Lupić family farm: Bembo extra virgin olive oils

Closed. Opens on monday 11:00.

The Lupić family in Bale produces six single-varietal Bembo olive oils, Cuvée and Somnis wines. Tasting reveals the differences and makes choosing easier.

Six cultivars, seven oils

Comparing the oils side by side is the clearest way to taste the differences:

• Puntoža is gentler, with aromas of olive fruit and apple.
• Buža brings green tomato and fresh olive fruit, with pleasant bitterness and a more pronounced peppery finish.
• Leccino combines green almond, freshly cut grass and moderate bitterness.
• Rožinjola is more assertive, with aromas of green almond, artichoke and radicchio, plus pronounced bitterness and pungency.
• Negrolina is an old cultivar from Bale, and its oil has notes of forest fruit, gentler bitterness and a stronger peppery finish.
• Bjelica is marked by pronounced bitterness, olive-fruit aroma and moderate pungency.
• Cuvée is not a seventh cultivar but a blend with notes of cut grass and olive fruit.

The Lupić family’s olive groves and Somnis wines

Elena and Vedran Lupić planted their first olive grove in 2000 and registered the family farm in 2009. Today they farm 30 hectares with around 5,400 olive trees. They also grow vines, almonds, figs and hazelnuts, and the estate’s wines bear the name Somnis.

Awards from the first harvests to the present

The Lupić family farm ranks among Istria’s most decorated producers of extra virgin olive oil, with its single-varietal oils and Cuvée earning awards at Croatian and international competitions from the first harvests to the present. Recent highlights include Oleum Olivarum 2025 in Krasica, where Rožinjola took first place with 95.5 points and Buža came second with 94.4. In April 2026, Leccino was named champion at the 28th International Olive Days in Zadar with 99.95 points out of 100.

Tasting and buying in Bale

During the tasting, the hosts explain the character of each cultivar, so the choice does not rest on a label or award alone. You can also taste Somnis wines and buy products from the farm.

The tasting room welcomes small groups of up to six people. Arrange guided tastings and olive-grove visits in advance through the contact form.

For: families, first time visitors

Address: Trg Tomaso Bembo 14, 52211 Bale, Istria, Croatia

What to do: refreshments, food and drink, organic farming

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