Last week distributors of Croatian wines in Japan together with representatives of several important retail chains toured Croatia in order to continue their cooperation in the export of Croatian wines in Japan.

During their visit to vineyards and cellars throughout Croatia seven Japanese distributors and potential buyers, who arrived in Croatia, tasted selected wines and authentic Croatian specialties. They decided to import Croatian quality wines and wine varieties that have until now been unavailable on the Japanese market.

The export of Croatian wines to Japan started last year. Then a large representation of Croatian wines was organized at the biggest trade fair in Japan earlier this year in February. The representation at the Supermarket Trade Show in Tokyo and the arrival of the Japanese partners to Croatia are part of a large project of promoting Croatian wines in Japan.

This project confirmed that Japan is a very demanding and very interesting market for Croatian winemakers who can supply this market with high quality authentic wines.
The Japanese drink around 364 million litres of wine a year, mostly wines from Europe amongst which Croatian wines are becoming more recognizable and important for the Japanese market.

During their visit to Vina Belje, the guests from Japan, to their surprise and delight, were welcomed by Mirko Filipovic ''Cro Cop'', who is very popular among the Japanese and surely the greatest ambassador of Croatian sports and Croatia in Japan.