Marko Fakin is a father, husband, winemaker, rally driver, and lover of life and good living. A graduate oenologist from the small village of Bataji, located among the vineyards surrounding the beautiful medieval town of Motovun in the heart of Istria (a peninsula in northwestern Croatia). From an early age, he was involved in all the work related to agriculture on the family farm, and after finishing school, in 2010, he took over a small family winery with 4 hectares (about 10 acres) and passionately engaged in producing local varieties of Malvazija and Teran. Since taking over the family business, winemaking has become the only branch of family production. Some say he is the most successful young Croatian winemaker (Fakin is in his thirties). Namely, Marko Fakin is the only Croatian winemaker who won Decanter’s gold medals seven years in a row, the first to win 95 points for Teran on the American market, and several times his wines were declared the best at international competitions. Media Inquiries info@fakinwines.com https://fakin-wines.com/en/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your winery brand?
Fakin Winery is a long-standing family business. We cultivate the historic Istrian grape varieties of Malvazija, Teran, and Muscat – on about 30 hectares of vineyards in the Motovun at about 200 m above sea level. Fakin Winery currently has 11 active wine labels and annually produces 120 to 150 thousand bottles of wine, which it sells all over Croatia, and other international markets.
I think what’s unique and part of the magic of our brand is that we hand-pick our grapes using the old traditional methods, and also use modern technology where it makes sense. We have been able to create wines that are authentic, unique, and truly wines that meet our customers’ current tastes and trends.
We are also the only winery from Croatia that won a gold medal at Decanter, the world’s largest and most important wine competition, seven years in a row, and their innovation and dedication were also recognized in the American magazine Forbes.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained. Sky’s the limit!
I would continue my passionate journey to make great world-recognized wines from our local Malvasia and Teran varieties. I think these wine varieties are top quality and ready to be promoted more widely and to receive the international recognition they deserve.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
Teran is a wine that I would single out. These are the grapes that I grew up with, I remember that as a child of 13 (in 2001) I helped with my brother, father and grandfather in the cultivation of that vineyard planted in 1972. The vineyard was already overgrown and turned into a forest, and we cleaned it by hand, day after day, and returned it to its original function because we believed in it. Today, that vineyard has returned that attention to us, so we have won some of the world’s biggest awards with the wine obtained from the grapes of that vineyard. I know, it sounds like a fairy tale, but it’s a fairy tale we live 🙂 Read the wine review here https://winecharacters.com/2019-fakin-winery-teran-il-primo/
Bonus Question – What’s the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
We make “Fakin good wines”! It’s the slogan we are known for in Croatia and beyond.
In 2013, we had a larger group of American guests at the tasting. As the tasting went on, and the guests were more and more cheerful, they started talking about how “fakin good” the wines are. Listening to their words, I said to myself “Hey, we have to embrace it, use it, and play with the words of our last name.”