Wine tasting

Picture a February day in Virpazar. Glasses are filled, plates are passed round, and people stop to talk at every table. This is the wine and bleak festival, which reached its 28th edition in 2026. That year, though, one thing was missing from the plates: bleak. None was served, to protect the stock.

Wine and the village

Wine is one of the main ways people here make a living, alongside seasonal tourism and fishing. Around the village, you can go wine tasting in the Crmnica region and at Lipovac, in Građani.

Wineries in our directory

Our directory lists three wine businesses. Here they are in alphabetical order, with no ranking:

• Lipovac
• Wine Gallery Bogojević
• Winery Janković

You will find their details in the wineries directory. Every business there is listed free of charge, and we treat them all the same.

Planning a tasting

Opening times and tasting arrangements differ from place to place, so contact the winery before you go.

If you plan to taste, leave the car keys with someone who is not drinking, or take a taxi. The road to Virpazar is a single-lane lakeside road, so drive with care. See getting there for roads and distances.

Bring cash. We could not confirm an ATM in the village.

You can make a day of it. Spend the morning on a boat trip on the river, then head out for a tasting in the afternoon.

If you are here in September, look out for Riječka noć. It brings fish and wine tasting, and concerts, to the riverside walk in the village. It has been held since at least 2015.

The wine and bleak festival

The Festival of wine and bleak (Festival vina i ukljeve) takes place in February in Virpazar, not in Rijeka Crnojevića. In 2026 it was held for the 28th time. Find out more on the festival page.

Bleak has deep roots here too. According to Vuk Karadžić, it has been smoked and dried locally since at least the 1830s. In 1899 dried bleak was the village’s main export. Read more about the fish, and how it is protected today, on the fishing page.