Here are the highlights of Zagreb for wine lovers in 2026.
This article covers
Wine Bars
Casual Restaurants with great wine lists
Wine Shops
Wine Fairs
Wineries within an hour’s drive of Zagreb
As Croatia’s largest city and its capital, Zagreb hosts its most important wine scene. It is the central location for the biggest wine fairs as well as some of the most interesting wine bars and well-rounded wine shops. You can get your fill of wine culture with workshops and tastings, by-the-glass hangouts, innovators in natural wine and multiday expos. And for day-trippers, Zagreb is surrounded by wine destinations with distinct landscapes and grape varieties.
Best Wine Bars
You can find a glass of wine anywhere in Zagreb, but to discover Croatian wine and enjoy the trip, head to a specialist. These six wine bars do the job well, with a better-than-basic selection and knowledgeable staff.
AHA! Slow Wine Bar is about two years old, and may it live long and prosper. The wines are all smaller-production organic, biodynamic and natural, although none of these terms is bandied about. Owner Tino and staff simply offer the wines they love. On our visit it was open-bottle night, resulting in new-to-us pours from Croatia, Italy, France and Chile. About half of the list is Croatian and half is hand-sourced imports. As for the feel, “unpretentious” is too big a word. This is your local: brick walls hung with a hodgepodge of paintings, photos and posters, t-shirts, decals and the obligatory shelves displaying empty bottles that speak of good times. At summer events, people spill out onto the sidewalk. You should be one of them.
Bastion No. 19 is part of the old guard (since 2016) in Lower Town, keeping it real with a focus on natural wine, craft beer and cocktails in a no-nonsense bar space. A healthy by-the-glass list gives you an opportunity to try something you won’t find elsewhere in town. A favorite spot of wine-centric locals, it has indoor seating or street-side, which you may prefer if you aren’t a smoker.
Wine Bar Bornstein Take a stroll in the pretty Kaptol district, above Zagreb cathedral, and you will find Bornstein tucked in a sunny courtyard. In the cozy, vaulted brick cellar (or patio seating in summer) Bornstein’s friendly Croatian-Australian owners, Doris and Ivan, and their staff offer well-designed wine tastings—all in English—and an extensive list of Croatian and international wines. We dropped in recently and tried an excellent Škrlet we’d never had before. Bornstein has the space to host larger groups, and the hospitality to garner a network of fans from around the world. Croatia’s oldest wine shop is in the same space.
Pupitres A wine bar and the venue for the most varied consumer wine education offering in Zagreb, the 12-year-old Pupitres is now in a new location, a space shared with the ultrachic fashion and lifestyle concept store A’more. Pupitres’s knowledgeable owner, Jelena Šimić Valentić, organizes up to 15 Croatian-language wine workshops each month (Cheese, Chocolate and Wine, anyone?), which often sell out. She also teaches a popular three-module wine school. English speakers can arrange one of three guided tastings of Croatian wines by calling or emailing Pupitres. And, of course, drop-ins are welcome when workshops are not in session.
Tonneau Bar New among Zagreb wine bars is Tonneau (“ton-no,” named for a type of wine barrel). And we are thrilled to find that Xaver, the smart, friendly self-starter whom we met working at Baraka in Dalmatia two years ago, is the owner! Located a bit north of Bornstein and Wine House, the space is stylish and arty but has the feel of a neighborhood joint. Tonneau features small wineries and inventive ways of getting people together over a glass, such as Magnum Saturdays and unstuffy workshops.
Winehouse At the top of a pedestrian street of popular tourist hangouts is two-year-old Winehouse. Owners Jakov and Koraljka can be found there in two cozy rooms plus outdoor seating, pouring wine for summer visitors and winter locals. The list is 95 percent Croatian, with a focus on Uplands wines, from the areas around Zagreb. The vibe is personal and casual, with occasional live music and always prime people watching. It’s the perfect spot to start or end a night out.
Restaurants for Any Day
For world-class dining, Zagreb’s Michelin-starred restaurant is Noel. We will set Noel and Zagreb’s other fine-dining stars aside as obvious choices for special occasions. Instead here are three more-accessible gems, each with a fantastic wine selection and plenty of by-the-glass choices.
Miva Bistro and Wine Bar is an elegant-casual space by the owners of Zagreb’s Miva wine shop, which shares this address. This helps explain why a small place off the touristed path offers more than 100 wines by the glass. Come for lunch with the locals and make your choice from the blackboard of Croatian classic dishes, well prepared. Or stop by for afternoon “research,” then score bottles of your favorites at the shop.
Pod Zidom Bistro is located below the main market plaza, Dolac, on a street that once ran below the wall (pod zidom) that fortified the Kaptol district. It is a cozy place where friendly staff serve imaginative renderings of excellent ingredients, including our vote for the best steak tartare in town. The wine list features the best of Croatian wine, always a less-known gem or two, and a few stellar international bottles.
Sopal The kitchen at Sopal turns out beautiful food made from excellent ingredients in the heart of Lower Town. The wine is an international list of mostly natural wines that beautifully highlight the pure flavors of whatever is on your plate—and challenge you to open your mind and palate to all that wine can be. The open kitchen and local art on the walls lend a casual atmosphere that will draw you back. You’ll leave feeling you’ve discovered something new and inspirational.
Wine Shops and Other Retail
Nesputana Vina (“uninhibited wine”) is perhaps both an effect and a cause of a spike in interest in natural wine in Zagreb—witness Bastion No. 19 and Sopal, above. “We are the first wine shop in Zagreb (and also in Croatia) that is dedicated to natural wines,” says owner Boris Sarjanović. More specifically, the shop sells organic, biodynamic and natural wines from all over Europe. The staff are happy to help demystify these terms. The store holds workshops at their small shop table which move into the courtyard when weather permits. English-language sessions can be arranged.
There are plenty of more conventional wine shops in Zagreb, selling wine, spirits and related accessories. Most shops offer online ordering and free delivery within Croatia for a specified minimum order—details and exceptions are on their websites.
Each shop carries some exclusive products that may draw you to one over another. Or choose by the type of shopping experience you want. Moments Wine (1 location) cultivates a high-luxury image. For a more down-to-earth approach there are Miva Galerija Vina (3 locations) and Vivat Fina Vina (2 locations).
Vinoteka Vintesa (2 locations) is tucked in a courtyard in its location on Vlaška, and transforms itself into a welcoming wine bar and neighborhood gathering spot in its newer shop on Kranjčevića. Always reliable for what’s new and interesting, Vintesa features the best of Croatian wine plus hand-selected imports.
As elsewhere in Croatia, supermarkets in Zagreb offer a modest selection of wines—in general the bigger the store, the broader the selection and the more higher-quality bottles it has. For more about the best places to buy wine, see 9 Insider Tips for Buying Wine in Croatia.
One final place to find wine in town is at individual winery shops. There is a small selection of these at Dolac Market, Zagreb’s farmer’s market. Inside the market hall (entrance on Pod Zidom) are the winery shops of Iločki Podrumi (winery located in Ilok), Šoškić (Plešivica) and Blato (Korčula). Each of these also have other locations in Zagreb where you can buy wine in bottles or, the most economical option, u rinfuzi (drawn from the tank into your own bottle).
Two Major Wine Fairs
The two biggest wine fairs in Zagreb are in fall and spring. A cluster of smaller tastings and events tend to be held around the same time, when hundreds of winemakers are in town and thousands of wine lovers’ palates are honed and ready. The “walk-around tasting” is what you want to attend: each winery has a table where winemakers pour tastes, answer questions, and visit with colleagues and customers.
Vinart sponsors the younger of the main fairs, just one wine event among many that they organize during the year. The Zagreb fair is targeted to wine professionals more than consumers, but for an entrance fee you are welcome to attend the walk-around tasting that takes place each March at the Lauba exhibition space. On the weekends prior, there is a series of paid seminars and masterclass tastings (in Croatian).
Vinart is not only the wine fair of that name, but a company that promotes wine culture year-round through events, publishing and marketing. One of their popular consumer events, Vinski grad (aka Wineopolis) takes place in Zagreb and other cities around Croatia. This is a fun, outdoor event with a festival atmosphere, where attendees rent a wineglass and buy drinks tickets to sample wines. Check our list of wine events for this year’s dates.
Vinocom Zagreb’s first and oldest wine fair is held each November at the grand Hotel Esplanade. Billed as the International Festival of Wine and Culinary Art, Vinocom offers a giant walk-around tasting of mostly Croatian wines as well as gourmet foods. The event is open to the public; paid admission gets you a glass and unlimited tastes. There is also a schedule of workshop tastings (in Croatian) which have limited seating and cost extra.
Vinocom is a fantastic chance for an instant education in Croatian wine. Use your guidebook to taste region by region, by grape variety or by wine type. Most winemakers or their representatives speak English and are happy to give an overview and answer questions. The exhibition spaces are generally crowded, and become more so after office hours, when the event takes on a party atmosphere. Time your entrance accordingly!
Smaller wine fairs sponsored by the regional wine associations also take place in Zagreb annually. You can find them all on our list of wine events.
Wineries in Every Direction
Zagreb is the ideal jumping-off point for daytrips to the wine regions all around the city. An hour’s drive, or less, brings you to different subregions of the Uplands, each with its own specialties. Three options are here below.
Zelena lies about 40 minutes to the east of Zagreb. Seek out wines from the region’s native grape, the white variety Kraljevina. One winery to try is Kos.
West of the city, near the town of Jastrebarsko, is the Plešivica wine region, known for its sparkling wines. These are made using the traditional method used in Champagne, and most are made from the Champagne grape varieties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Visit Korak Winery, with its Michelin-starred restaurant, Šember and many others.
To Zagreb’s southeast is the Moslavina region. Here, look for the indigenous white grape variety Škrlet at wineries such as Voštinić Klasnić.
To visit wineries mentioned in this article, consult our Winery Finder Tool in the sidebar.
[Title photo: Vinoteka Vintesa. Photo: Staff CCM]