Matuljicious expands the Kvarner story toward Portugal: Kapić Wines and the flavors of Matulji gained international attention in Viseu
The Matuljicious /matuljišs/ project, which in recent years has established itself as one of the more recognizable tourism-gastronomy identities of Matulji, gained a new international dimension after the Portuguese edition of the collaboration opened space for presenting Matulji wines and the local eno-gastronomic story in the Dão region. After the central Matuljicious International event, held on 26 November 2025 at the Stancija Kovačići restaurant, the collaboration of local and Portuguese chefs, sommeliers, and winemakers grew beyond the framework of a one-time dinner and turned into a platform for further connecting Matulji and the Portuguese city of Viseu. For a place that is increasingly positioning itself as an address of authentic Kvarner experiences, this is an important step forward because the local story no longer stops only at promotion to domestic guests, but is also being carried toward markets that already have a strong wine and gastronomic culture. In that context, Matulji is not exporting only a bottle of wine or an individual dish, but the entire identity of the area, from the Chakavian language and local labels to the idea that the best of a place should be presented as a complete experience. For visitors who want to get to know the area from which this story began, an important part of such an experience remains the
accommodation offers in Matulji, especially during periods when the biggest gastronomic events are held.
An evening at Stancija Kovačići as the beginning of a new phase of cooperation
According to data from the Matulji Municipality Tourist Board, Matuljišs International 2025 was the central international program of the Matuljicious /matuljišs/ project and was held in the setting of Stancija Kovačići as part of a November marked by the “Za prsti polizat” program. The event continued the experience of the previous collaboration with the Italian region of Umbria, and this time Portugal was in the spotlight. In the six-course dinner, local chef Vinko Frlan and Portuguese chef Inês Beja from Viseu came together, while Portuguese wines were presented to the guests by sommelier Antonio Ramos. It was precisely this encounter that, according to the available information, opened space for a new phase of partnership because after the Matulji event, contacts were established that led toward the idea of presenting Matulji wines and the Matuljicious concept in Portugal. In organizational terms, this shows that gastronomic events make sense when they move beyond a one-day framework and grow into a network of concrete collaborations, knowledge exchange, and joint promotion. For Matulji, this is especially important because it confirms that a local project, created in a place gravitating toward the Opatija Riviera, can become recognizable beyond Croatian borders.
The menu of the Matulji edition of the collaboration clearly showed why such a meeting had the potential to continue. On the table were wild gilt-head bream tartare, Portuguese bacalhau à Brás, cuttlefish maneštra and curd gnocchi, marinated lamb with Portuguese rice, duck breast, and a dessert that combined Encruzado wine and Serra da Estrela cheese. In the wine part of the evening, local wines stood out in particular, among them Kastavska belica Kapić 2024 and Črjena zemja Kapić 2023, which offered the audience a direct encounter with the Matulji and Kvarner terroir. Also important is the fact that, according to the organizers’ announcement, interest in the event was high and seats filled very quickly after the program was announced. This indicates that Matuljicious is no longer merely a local event limited to the calendar of one municipality, but content that has the strength to attract an audience eager for experience, story, and quality.
Why Viseu is a logical choice for continuing the story
If the broader context is considered, the choice of Viseu for the Portuguese presentation is no coincidence. The official tourism pages of that Portuguese city describe Viseu as the “capital of the land of Dão wine,” and the Dão region is indeed one of Portugal’s most recognizable wine zones. The Dão Regional Wine Commission is also active there, and the Dão wine route has been developing wine tourism as an important part of the local economy for decades. In other words, the Matulji story is not directed toward just any destination, but toward a place that well understands the value of terroir, origin, grape variety, and the connection of wine with landscape and gastronomy. This is especially important for a winery like Kapić, which builds its own identity precisely on linking wine with local speech, customs, and Liburnian heritage.
At the same time, Viseu is not important only as a wine center. It is also a city that has systematically cultivated its gastronomic image in recent years, and official Portuguese sources emphasize the connection of the city’s offer with Dão wine, regional cheeses, and indigenous cuisine. In such an environment, a Croatian guest appearance does not merely mean the promotion of one label, but entry into a space where the audience already has a developed culture of tasting, comparing, and evaluating products. That is precisely why the announcement that Matuljicious and Kapić Wines will be presented in Portugal sends a strong message: local organizers did not seek the easiest audience, but an audience that knows what it expects from wine and gastronomy. That also increases the value of such a presentation, because every recognition or interest gained in such a context carries additional weight.
Kapić Wines as the bearer of Matulji’s identity outside Croatia
According to data from the official pages of the Matulji Municipality Tourist Board and the winery itself, Kapić Winery was founded in 2022 and represents a newer but clearly profiled wave of Kvarner winemaking. The particularity of its approach lies not only in wine production, but also in the way local identity is poured into the brand. The labels bear names from the Chakavian dialect, making the wine a cultural medium as well, not just a product for the market. In tourism terms, this is a very important detail because the modern guest is increasingly less interested in generic offers and increasingly seeks authenticity that can be tied to a concrete region and its language, people, and customs. Kapić is therefore much more in this story than a wine partner: it is one of the most visible symbols of the effort to present Matulji’s distinctiveness confidently, without giving up its local character.
Official data show that the winery from Matulji produces several labels, including Kastavska belica, Malvasia, Chardonnay, Muscat, Merlot, and Teran, and the tasting room in the center of Matulji is part of the year-round eno-gastronomic offer. This means that the international appearance is not an isolated episode, but a logical continuation of a process in which the local product is first built and confirmed at home, and only then taken abroad. It is precisely such an order that gives credibility to the whole story. When the Portuguese audience is presented with the “treasure from the glass” from Matulji, as it is vividly announced within the project, behind it stands a concrete winery, a real product, and a destination where that product can be experienced at its source. That is why, for the audience that will only be discovering this Kvarner area, practical information about where to find
accommodation in Matulji is also important, especially for those who want to combine the wine story with touring the Opatija Riviera, the Kastav area, and the green hinterland of Učka.
A partnership that connects tourism, gastronomy, and destination promotion
In the background of the whole story there is not only wine, but also a broader tourism concept. From the beginning, Matuljicious has built the idea of “the best of Matulji in one place,” which means that local gastronomy is not viewed separately from activities, heritage, landscape, and the identity of the place. According to the official pages of the Tourist Board, Matuljicious 2026 continues that logic as a recognizable destination product, and international guest appearances give it additional value because the project is growing from a local event into an exportable promotional model. When a chef from Portugal, after appearing in Matulji, wants to open space for similar cooperation in her own environment, that actually means that not only the flavor but also the event format has been recognized. For the organizers, this is probably one of the most important confirmations of success.
According to the words of Marijana Kalčić presented in the delivered information, the tourism-gastronomy partnership between Viseu and Matulji continues to develop, and the Matuljicious project has naturally connected Croatia and Portugal. In such a statement lies the key to the entire story: gastronomy is used here as a language of international connection. Croatia is known in many markets as a tourist country, but far less often as an eno-gastronomic destination whose smaller communities can enter into equal dialogue with Europe’s established wine regions. That is exactly why this kind of step forward is important even beyond local frameworks. It shows that even a small community can position itself if it consistently builds its own story, includes local producers, and cooperates with partners who understand the value of quality, and not only marketing noise.
What the Portuguese audience can recognize in the Matulji story
Portugal is a country of strong culinary memory, regional identities, and wine tradition, so it is understandable that organizers in Matulji see more in this cooperation than an ordinary guest appearance. The Portuguese audience understands well the concept of a local product that is not separated from its place of origin. In the Dão region, indigenous grape varieties, the connection of wine with soil and climate, and the wine-tourism experience that includes visits to wineries, tastings, and getting to know the landscape are especially valued. Within that framework, the Matulji story can be readable and interesting, because it itself starts from a similar logic: from domestic product, short chains of quality, small producers, and a strong connection with local culture. Kapić’s wines with Chakavian names are precisely an example of a product that can be understandable to a foreign audience because an authentic story stands behind it, not generic marketing packaging.
On the other hand, the Portuguese appearance can also have a return effect on Matulji. Every international collaboration that is sufficiently visible on social networks, in the media, and among wine circles opens the possibility that part of the audience will also become interested in the destination itself from which that story comes. In that sense, Matulji is not promoting only a wine label, but also itself as an entry point for experiencing Kvarner from a different angle. This can be especially interesting to guests looking for less publicized destinations, local cuisine, contact with producers, and a stay outside the most crowded coastal centers. For such visitors, the practical continuation of the story through
accommodation close to the event venue is also important, because eno-gastronomic tourism most often implies a multi-day stay, tastings, tours of the surroundings, and a slower pace of travel.
Matuljicious as a development model that does not depend on mass scale
One of the more important messages of this project is that destination identity does not have to be built exclusively on large numbers, but on precisely shaped content. Matuljicious was not conceived as a faceless mass event, but as a project that connects restaurants, local products, workshops, outdoor offerings, and the stories of the people who live and work in that area. That is precisely why the slogan “Pomalo da se dugo zajde” is not just a charming phrase, but describes the development philosophy well: instead of rapid consumption of content, an experience is offered that lasts, that is remembered, and that can be passed on further. In tourism and economic terms, this is an increasingly relevant model, especially at a time when many destinations are looking for more sustainable forms of development and greater added value per guest, with less pressure on space.
In such a logic, international partnerships with regions like Viseu have additional meaning. They enable the exchange of audiences, ideas, and reputation, but without the loss of local character. On the contrary, the more authentic the project is, the more easily it can be recognized abroad. This applies both to Matuljišs International from November 2025 and to the continuation of cooperation through the announced presentation of Matulji wines in Portugal. If that direction continues, in the years to come Matulji could shape its own position even more clearly on the map of eno-gastronomic destinations of the northern Adriatic, not as a copy of more famous places, but as a community that has its own pace, its own flavor, and its own language.
From the local table to international recognition
Ultimately, the value of this story lies not only in the fact that one Croatian winery is appearing before a Portuguese audience, but in the fact that it shows how a local idea can grow organically, without renouncing its own roots. Matuljicious began in Matulji as a platform that gathers the best of the place in one place, and today it is clear that this concept also has potential beyond Croatia’s borders. Stancija Kovačići was the stage where Kvarner and Portuguese flavors met, but even more importantly, it became the place where the conversation about more lasting cooperation began. In stories like these, the true power of gastronomy is often seen best: it does not remain only on the plate and in the glass, but creates ties between people, cities, and regions that until yesterday may barely have known each other.
For Matulji, this is therefore more than just nice news from the world of food and wine. It is confirmation that a destination story, when it is consistent and strong in content, can also reach an audience coming from an extremely demanding eno-gastronomic environment. And for the Croatian tourism and wine scene, it is a reminder that international visibility is not built only through large campaigns, but also through encounters that are convincing enough for a new stage of partnership to arise from one dinner. In that sense, Matuljicious really goes slowly, but surely, and it is precisely in that slower, authentic construction that its greatest strength lies.
Sources:- Matulji Municipality Tourist Board – official announcement about the Matuljišs International 2025 event, the date of its holding, the chefs, and the dinner courses (link)
- Matulji Municipality Tourist Board – official project and destination pages, including the current Matuljicious 2026 framework and the presentation of Matulji as a tourism-gastronomy destination (link)
- Matulji Municipality Tourist Board – official profile of Kapić Winery with data on its founding, labels, and tasting room in Matulji (link)
- Kapîć Winery – official winery pages with a description of the brand, the connection with Liburnian and Kastav tradition, and information about the tasting room and winery in Matulji (link)
- Quinta dos Monteirinhos – official pages of the Portuguese winery with data on family tradition, wine production, and location in the Dão region (link)
- Visit Viseu – official tourism pages of the city of Viseu with a description of the city as the wine center of the Dão region (link)
- CVR Dão – official pages of the Dão Regional Wine Commission about the wine route, the identity of the region, and the importance of varieties such as Encruzado (link)
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