Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights on May 29 brings the evening “Flavours of the Adriatic” to Novigrad
Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights continues on Friday, May 29, 2026, at the Oliveto restaurant within the Aminess Vival Maestral Hotel in Novigrad. It is a gastronomic event based on the concept of a one-day menu, designed especially for that evening, with an emphasis on local ingredients, signature interpretations of Istrian-Adriatic cuisine and pairing dishes with wines. The programme has been announced as part of a broader cycle of gourmet guest appearances organised by Aminess, in which prominent Croatian chefs and their signature approaches to regional cuisine are presented during the season in selected restaurants.
The evening in Novigrad is titled “Flavours of the Adriatic”, and according to published information it will be dedicated to five courses through which seasonal ingredients, the maritime character of Istria and a contemporary restaurant expression are combined. For visitors planning to arrive from outside the town, the fact that the event is held in the Aminess Vival Maestral hotel complex, near the coast and a short walk from the centre of Novigrad, is also especially important, so the gourmet evening can be combined with a weekend stay and a search for
accommodation in Novigrad.
A one-day menu as the main special feature of the event
The basic idea of the Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights programme is that a menu is created for each edition that is not part of the regular restaurant offer, but is available only on the day of the event. Such a format gives the chef and the restaurant team room for a freer interpretation of ingredients, while offering guests an experience that is not repeated in the same form. In practice, this means that the evening is not conceived only as a classic dinner, but as a guided gastronomic story in which each course has its own theme, rhythm and role in the whole.
The announcement of the Novigrad edition emphasises the connection between local ingredients and the people who turn them into a rounded fine dining experience. In such an approach, the relationship with the season is important: fish, seafood, vegetables, olive oil, herbs and wines do not appear only as decorative elements of the menu, but as the backbone of the story about the area from which they come. That is precisely why the programme fits well into the broader Istrian gastronomic identity, in which tradition is increasingly not presented as a closed set of recipes, but as a living culinary language that can also develop in a contemporary restaurant environment.
David Skoko, Stiven Vunić and Martina Labinjan in a savoury and sweet interpretation of the Mediterranean
According to the official Aminess announcement, the savoury part of the evening at the Oliveto restaurant is led by chefs David Skoko and Stiven Vunić, while pastry chef Martina Labinjan is in charge of the final sweet part. Such a line-up gives the event a clear signature structure: seafood and seasonal cuisine are presented through several chefs’ styles, and the dessert section receives separate importance instead of being merely the final addition to the menu. Across five courses, a combination of local flavours, technically precise preparation and presentation suited to the format of a special restaurant evening is expected.
David Skoko has for years been associated with cuisine that starts from the sea, fishing tradition and Adriatic ingredients, and in the context of Aminess’s programme his name also appears in other dates of Novigrad gourmet evenings. Stiven Vunić is presented in the announcement as part of the team that, together with Skoko, shapes the savoury part of the menu, while Martina Labinjan brings the pastry segment with an emphasis on a Mediterranean sweet finale. In such a division, the evening gains dramaturgy: from the first courses that introduce the flavours of the Adriatic, through the main interpretations of seasonal catch and local ingredients, to the dessert that rounds off the experience.
Matošević wines as an accompaniment to the menu
An important part of the Novigrad Wine & Gourmet Nights evening will also be the pairing of food with Matošević wines. The official announcement particularly highlights Malvasia and aged red wines, which suggests an intention for the menu to be built not only around the plate, but also around the glass. For this type of dinner, wine is not an accompanying detail, but an equal element of the experience: the minerality of white wines, the freshness of the variety and the structure of red wines can emphasise different layers of the dishes, from maritime notes to fuller, earthier and more mature flavours.
Istrian Malvasia has in recent decades become one of the most recognisable wine symbols of the region, and pairing it with local dishes logically leans on the ambience of the event. In a five-course restaurant format, such pairing makes it possible for each dish to be observed in relation to the texture, aroma and intensity of the wine. This makes Wine & Gourmet Nights different from an ordinary promotional tasting: the goal is not only to present labels, but to show how wine and cuisine together build the experience of a place.
Restaurant Oliveto and Aminess Vival Maestral Hotel as the setting for the evening
Restaurant Oliveto is located within the Aminess Vival Maestral Hotel, and the hotel’s gastronomic offer includes several restaurant and bar facilities. Official information about the hotel states that Oliveto’s regular offer includes traditional Croatian dishes for lunch and dinner, while à la carte Oliveto places the emphasis on local dishes prepared to order and on special occasions. That is precisely why the venue is a natural choice for an event that wants to combine hotel infrastructure, a restaurant ambience and a signature menu.
In this case, Novigrad is more than a location on the poster. The town and its coast give the event a recognisable framework: the proximity of the sea, promenades, hotel facilities and the old town centre enables visitors to connect dinner with a longer stay. For those coming specifically for the event, the practical advantage is the possibility of planning
accommodation near the Oliveto restaurant, especially because the gastronomic evening is held on a Friday and can be an occasion for an extended weekend.
A gourmet programme that travels along the coast
Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights is not limited only to one edition in Novigrad. According to the schedule published by Aminess, the programme in 2026 includes several locations and chefs, from Istria to Dalmatia. In Novigrad, dates with David Skoko have been announced at the Half 8 restaurant on June 26, July 31 and August 28, while at the Oliveto restaurant, in the Aminess Vival Maestral Hotel, in addition to May 29, the continuation of the programme is listed on October 30 and December 18. This positions the Novigrad scene as one of the centres of Aminess’s gourmet calendar.
The programme also continues in other destinations. For Njivice on Krk, at 7seas Restaurant & Bar, chef Matija Bogdan has been announced with dates on June 19, July 17, August 7 and September 25. In Makarska, at Vira Rooftop Dining & Bar, within the Aminess Laurel Khalani Hotel, chef Hrvoje Zirojević has been announced with dates on June 4, July 2, August 6 and September 10. On Korčula, the programme continues at 7seas Restaurant & Bar, in the Aminess Younique Korčula Heritage Hotel, where Matija Bogdan is also mentioned. Such a schedule shows that the concept is not conceived as an isolated event, but as a seasonal gastronomic platform that connects several coastal destinations.
Why this format is important for the tourism and restaurant offer
Gastronomic events such as Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights are important because they move the tourism offer beyond the basic model of accommodation, beaches and seasonal consumption. Special dinners with signature menus create a reason to arrive on a precisely defined date, and give the local destination content that can be communicated through the culture of food, wine and place. For Novigrad, this means additional visibility in the period of late spring, before the main summer peak, when such events are especially useful for extending the season and attracting an audience that plans travel around gastronomy.
Such an approach also corresponds to the trend in which restaurants are increasingly viewed less only as places of consumption and more as spaces of experience. Visitors do not come exclusively because of one dish, but because of the story the evening offers: who is cooking, which ingredients are used, which wines accompany the menu, where the event is held and whether everything can be connected with a shorter trip. For that reason, practical information about the
accommodation offer in Novigrad is a natural part of planning, especially for those who want to avoid returning immediately after dinner and experience the town outside the restaurant appointment itself.
Between fine dining and local identity
The announcement of the event particularly emphasises the “synergy of local ingredients” and the people who shape them into a multi-course menu. This is an important difference compared with generic fine dining concepts that can be transferred to almost any destination. The Novigrad evening makes sense precisely because it starts from Istria and the Adriatic: fish, the season, wine, a hotel restaurant by the coast and chefs who can translate the theme into a contemporary plate form a whole that belongs to this area.
Fine dining in such a context does not have to mean a departure from tradition. On the contrary, the most interesting part of such evenings is often precisely that familiar ingredients and flavours receive a new form. Traditional Istrian, Kvarner and Dalmatian “spiza”, as highlighted in the promotional description of Aminess’s culinary offer, can be a starting point for a modern interpretation, but without losing recognisability. The success of such an approach is measured by whether the guest can recognise on the plate the area from which the dish comes, even when the preparation technique is contemporary.
Reservations and the limited nature of the event
Since the menu for Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights is available only for one day, the event by its nature has limited capacity and requires prior planning. In the announcement, the organiser invites guests to reserve seats, which is usual for such dinners because the number of courses, wine accompaniment, serving pace and kitchen work are prepared according to the expected number of guests. Compared with a regular restaurant visit, the completeness of the experience is important here: guests arrive at a specific time, go through the same gastronomic scenario and participate in an evening shaped as a unique event.
For visitors coming from other places, it is practical to check in advance the availability of seats at the dinner and the possibilities of staying nearby. Novigrad is a tourist destination with a developed hotel and private accommodation offer, and the event itself at the Aminess Vival Maestral Hotel makes planning easier for those who want to combine dinner, a walk by the sea and an overnight stay in the immediate vicinity. In that sense,
accommodation for visitors to Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights becomes part of the broader experience, and not just a logistical addition.
Novigrad as a stage for a spring gourmet evening
The date of May 29 places the event in a period when coastal destinations are already entering the livelier part of the year, but are not yet in the full summer rhythm. For gastronomic programmes, this is a favourable moment: the audience has more space for a slower, more content-rich stay, restaurants can emphasise late-spring seasonal ingredients, and the destination receives an event that is not tied only to bathing tourism. In this context, Novigrad functions as an ambience that combines the sea, hotel, promenade, wine and restaurant cuisine.
Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights at the Oliveto restaurant can therefore be viewed as part of a broader shift toward more content-rich tourism, in which the value of a destination is also built through events with a clear identity. The evening “Flavours of the Adriatic” has been announced as a five-course experience in which chefs, Matošević wines, local ingredients and a hotel restaurant by the sea meet. If the announced format follows that logic, the Novigrad edition will not be only a dinner for one Friday, but another example of how gastronomy can become the central reason for arriving in a destination.
Sources:- Aminess – official announcement of the Aminess Wine & Gourmet Night event in Novigrad, the “Flavours of the Adriatic” programme, chefs, Matošević wines and the Wine & Gourmet Nights 2026 schedule.- Colours of Istria – announcement of the Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights event in Novigrad, location Restaurant Oliveto, Aminess Maestral Hotel and description of the one-day menu concept.- Aminess Vival Maestral Hotel – official information about restaurants and bars, including Restaurant Oliveto and à la carte Oliveto.
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