the road were doing suckling pig on the spit. We. Could not resist stopping at a lovely roadside restaurant were they had a leg of pork on the spit. It looked absolutely delicious and well-supported by the locals. It was just what we needed and was very reasonably priced too.

From there we wandered along a rural road that wound its way through quaint villages for about 8 km before we joined the 303 that took us into Porec.

Porec is almost 2000 yrs old with the old town set on a peninsula. The most notable attraction is the Euphrasian Basilica that has gorgeous glittering mosaics dating back to the 4 th century. The Basilica was rebuilt 3 times and each time the floor was covered in mosaics. We were caught up in a Croatian wedding that was a very jolly affair.

Porec is quite touristy and didn't have the same charm as Rovinj.

We found a lovely apartment in suburbia in which to spend the night.