An All White Party: The Alen Bibich Tribute That Brought Croatia’s Culinary World Together
Some people leave a mark so profound that their absence creates a void felt by an entire nation. When we gathered in Plastovo at Bibich Wine Cellar to honor my late friend Alen Bibić, it wasn’t with somber black attire and quiet tears. True to his spirit, the Alen Bibich Tribute took the form of an all white party—unconventional, bold, and utterly unforgettable. Because Alen didn’t want a regular funeral, and nothing about him was ever regular.
The courtyard of his beloved winery filled with everyone who mattered in Croatian gastronomy. Every chef who was someone, every friend who’d been touched by his generosity and vision, came dressed in white to celebrate a man who’d changed the landscape of Croatian wine forever.
When Visionaries Wore Chef’s Whites
What made this gathering extraordinary wasn’t just the guest list, though it read like a who’s who of Croatian culinary excellence. It was the fact that all his chef friends—renowned names in their own right—stood side by side in the kitchen, cooking dishes in his honor. This wasn’t catered. This was love, plated.
Events like this will hardly ever repeat. The combination of talent, emotion, and shared history created something beyond a memorial—it was a living testament to Alen’s impact.
The First Time I Brought Guests to His Kingdom
We had so much to say to each other. Ever since those early days, when I first brought guests to his estate in 2008, I knew Alen Bibić possessed something rare—a combination of courage and vision that most people only dream of having.
I remember that evening as if it were yesterday. Alen and his wife Vesna watched carefully as my guest savored panna cotta with Pinot Grigio marmalade, marveling at the sunset. She had no idea that in the distance, you could still see the rooftops of burned Bratiškovci. Only Alen had the courage and vision for recovery, for creating something special, something wondrous, in the shadow of such destruction.
I never doubted him or that everything they would create would be extraordinary.
The Day a Princess Discovered Croatian Magic
His genius truly shone in 2012, when I organized a helicopter flight along our entire coastline for a Middle-Eastern princess. The agent requested a special gastronomic experience, and I immediately knew where to take her.
When I went through all the requirements—no alcohol, no pork, no lamb, no fish of any kind—Alen just told me I was crazy for bringing her to his winery. But I knew that absolutely no one except him (and Vesna, of course!) could pull it off.
After we landed—and after we had to move the donkeys from the meadow—an absolute rhapsody in 13 courses followed, paired with original juices and teas. It remains one of the most incredible gastronomic experiences I’ve ever witnessed.
Where Jazz Met Debit and Memory
The tribute evening felt suspended in time. A jazz band played as we moved through the courses, each dish a memory, each wine a story. The music drifted across the vineyard where Alen had revived his grandfather’s legacy after the 1990s war had decimated everything.
There were so many more experiences through all the subsequent years. That’s what breaks me—this feeling that he’s no longer here. An irreplaceable loss for all of us.
A Legacy Poured Into Every Bottle
Alen Bibić didn’t just make wine. He brought the indigenous Debit grape from obscurity to international acclaim. He was among the first Croatian winemakers to export to the United States, and his bottles graced the wine lists of restaurants in New York, San Francisco, Stockholm, and Tokyo. When Anthony Bourdain featured him on “No Reservations” in 2012, the world discovered what we already knew—that something magical was happening in Plastovo.
But beyond the accolades and international recognition, Alen was a man of fierce authenticity. A former professor of Croatian language and literature who found his true calling in the vineyard, he approached winemaking like poetry—personal, recognizable, impossible to forget.
The Alen Bibich Tribute wasn’t just goodbye. It was a celebration of a man who proved that from war-torn vineyards and impossible odds, you could create something that would captivate the world. In his all white party, surrounded by love and laughter and the wines he’d coaxed from Dalmatian stone, Alen got exactly the send-off he deserved.
And in every bottle of R6 Riserva, every glass of Debit, every sunset over those hills above Skradin, his spirit endures.
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For more information about continuing Alen’s legacy, visit Bibich Winery