Source: Jutarnji list
Published: 10.04.2024.
Although the first association for many people with the Saints Hills winery is Pelješac, Ernest and Ivana Tolj bought a 15-hectare property in the Istrian village of Radovani in 2007, near the famous observatory in Višnjan and just 12 kilometers from Poreč. The final preparations are currently underway there for the grand opening of the Cantina winery , which should open its doors to its first visitors in early May.
When you turn into this small town, just follow the road that will take you to the end of the village, continue driving along the walls of the estate on the left until you see the entrance to the Sv. Ante vineyard , the highest peak in southwestern Istria, on whose property there is a new Istrian winery, which, in addition to the famous and award-winning Saints Hills wines, will offer guests accommodation in three apartments and several well-thought-out dishes in their restaurant.
From the Sv. Ante, by the way, most of the white wines come from the Saints Hills portfolio: the successful Malvasia and Chardonnay blends Nevina and Mala Nevina, the white Bordeaux blend Frenchie and the best Croatian Chardonnay Le Chiffre , which was included in the list of the 100 best wines in the world in 2023 by Wine Enthusiast, sitting in a high 35th place.
We arrived in Istria on the eve of the 17th anniversary of the Saints Hills winery and Ernest Tolj’s birthday, but also two years since work began on the property. We were greeted by Deni Mandić , a partner in the Tolj family, who will run the Cantine restaurant. He is only 31 years old, but since he has been in the hospitality industry with his father Josip since he was a child, he says he has a lot of experience and knowledge, but also a responsibility towards the trust placed in him by his partners.
Roberto Štokovac , the winery’s oenologist, who is only 27 and this is his first job, also approaches us with a smile . But don’t let that fool you. This young man, originally from Mužić, has every vine on this property “in his little finger” and is happy to talk about everything they have done in the last two years since he has been at Saints Hills.
“On 149 thousand square meters, we have more than 70 thousand vines of the Chardonnay (about 60 thousand), Sauvignon (about 8 thousand) and Semillon (5 thousand) varieties on the red Istrian soil. Of these, about 20 thousand new plantations were planted in 2023, while the old plantations have been here since 2006,” he says, leading us towards the winery located at the back of the Cantina.
“There are about one hundred thousand liters of wine in their cellar, some in concrete tanks, some in French oak barrels of the Nadalie and Francois Freres brands,” says Štokovac, emphasizing that many people ask why they give them an advantage over Croatian oak barrels, but the answer, he adds, is very clear: “All French barrels are the same, there are no oscillations in capacity, and their quality is better.”
The cellar, although on the same level as the restaurant, is weatherproof. “Each of the tanks has its own cooling system. Everything ferments on concrete at about 16, 17 degrees, which is much easier than in, for example, stainless steel tanks.”
The wine has currently been in barrels since October 2023, while the wine from the concrete tanks has already been bottled, and Mala Nevina and Frenchie from them are already on the market. It is also interesting to add that with the new winery, the grapes will no longer be processed in Dalmatia, but immediately on site at the Cantina winery.
Touring the property, which will shine in full glory in a week or two when everything turns green, there are olive trees next to the vines. They make extra virgin olive oil St. Lorena from them. Slightly spicy, moderately bitter, beautiful green in color, fruity and soft, this oil is a blend of several varieties of olives that grow next to the vineyards. This oil was named after the youngest daughter of Ernest and Ivana Tolj, as are the vineyards they have – the Dalmatian one is named after the two oldest children, or the saints after whom they were named – St. Rok (Komarna) and St. Lucia (Dingač), and the Istrian one after the younger son, who was named after St. Ante.
The restaurant, we are told, will serve Saints Hills wines and Sv. Lorena olive oil with the dishes, but the offer also includes Pašareta, a favorite of many Istrians, San Servolo light beer and Martesi brandy by Davor Turković, while Hug & Punch from Matulji has prepared an excellent coffee blend with notes of dingač.
“As for the menu, our focus is on seasonal food, but in the direction of classic cuisine. When we talk about Istria, there will also be Istrian prosciutto, a selection of Istrian cheeses, ombolo, sausages, fuži or pljukanci with truffles, various frittatas, Istrian šug with gnocchi, risotto with canaštrela and cuttlefish, fish soup…”, Mandić tells us, while his father and chef Paolo are already preparing most of the dishes he has listed for us and are calling us into the kitchen.
They had just kneaded the dough for the pljukanci, fuži, and pasta that they would serve with the hlap, so they “threw themselves” into preparing all the necessary ingredients for the steak tartare that Deni would prepare for us on the terrace overlooking the vineyards, in the school style, with all the trimmings.
As he mixes the steak and gradually adds the mayonnaise he has just mixed, then capers, cucumbers, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, Tabasco, mustard, salted anchovies… he continues his story about the dishes from the restaurant’s menu.
“Although we also have typical Istrian dishes on offer, we will also have tuna and old school beef tartar, which we will prepare in front of our guests in the way I am preparing it for you now. For meat lovers, our restaurant will be the right address if they like grilled steak, rump steak tagliatelle and fiorentina steak, and especially if they are fans of slow food, because with a prior order, we will also offer veal in broth, ossobuco and 60-day aged Black Angus T-bone steak,” says the restaurant manager while already serving the finished steak tartare with cubes of butter and toasted bread on the terrace with a view all the way to Vrsar and the sea.
“If I had to highlight any one dish, it would definitely be the hlap with homemade pasta and the Adriatic fish for two prepared in salt.” And indeed, although we found no complaints about the previous dishes we had the opportunity to taste, the sea bass in salt – depending on the seasonal offer, they will also prepare bream, turbot and sole in the same way – was masterfully done. Josip Mandić grilled it flawlessly, and his son Deni served it in front of us as only top waiters know how.
Truth be told, the halibut with pasta was no less impressive. But while some might say it’s hard to go wrong with these ingredients, the fact is that Cantina prepared and presented them beautifully, not making any mistakes with what was served with the sea bass and halibut. The pasta was just cooked, and the sauce smelled of the sea and summer, while the Swiss chard served with the fish was perfectly cooked and seasoned.
Here, the Tolj couple tell us, in addition to lunch, dinner and enjoying a bottle of wine and small snacks in the vineyard, guests will also be able to stay overnight and come on wine tours. Since the restaurant has a capacity of 26 seats indoors and 50 seats outdoors, the place is ideal for smaller celebrations, receptions, business and private gatherings. Thinking about the future and accessibility of the location, a helipad was built in the middle of the vineyard, and they are also secretive about their plans for the future, which only tells us that the Saints Hills story is by no means over.
“Cantina is home to our white wines, where we finally opened the doors of Saints Hills in Istria, to enjoy everything that belongs to this wonderful setting: wines and Istrian cuisine. We plan to continue growing in the future, and how that will happen, we don’t even know,” they tell us, pointing to the young and strong forces of Cantina.
“Roberto is really young, but he has already been with us for four vintages, he has worked and learned from our well-coordinated team and consultants long enough to take over Cantina with our full trust. Our partner Deni also has enviable experience in his hospitality business, so he has our trust! Youth is also responsible for enthusiasm, so we are looking forward to all new beginnings!”, Ernest and Ivana Tolj tell us, as always emphasizing the importance of family and mutual support.
“Family and support are very important: as we created life together, and thus our work, we support each other in every way. We work and create together, and the children have grown up with this work, so support is a natural part of it.”
