Wine and Olive Tourism in the Trebišnjica Valley and Popovo Polje: A Stakeholder Guide

The Trebišnjica valley and Popovo polje form one of the few landscapes in Bosnia and Herzegovina where a Mediterranean climate, karst terrain and centuries of viticultural tradition combine into a distinctive tourism story. Trebinje is rightly called a city of good wine and food, and the largest concentration of wineries in the south of the country sits around it. For rural households, small winemakers and olive producers in East Herzegovina this means one concrete opportunity: to turn their own vineyards, olive groves and cellars into an experience that guests pay for, remember and recommend to others.

This guide is written for you — the holders of agricultural farms, family wineries and oil mills who are considering entering wine and olive tourism. The goal is not to become a major destination overnight, but to understand what a quality wine tour is built from, how to cooperate with neighbouring producers, and which institutional and financial framework supports you on that path.

Why the Trebišnjica valley and Popovo polje

Terroir is the main asset here. Popovo polje, the largest karst field in the world, stretches along the Trebišnjica river and offers a combination of stony soil, long sunny days and warm, dry summers. Such conditions yield highly concentrated grapes and provide an almost ideal habitat for olives. The proximity of the Adriatic and the sub-Mediterranean influence make vineyards and olive groves here behave differently from those in the continental part of the country.

Continuity is just as important to the visitor. Records of Herzegovinian wines reach back to the Middle Ages, and by the late 19th and early 20th century these wines travelled through Trieste to Europe and won medals at exhibitions in Vienna, Paris and London. That historical depth is not marketing decoration — it is content the guest wants to hear while holding a glass.

Key message: you are not selling only wine and oil, but a place, a story and the family behind the product. The terroir of the Trebišnjica valley is hard to copy; it is your greatest competitive advantage.

Native varieties as the foundation of the story

Authenticity begins with the variety. Instead of competing with large global brands on their own turf, build your offer around what grows only here, or best here.

• Žilavka — a white variety and a hallmark of Herzegovina. It gives mineral, fresh wines with a recognisable aromatic profile, ideal as an opener for a tasting and for pairing with white meat, cheese and fish.
• Vranac — a full-bodied black variety with deep colour and pronounced structure. Around Trebinje it produces serious wines for ageing; the monastic winery of the Tvrdoš monastery builds part of its identity on old Vranac plantings.
• Trnjak — a red native variety of the Herzegovinian and Dalmatian hinterland, also known by names such as Rudežuša. It gives powerful, structured wines with notes of blackberry, cherry and tobacco, and in recent years it has increasingly won recognition at international competitions.

The combination of these three varieties lets you tell the full arc of Herzegovinian wine — from the fresh white Žilavka to the powerful reds — within a single tasting of a few glasses.

Olive growing as a new Herzegovinian asset

Olive growing around Trebinje is a young but fast-rising branch. Fifteen or so years ago olives were a rarity; today producers in the Trebinje municipality tend several thousand trees, and the number grows year on year. Opening an oil mill in Trebinje itself was a turning point: producers no longer have to drive the fruit to western Herzegovina for pressing, which cuts costs and shortens the time from harvest to oil.

Quality has already been confirmed beyond the border — Herzegovinian extra-virgin oils, including those from the Trebinje area, have won medals at prestigious world competitions, among others in New York. For tourism, the olive is a perfect partner to wine: the harvest falls in autumn, an oil tasting slots easily into a wine tour, and the story of young olive growing rising on the karst is emotionally powerful.

How to fold oil into the offer

• Offer a short sensory tasting of the oil (aroma, bitterness, pungency) before or after the wine.
• Connect the oil to local gastronomy — prosciutto, sack-aged cheese, home-baked bread.
• If you have no grove of your own, cooperate with a neighbouring oil mill and include a visit to the pressing during the harvest season.

How to design a wine and olive tour

A good tour has rhythm, a narrative and a clear duration. The guest is not buying only the liquid in the glass, but the hour or two spent on your estate.

1. Welcome and introduction (10–15 min). A short story about the family, the estate and the region. This is where the emotional bond forms.
2. Vineyard or grove walk (20–30 min). Show the varieties, explain the karst soil and the seasonal work. In season, offer participation in the harvest as an experience.
3. Guided tasting (30–45 min). Three to five samples, arranged from lighter to fuller wines, with olive oil and homemade bites. Explain each sample briefly and without jargon.
4. Sales and send-off. Enable on-site purchase and shipping, and leave the guest a card with your contact and a QR code.

Mind accessibility — clear paths, seating, content in English for foreign guests, and a non-alcoholic alternative (grape juice, water) for drivers and children.

Cooperation with wineries and oil mills

A small farm can rarely deliver a complete experience on its own. That is why cooperation, not isolated competition, is the key to sustainable wine tourism.

• Multi-farm packages. Team up with two or three neighbouring wineries and oil mills into a joint half-day or full-day tour. The guest gets variety, and you share marketing costs.
• Division of roles. One household may be strong in accommodation, another in tasting, a third in oil pressing. Instead of everyone doing everything mediocrely, each does what it does best.
• A joint approach to agencies and platforms. It is easier to sell tour operators and B2B platforms a rounded route than a single isolated address.
• Shared quality standards. Agree on a minimum level of hygiene, hospitality and pricing so that a poor experience at one partner does not harm everyone.

This cooperation model is exactly what B2B agro-tourism platforms aim to make easier — connecting providers, joint promotion, and easier access to organised groups.

The Herzegovina Wine Route and positioning

The Herzegovina Wine Route has already established the region as a recognisable wine destination and, since 2022, has been part of the European cultural route Iter Vitis under the Council of Europe, with member cities and municipalities that include Trebinje. Joining an existing brand gives you visibility you could hardly build alone.

For positioning it matters that you:

• use a consistent visual identity and clearly state opening hours and how to book;
• are present on city and regional tourism portals and on relevant B2B platforms;
• link your offer to existing events and wine festivals that draw an audience.

Institutional and financial framework

Entering tourism also brings obligations. The activity is governed by the Tourism Act of Republika Srpska, and the hospitality part by the Catering Act; to provide accommodation and catering in a rural household you must meet minimum technical and sanitary conditions and register in line with the regulations. If you also engage in agricultural production, the farm is entered in the Register of Agricultural Holdings, while tax and registration duties are handled through the competent bodies (APIF, the RS Tax Administration).

Seek support and incentives from the line institutions:

• Ministry of Trade and Tourism of Republika Srpska — regulations, categorisation and tourism support measures (vladars.net).
• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of RS — incentives for viticulture, olive growing and processing.
• IPARD (the EU pre-accession fund), the rural tourism measure — indicatively co-finances the construction and equipping of accommodation and catering capacities in rural areas; conditions and co-financing percentages are published through official public calls, so check the current programme before applying (europa.eu).
• The Investment-Development Bank of RS and tourism organisations — credit lines and promotional support.

Do not rely on remembered old amounts or percentages — conditions change from call to call, so always use the latest published version of the programme and, if needed, a consultant.

Practical steps to get started

1. Inventory what you have. Vineyard, olive grove, cellar, guest space, parking, sanitary facilities.
2. Define one clear tour. Duration, price, number of guests, season — do not offer everything to everyone.
3. Handle the formalities. Check the requirements of the RS Tourism Act, enter the farm in the register and register the activity.
4. Secure quality in the glass and on the plate. Without good wine and oil, marketing does not help.
5. Find two or three partners. Agree on a joint package and shared standards.
6. Join routes and platforms. The wine route, the tourism organisation, a B2B agro-tourism platform.
7. Prepare bilingual materials. Bosnian and English, with contact and booking details.
8. Check funding sources. The current IPARD call and the incentives of the line ministries.
9. Measure and improve. Collect guest feedback and refine the tour every season.

Wine and olive tourism in the Trebišnjica valley is not a quick business, but the patient building of a reputation. Yet the foundation — the varieties, the terroir and the story — already exists. It is up to you to turn it into an experience that is paid for and remembered.