Istria Malvasia & Truffle

In 1999, Giancarlo Zigante's dog found a 1.31kg white truffle in the Motovun forest — still the Guinness World Record. A bronze cast sits in his shop in Livade. Istrian Malvazija, Croatia's most planted white grape, has its own legally registered glass shape. Kozlović, four generations in the same village, pairs it with truffles hunted by Lagotto Romagnolo dogs in the same Mirna valley forest. Istria has been named the world's best olive oil region eight years running. Konoba Mondo — Anthony Bourdain's pick — serves fuzi pasta: hollow tubes that trap shaved truffle inside.

What to do there

6 things to do

1. 1 Find the Forest Behind the World-Record Truffle History · Free

   Where: The medieval town walls of Motovun, entered through the outer Venetian gate on the south slope (15th century, look for the stone emblems above the arch). The inner ring is 13th–14th century — two circles of fortification built under Venetian rule.

   What: On November 2, 1999, truffle hunter Giancarlo Zigante and his dog Diana walked out of the Motovun Forest below this hill with a 1.31 kg white truffle — the Guinness World Record at the time. Zigante named it 'Millennium.' He could have sold it for the price of gold. Instead, he cooked it as the main course for 100 guests, a deliberate act to plant a flag: Istria is the world centre of truffles. Stand on the walls and look down at that forest spreading along the Mirna River. That's where it happened. The 360-degree panorama shows you exactly how this medieval hilltop town, the forest below, and the white truffle are inseparable parts of the same story.

   How: Park at the base of the hill and walk up the single road to the outer gate. The wall promenade is accessed just inside (around €4, open 10:00–18:00 depending on season). Walk the full circuit — it takes 20 minutes without stopping, but you'll stop constantly. Best light: morning mist over the Mirna valley, or golden hour before dinner. Look for the Motovun Forest directly below the south wall — that dense green carpet is Croatia's truffle epicenter.

   Backup: If walls are closed, the outer terrace just inside the gate gives the same Mirna valley view for free.

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2. 2 Hunt Truffles in the Forest Where the Record Was Set Adventure · Price: low

   Where: Motovun Forest, Mirna River valley. Meeting point: village of Livade, 3 km below Motovun (follow the road down from the hill into the valley).

   What: Nikola Tarandek is a local truffle hunter who takes small groups into the same forest where Giancarlo Zigante found his 1.31 kg record truffle in 1999. His Lagotto Romagnolo dogs — the breed specifically trained for truffle hunting, chosen because their soft paws do less damage to the forest floor than other breeds — will freeze mid-trot and start digging at what looks like bare earth. You'll be standing there wondering what they're smelling. Then: the earthy, musky, violent hit of a fresh white truffle rising from the soil. Nothing prepares you for how strong it is.

   How: Book in advance: tarandek8@gmail.com — tell Nikola your date and group size. Cost: €30/person for the hunt; add €10/person for a truffle meal degustation at a local restaurant afterward. Honey, olive oil, and Malvazija wine tasting are included FREE. Truffle season peaks September–mid-December (white truffles); black truffles are available most of the year. The hunt itself takes 1–2 hours in the forest.

   Backup: If Tarandek is fully booked, Karlić Tartufi (karlictartufi.hr) runs similar hunts from their family farm in the Motovun area. Alternatively, the Viator group truffle + cooking tours cost €115–€140/person and include lunch.

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3. 3 Touch the Bronze Cast of the 1.31 kg Guinness Truffle History · Free

   Where: Zigante Tartufi Shop & Gourmet Restaurant, Livade 7, 52427 Livade — a 3-minute drive from the Motovun forest, directly below the hill. The shop is attached to the restaurant.

   What: After the world-record find in 1999, Giancarlo Zigante had an exact cast of 'Millennium' made in bronze before cooking the real thing. That bronze replica is here, sitting on display in the shop. It's bigger than you expect — the size of a large potato, but lumpy, alien, uneven. Hold it. The weight of it in your hands makes the story real in a way photos never do. Zigante chose to eat this truffle rather than sell it, a gesture that turned a private windfall into a public declaration: that Istria, not Alba, not Périgord, is where the most extraordinary truffles on Earth are found.

   How: The shop is open daily during truffle season (September–November), typically 10:00–20:00. Entry to the shop is free — you're not obligated to buy. The restaurant requires a reservation (reservations@zigantetartufi.com or WhatsApp +385 91 430 1200). If you want to eat here, book the truffle tasting menu — it runs through truffle carpaccio, fresh pasta, truffle-spiked main, and ends with black truffle ice cream.

   Backup: The truffle shop sells fresh truffles by weight during season — ask the staff to show you the difference between white and black truffle by smell alone. That's a lesson worth 10 minutes.

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4. 4 Order the Fuži — Istria's Hollow Truffle Vessel Wine · Price: moderate

   Where: Konoba Mondo, inside the old town walls of Motovun (ask at the gate — it's tucked into the medieval fabric of the hill town). TripAdvisor #1 in Motovun for years running.

   What: Anthony Bourdain came here in 2011 and said it represents 'what eating in the Old World should be.' The dish that made that statement: fuži sa tartufima. Fuži is Istria's signature pasta — hand-rolled dough cut into 4cm squares, then folded diagonally so opposite corners meet, forming a hollow tube. That hollow is the engineering genius: it holds the butter-truffle sauce inside every bite. In autumn, the truffle shaved over the top is white — Tuber magnatum pico, the same species found 3 km below you in the Motovun Forest. You can smell the plate from across the table.

   How: Ask for the fuži with fresh white truffle (seasonal: September–December) or the beef ravioli with truffle if white truffle is out of season. Request a glass of aged Malvazija — not the fresh young style, but a lees-aged or reserve bottling. This is the pairing that Istrian families have been eating for generations: the wine's honeyed, nutty, mineral notes and the truffle's deep earthiness create what locals call 'the taste of Istria.' If the server asks which Malvazija, request Kozlović's Santa Lucia or Coronica's Gran Malvazija — both are regularly stocked in the region.

   Backup: If Konoba Mondo is full (reservations recommended in autumn), Konoba Fakin below Motovun also serves excellent fuži with truffle and keeps a strong Malvazija selection.

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5. 5 Taste Malvazija from Four Generations Who Never Left Wine · Price: moderate

   Where: Kozlović Winery, Vale 78, Momjan — in the rolling northwest of Istria, 40 minutes from Motovun. The winery is a gravity-fed cellar built into the hillside with living walls and a planted roof; the building literally disappears into the vineyard.

   What: Gianfranco and Antonella Kozlović took over from the third generation in 1998. The family has farmed this valley since 1904. Gianfranco is the largest private Malvazija producer in Istria (150,000 bottles/year), and in 1998 his 1997 vintage was named Best White Wine in Croatia. His Santa Lucia Malvazija comes from the estate's oldest vines on the best hillside plots. The wine smells of acacia, lime, and wet limestone. On the palate it finishes salty — literally saline — because the soil is that close to ancient seabed. The palate doesn't forget it.

   How: Booking is mandatory — visit@kozlovic.hr or +385 52 77 91 77. Hours: Mon–Thu 10:00–16:00, Fri–Sat 10:00–19:00 (closed Sunday). Book the 'Kozlović Excellence' tasting (6 wines including Malvazija, Santa Lucia, and the rare Muškat Momjanski dessert wine, ~90 minutes). Ask specifically for the Santa Lucia Malvazija and ask Gianfranco about the 1997 vintage that won the prize — he remembers that year clearly.

   Backup: If fully booked, Kabola Winery is 5 minutes away in Kanedol — ask to taste the Malvazija Amfora, made in 2,000-liter Georgian clay qvevri. Kabola was the first winery in Croatia to use amphorae (2003), and the resulting wine — tannic, glistening golden, dried stone fruit, bitter almond finish — is unlike any other white wine you've tasted.

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6. 6 Drizzle the Olive Oil That Beats Tuscany Eight Years Running Adventure · Price: low · Optional

   Where: Zigante Tartufi shop in Livade (Livade 7), which stocks award-winning local oils alongside its truffle products. For a dedicated olive oil tasting, Ipša (near Oprtalj) regularly medals internationally.

   What: Istria has been declared the world's best olive oil region by the Flos Olei guide eight years in a row as of 2024 — 69 Istrian producers made the guide, compared to 55 from Puglia and 51 from Tuscany. At the 2023 New York International Olive Oil Competition, 30 Istrian oils won gold medals. The primary variety is Bianchera, a local Istrian cultivar not found in meaningful quantity anywhere else. When drizzled over freshly shaved truffle on warm pasta, the oil acts as a carrier for the truffle's volatile aroma compounds — this is why every serious Istrian truffle dish uses local olive oil, not butter alone.

   How: At the Zigante shop, ask to taste at least two different Istrian olive oils side by side. Sip from a small cup, NOT on bread first. Notice the peppery burn at the back of the throat: that's the polyphenol content, a quality indicator. High burn = high antioxidants = very fresh, very good oil. Bring home at least one bottle — it's legal to carry in checked luggage and will transform your cooking for months.

   Backup: Every local konoba serves their own or locally sourced olive oil with bread. Ask the server which producer it's from — in Istria this is a conversation that never goes badly.

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