Gin, New Wine & Wild Mushrooms: Istria's Last Weekend of October

Every October, Istria seems to save its richest weekend for last. Over the weekend of 23 to 25 October 2026, as many as five different events take place across Istria — from the coast to the truffle woods — though not all of them run on exactly the same dates. If you're staying in a villa anywhere between Rovinj and the Mirna valley, this is the weekend to build your whole stay around. Here's how the pieces fit together.

Friday 23 October: Gin opens the weekend in Rovinj

The coastal town of Rovinj kicks things off with the GinIstra festival, held in the atmospheric Old Tobacco Factory on Friday and Saturday. GinIstra takes place at Rovinj's Old Tobacco Factory on 23 and 24 October, with gins from Croatian and international producers to taste and exhibitors to talk to. This is its fifth anniversary edition, featuring its most extensive music programme yet, with more than 30 exhibitors pouring craft gins alongside cocktail workshops and masterclasses.

Friday's programme leans educational, with doors opening at 15:00, an official opening and awards ceremony, a panel discussion on tourism beyond the summer season, a talk on gin styles, a Mediterranean-flavours workshop, and a music programme building up to a concert by Opća Opasnost at 22:00. If your villa is near Rovinj, this is the natural start to the weekend — arrive, settle in, and stroll down for an early-evening tasting before the headline act.

Saturday 24 October: five events, one day

Saturday is the busy heart of the weekend, with celebrations firing simultaneously across five different corners of Istria. You won't manage all of them in one day, so pick the cluster closest to your villa.

Rovinj: gin, cocktails and Maja Šuput

GinIstra continues with doors opening at 15:00, a pub quiz, the GinIstra Cocktail Challenge at 18:30, a performance by Ivan Licul i Bend, and a closing concert by Maja Šuput at 22:00. A single ticket covers festival entry and concerts, two tastings of selected gins, panels, talks, workshops, and a gift glass, with tickets sold through Eventim — worth booking ahead given the anniversary line-up.

Svetvinčenat: a hilltop village toasts the new wine

Inland, the walled village of Svetvinčenat holds its Fešta mladega vina (Young Wine Festivity), a tradition that has been running for around 40 years and has become part of the village's identity. The day traditionally opens with a cycling tour before the main event: on 24 October young wines from different parts of Istria are tasted, with the bike ride starting at 13:00 and the wine review from 17:00. It's an easygoing, very local affair — young wines from the current harvest are presented and tasted, with food and music in the village square.

Brtonigla: the forest's harvest on display

Near the northwest coast, Brtonigla hosts Dani gljiva (Mushroom Days), a two-day event on the main square running 24 and 25 October. For more than 20 years this educational gastronomic event dedicated to forest mushrooms has filled the centre of Brtonigla each autumn, with tastings of mushroom-based specialities, music and entertainment, and a small fair of authentic Istrian products. Expect an impressive display of foraged specimens alongside expert guidance on telling the edible from the inedible — interesting for anyone who wants to learn more about safely recognising edible and poisonous species.

Livade: street food meets white truffle

Deep in the Mirna valley, the self-proclaimed capital of truffle, Livade, runs its Tuber (Food) Fest on 24 and 25 October. It's an event that combines the popular concept of street food with traditional Istrian cuisine, with special emphasis on truffle dishes. Chefs prepare fragrant truffle delicacies on the spot at promotional prices, with themed gourmet workshops, a children's programme and sports activities also on offer. It runs alongside the long-running Zigante Truffle Days, which continue every Saturday and Sunday until 1 November 2026 — so there's truffle to be found here well beyond this single weekend too.

Pula: a craft fair for rainy moments

If you fancy a change of pace, Pula's Hand Made Fest is also running all three days. From 23 to 25 October, Pula hosts the jubilee 20th Hand Made Fest, a festival of handmade crafts, imagination and design, gathering around 200 exhibitors from Istria, Croatia and beyond, with ceramics, glass, wood, textiles, silk, stone, jewellery and artwork on show. It's held at the Dom hrvatskih branitelja and makes a nice indoor stop if the weather turns.

Sunday 25 October: a quieter, slower finish

The gin festival and the wine fešta wrap up on Saturday night, but three other events continue into Sunday. Pula's Hand Made Fest runs its third and final day, while Brtonigla's Dani gljiva and Livade's Tuber (Food) Fest keep their exhibitions and tastings going for a second day — a gentler way to close the weekend before heading home, with fewer crowds and more time to actually sit down and eat.

Planning your villa weekend

Geography does a lot of the work for you here. A villa near Rovinj puts you a short hop from GinIstra and within easy reach of Svetvinčenat's hilltop charm. A base around Brtonigla or further northwest sits naturally close to both the mushroom days and Livade's truffle feast, with the Zigante Truffle Days running every Saturday and Sunday until 1 November 2026 for extra truffle-hunting. Wherever you're staying, this is the kind of weekend where a little advance planning — especially for GinIstra's ticketed concerts — pays off handsomely.

If you haven't settled on where to stay yet, browse our villas around Rovinj, Svetvinčenat, Brtonigla and Livade and pick the base that puts your favourite flavour of the weekend closest to your door.