a family story
September 1949, valle d'istria
Not too far from Pola, Italy, or Yugoslavia even better,
in other words current Croatia.
Giuliano and Elena, for us
Morè and Morèda, are 20 years old.
They have a farmhouse and the want to spend theirs lives together,
surrounded by animals near a bunch of grapes
and an olive tree.
Giuliano has a blond tuft and an old poser look
suitable for an American movie, but maybe
all of our grandpas look like this. Elena was the richest in town,
which means that her house
had two entrance steps and a good position
on the square.
outward journey
History had other plans for them. Valle,
“Bale” in Croatian, would not be the place for them: their fate would bring them
elsewhere: a destiny as refugees before arriving in
Turin and the years of assembly line in FIAT.
It took so long before they could go back home for holidays,
for wine and for hugs under a pergola with their friends.
the return
We are in the 80s-90s.
For us grandchildren the holidays in Istria on taxi 1348
(name of our Malvasia Bagolar that will make you travel through
the flavors of the Istrian Region) mean
a journey in distant time. We used to spend our time among rows of vines, walks through
the peasant countryside, pecorino cheese, raw ham and olives:
always with a tipycal “bocaleta” of wine.
Twenty years of family holidays searching for our roots: wild boar fuži, vegetables in oil, grilled fish and of course Istrian malvasia, with Morè and “Papa 1348” who sang “tipsy” after a very alcoholic August 15th.
A personal and collective story of reconciliation between Morèda and its lands, between Italy and Istria: in a Disney fairy tale the
grandparents would return home with a small vegetable
garden to spend old age.
Unfortunately only in 2008 the law that prevented Italians
from repurchasing houses and land in Istria was removed:
too late for Morè and Morèda who passed away shortly before.
We love to imagine them “bagolar”
(having fun, festa) with their Malvasia on a cloud just above Valle.
bagolar
In 2018 Bagolar – Terra Istriana was born.
A company with a simple, clear and single goal: producing high quality Istrian oil and wine.
Our will and our mission are engraved within us, we dream of recreating a part of our family history.
The desire is to walk our grandparents’ steps, we want to get back in touch with Istrian soil.
We produce wines in purity, native vines such as Malvasia, Teran, Moscato Rosso and Moscato Giallo,
historical and traditional wines coming from vineyards that witnessed war in the recent past.
Then comes the extra virgin olive oil, first cold pressed, unfiltered, obtained from a mix of olives from native only cultivars such as Istarska Bjelica, Buža, Crnica, all ancient varieties with a glorious past (originating from Greece of pre-Roman era).