Wine & Walk by the Sea 2026 in Novigrad: ten kilometres of wine, food and walking by the sea
Wine & Walk by the Sea returns to Novigrad – Cittanova on Saturday, 26 September 2026, with a programme combining an easy recreational walk of around ten kilometres, wines from northwestern Istria and the gastronomy of local restaurants and hotel companies. According to the official announcement on the Colours of Istria portal, the event starts at 9 a.m., while participant registration at Veliki trg begins half an hour earlier. The route is designed to connect the historic centre, the seaside promenade, vineyards and olive groves in the surroundings of the town, and seven wine & food stations will be set up along the trail. At each of them, winemakers personally present their wines, while gastronomic partners prepare dishes and snacks matched with the labels on offer. The organisers present the event as a combination of eno-gastronomy and outdoor activity, with an emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients and distinctive Istrian varieties.
According to the official website, ticket sales for the 2026 edition opened on 25 August at 12 noon, and registration is carried out in advance through the official sales system linked from the event page. On the day of the event, participants must present a previously purchased voucher, so arriving without a registration secured in advance is not envisaged as the standard way of taking part. At the time of checking, the publicly available event page did not state the registration fee in its textual section, which is why the amount and availability of time slots should be checked in the official ticketing system before purchase. Interest in this event has been strong in recent years: the official Novigradski list states that more than 600 participants attended the edition held in 2024, confirming that this is an event for which it is useful to plan your arrival in advance.
Start at Veliki trg and departures in smaller groups
According to the official instructions for participants, gathering, registration and the start on 26 September will take place at Veliki trg in Novigrad – Cittanova. The registration desk opens at 8:30 a.m., and the first group sets off on the trail at 9 a.m. After that, groups depart every 20 minutes, with the final departure no later than 1 p.m., and a maximum of 50 people per group is planned. The organisers ask participants to arrive at the time slot they reserved when purchasing their ticket in order to avoid congestion at the start. This departure system allows visitors to be distributed along the entire route and prevents excessive waiting at the gastronomic stations.
Every registered participant, according to the organisers' instructions, receives a glass, a glass holder, a backpack, water, a surprise gift and a booklet containing a consumption voucher and a trail map. The voucher is used at the wine & food points, where the wine and gastronomic portions received are recorded. The official instructions state that the planned consumption includes two glasses of wine and a dish at the point, with the voucher validated by the exhibitor. The organiser also advises participants, regardless of the water they receive at registration, to bring their own additional supply of water just in case. The final point is once again at Veliki trg, and participants are expected to reach it no later than 7 p.m.
A route of around ten kilometres connects the coast, town, vineyards and olive groves
The official description of Wine & Walk by the Sea states that the trail is approximately ten kilometres long and passes through several different faces of the Novigrad landscape. Participants will walk along the seashore and the town promenade, through the historic and urban views of Novigrad, and then through the vineyards and olive groves in the surrounding area. It is precisely the alternation between maritime, urban and agricultural landscapes that makes this event different from a classic tasting at a single location: wine and food are distributed along the route, and between stations participants pass through the area from which some of the products on offer originate. According to the organisers' instructions, refreshment stations are located at intervals of approximately one to two kilometres.
The trail is described in the official instructions as accessible and easy, but ten kilometres of walking nevertheless requires suitable footwear and a basic level of physical fitness. The organisers recommend comfortable shoes and layered clothing, and in case of rain, a raincoat and footwear suitable for wet terrain. Baby strollers, bicycles, motorcycles or similar means of transport are not permitted on the route. Dogs are welcome, but they must be kept on a leash. Toilets will be marked on the map that participants receive upon registration, and waste bins are also placed at every refreshment station.
For visitors coming to Novigrad from other parts of Istria, Croatia or abroad, information about parking is also practical. The organiser states that parking will be possible in designated car parks, while free parking for participants will be provided near the City Sports Hall. Since the programme can last for most of the day and the final groups do not set off until around noon, it is useful to plan the return journey after the tastings in advance as well. For those wishing to combine the event with a weekend stay in the town, accommodation offers in Novigrad are also available, which can simplify organising the visit without the need to drive immediately after the wine programme ends.
Seven stations, eight wineries and wines from northwestern Istria
The wine segment of this year's programme brings together producers connected with Novigrad and northwestern Istria. According to the official event announcement, Degrassi and Veralda, Leonardo Palčić, Moreno Ivančić, Stancija Fava, Ghira Damira Mihelića, Demark and Pervino are taking part in Wine & Walk by the Sea 2026. Degrassi and Veralda are listed together on the official list, which is why a total of eight wine names appear across seven stations. The organisers announce that winemakers will personally present their wines at the points, so the tasting is conceived not merely as serving labels, but also as a direct encounter with the producers.
Malvasia, Teran and other varieties characteristic of northwestern Istria will be at the heart of the wine programme. The official description of the event particularly highlights direct communication between winemakers and participants, enabling visitors to receive information alongside their glass about varieties, vineyard sites, wine styles and production methods. Such a format also has an educational dimension: instead of tasting a larger number of labels indoors, participants encounter the wines gradually at different locations along the walk. At the same time, the landscape of vineyards and olive groves provides a broader context for the area's agricultural tradition, while the coastal section of the trail gives the event its distinctive Novigrad character.
The list of wineries also demonstrates the continuity of cooperation between local producers and the event. Some of the same names regularly participated in earlier editions of Wine & Walk by the Sea, and official town sources record that for years the event has attracted hundreds of lovers of wine, food and recreational walking. Novigradski list reported more than 600 participants for the edition held in 2024. That figure, together with the organisers' current announcement of consistently strong interest, shows that the concept is not a novelty introduced for 2026, but a format that has built its own audience over several seasons.
Gastronomic partners prepare dishes on site
Alongside the wines, the gastronomic programme forms an important part of the event. According to the organisers' current list, dishes will be presented by Porporela within the Blu Mare hotel, Navigare restaurant at Hotel Nautica, Konoba Nino, Pelagius under the direction of Dean Spećina, Kod Marice and Half 8, while Aminess Vival Maestral Hotel is responsible for dessert. The organiser announces that chefs will finish certain dishes in front of participants, and each point will have its own food and wine combination. The gastronomic component is therefore conceived as a sequence of smaller experiences distributed along the trail rather than as a single meal at the beginning or end of the walk.
The official announcement emphasises local and seasonal ingredients and creative interpretations of Istrian specialities. This means that gastronomy is conceived as an equal part of the event, rather than merely an accompaniment to the wine tasting. Each station has its own identity, so both the setting and the combinations on the plate and in the glass change over the course of ten kilometres. It is precisely this principle that allows participants to discover several restaurants, culinary approaches and wine producers in a single day, without the need to visit each location separately.
Visitors should also know that the official instructions limit stays at each individual point to approximately 20 to 30 minutes. This rule serves to maintain the flow of groups along the trail, particularly because new groups set off every 20 minutes. Participants should therefore not plan long stays at a single location, but instead follow the pace of the route and the time available. The organiser also states that after 7 p.m. it cannot guarantee the availability of food and wine at the final point because the refreshment station closes at that time.
Registration, voucher and registration fee refund rules
According to the official Colours of Istria website, ticket sales for Wine & Walk by the Sea 2026 began on 25 August at noon. Tickets are purchased in advance, and the purchased voucher must be shown at the registration desk at Veliki trg. Since departures operate through reserved time slots and limited-size groups, participants are advised to choose their desired start time carefully when purchasing. At the time of checking, the official information page did not display the registration fee in the text, so the current amount should be checked directly in the sales system before completing the purchase.
Purchase and refund conditions have also been published on the official website. The organiser states that a registration fee refund is not possible if the buyer personally withdraws from participation or cannot attend for reasons unrelated to cancellation of the event. If the organiser postpones the event, the rules provide for the possibility of a refund, while in the event of complete cancellation due to extremely adverse weather conditions, such as heavy rain or strong wind, the event will not be held on an alternative date and the buyer is entitled to a full refund of the amount paid. The organiser also reserves the right to change partners involved in the wine and gastronomic offer.
The rules also state that the event will be photographed and filmed for promotional purposes. By purchasing the registration fee, participants accept the event conditions, including the use of recorded material for future promotion of the event. People for whom this aspect is important should read the full conditions before purchasing. The official instructions additionally state that the service number is printed on the voucher participants receive upon registration, so it is useful to keep it throughout the entire walk.
An event Novigrad uses to connect gastronomy and active holidays
Over the years, Wine & Walk by the Sea has positioned itself as one of Novigrad's distinctive autumn eno-gastronomic events. Official town documents describe the event as a recreational and gastronomic programme, while the Istria County Tourist Board, in its 2026 support programme, listed the Tourist Board of the Town of Novigrad – Cittanova as the project holder and approved support of 3,000 euros. In previous editions, the event was also organisationally linked with the tourism cluster of northwestern Istria, whose joint activities cover destinations in that part of the peninsula.
Such a concept corresponds to the way eno-gastronomic offerings are increasingly being combined with outdoor stays and discovering the landscape. In Novigrad, this is particularly visible in the combination of the old town centre, the sea and the agricultural hinterland, which can be covered by a walking route in a single day. The event is not a sporting competition and has no competitive-result character; the emphasis is on walking, tasting and socialising. Nevertheless, because of the length of the route, its duration of several hours and alcohol consumption, participants are advised to organise their arrival and return in advance and assess their own capabilities.
For guests visiting Novigrad for the first time, the event simultaneously functions as a guided structure for discovering several parts of the town and its surroundings. The historic centre and coastal promenade provide an urban and maritime framework, while vineyards and olive groves represent the productive landscape directly connected with what is offered at the stations. Wine & Walk by the Sea therefore does not rely on a single attraction, but on a combination of spaces, local producers and gastronomic partners. It is precisely this combination that leads the organisers to classify the event among the destination's distinctive eno-gastronomic products.
What you need to know before arriving on 26 September
The most important practical information can be summarised in several points: registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at Veliki trg, the first group sets off at 9 a.m., and the following groups depart every 20 minutes until 1 p.m. The route is around ten kilometres long, and seven refreshment stations are distributed at intervals of approximately one to two kilometres. Participants must have a previously purchased voucher, and the organiser recommends comfortable footwear, layered clothing and additional water. Dogs may use the trail on a leash, while strollers, bicycles, motorcycles and similar means of transport are not intended for use on the route. Free parking for participants has been announced near the City Sports Hall.
The final point at Veliki trg is planned to operate until 7 p.m., so even those starting in later time slots should pay attention to the pace of the walk and the amount of time spent at the stations. In the event of extremely bad weather, the event will be cancelled according to the official rules, in which case a full refund of the registration fee paid is envisaged. Since organisers recorded hundreds of participants in previous years and the official announcement states that interest remains consistently high, booking a time slot early may be important for those who want a specific departure time. Current programme changes, ticket availability and any changes to partners should be monitored on the official event website right up until 26 September.
Sources:
- Colours of Istria – official Wine & Walk by the Sea 2026 event page, date, time, route, winemakers, gastronomic partners and registrations (link)
- Colours of Istria – official instructions for participants, information about the start, groups, parking, equipment, points and the end of the programme (link)
- Colours of Istria – purchase and refund conditions for Wine & Walk by the Sea, cancellation rules, registration fee refunds and event filming (link)
- Istria County Tourist Board – list of support for events and projects for 2026, with the project holder of Wine & Walk by the Sea stated (link)
- Town of Novigrad – Novigradski list, data on attendance at earlier editions of the event and the continuity of Wine & Walk by the Sea (link)