Meneghetti Wine Hotel: A Country House, A Winery, A Way of Life

Some hotels feel like escapes; Meneghetti feels like a homecoming. Tucked deep in the quiet interior of Istria, down a long track lined with cypress trees and vines, this restored estate is the kind of place that reveals itself slowly.

You don’t simply arrive you settle in, exhale, and let the rhythm of the land take over.

The story begins in the late nineteenth century with Mr Meneghetti, a landowner who farmed this pocket of countryside. The estate slipped into disrepair through the mid‑twentieth century until, in 2000, it was rediscovered by Miroslav Plišo and Romana Kajfež. What they found was an overgrown, forgotten stone mansion; what they created is one of the Adriatic’s most seductive rural retreats. With a scholar’s respect for Istrian architecture and agricultural heritage, they replanted vineyards and olive groves, revived the farmhouse, and welcomed their first guests in 2004. Today, Meneghetti farms 40,000 vines and 700 olive trees, producing thirteen wines and its prized emerald olive oil, all grown metres from your bedroom.

The setting is idyllic: inland near the medieval hill‑town of Bale, midway between Rovinj’s Venetian charm and Pula’s Roman amphitheatre. The estate feels wonderfully remote warm stone, lavender, birdsong yet the best of Istria is within easy reach. A path even leads through the vineyards to Meneghetti’s private beach club on the Adriatic, a rare luxury for an inland property.

Architecture is “cultivated rustic”: low, honey‑coloured stone buildings, terracotta roofs, dry‑stone walls and weathered timber, all hugging the contours of the land. Inside, the aesthetic shifts to cool, calm minimalism. Chalky whites, sage greens and sandy neutrals soften exposed stone and beamed ceilings. Contemporary furnishings keep the mood serene, while antique touches like an armoire here, a wrought‑iron bed there nod to the estate’s past. It feels less like a hotel and more like the country home of someone with impeccable taste with a very good wine cellar!

From the original four rooms, Meneghetti has grown into a hamlet of around fifty. Rooms and suites in and around the old mansion include compact Superiors, characterful Vintage Rooms with skylights and antique furniture, and spacious Executive Suites. Across the grounds, Estate Residences offer private gardens or plunge pools, rising to the Colossal Residences and the Il Capo Meneghetti Pool Villa, a 225‑square‑metre hideaway with its own pool and garden. Bathrooms are clean‑lined with walk‑in rain showers, generous vanities and Meneghetti’s own toiletries. Turndown brings thoughtful touches: house‑made truffles and a locally blended night balm.

Food and wine are exceptional. The Michelin‑recognised Meneghetti Restaurant serves refined Istrian‑Mediterranean dishes such as truffle‑rich risottos, Adriatic fish, farmhouse breakfasts and much of it dressed in the estate’s olive oil. The Wine Lounge offers tastings of Meneghetti’s Malvazija, Classic Brut and other labels, paired with local salami, cheese and estate oils.

A serene spa features indoor pools, a sauna and vinotherapy treatments; outside, heated pools sit between the vines. Tennis, yoga, cycling and truffle hunting round out the experience.

Meneghetti is luxury grown, not imported. It’s a place where the wine in your glass, the oil on your plate and the stone above your head all come from the same few hundred acres – a rare, rooted sense of place that rewards slow, indulgent travel.