The Old Days

Co-Credit: Adriatico.ie & Wine Enthusiast

In the old days, Istrians enjoyed “terrano di una volta” which was drunk “like milk” and was quite wild and harsh.

It was the nourishment of generations that grew up with Istrian soup wine dish, basically, the crust of charred homemade bread dipped into olive oil and Teran wine, seasoned with sugar and pepper. The Istrian soup is served in bukaleta, a ceramic jug and if possible kept near the fireplace, for the wine should be warm. Once all the ingredients are in the bukaleta (minus the bread), the soup should be stirred so sugar melts in the wine. Finally, freshly toasted bread is added to the wine and served. Ideally, the soup should be consumed with a ceramic spoon and drank at the same time. Istrian soup is a social wine dish made for the company of friends and bukaleta should be passed around.

  • 1 l of Red istrian wine teran
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of Istrian olive oil
  • 1 pinch of pepper
  • 2 slices of Toasted bread

- typical ingredients

Modern Re-Introduction

Aged, the Teran can ripe fine in wooden barrels, but it’s only in the hands of a true master that it will realize a ripeness in which the mineral sensation of Istrian earth remains preserved in the backbone of a now ready wine, full of salubrious tannins.

With today’s technology, because of the naturally enhanced acidity of Teran, a malolactic fermentation is stimulated, thanks to which Teran is softened and becomes accessible to a wider public that’s not used to “Istrian soup.”