Slovenian wines: A tour recharges my love for one of most underrated wine countries in Europe
DOBROVO, Slovenia – I’m riding along in a late-model Citroën through the rolling hills of western Slovenia. I pass long swaths of green land and see small vineyards through the barren trees that line this narrow rural highway snaking through Slovenia’s wine country.
On a cold, gray February day, the setting isn’t exactly Tuscany during autumn harvest. But it’s fascinating and beautiful in its own way. In about a 20-minute drive, thanks to the weird snake-like border drawn here after World War II, I cross from Italy to Slovenia to Italy and back about six times.
“The Italians fought the Austrians here,” my driver says. “They still find bombs in the vineyards.”
The guide
Speaking is Paul Balke, a Dutchman who 20 years ago became fascinated with wines in this region and developed into one of the world’s experts. In 2020, he produced a beautiful coffee table book called North Adriatic, covering the wines from the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region on the Italian side of the border, West Slovenia, the peninsula of Istria and Kvarner in Croatia.
We recently met at an aperitivo the night before Gorizia, Italy, and Nova Gorica, Slovenia, had the opening ceremony launching their year as dual European Capitals of Culture. He lives in Calabria in Southern Italy. He loves wine. I live in Rome. I love wine.
We hit it off and he agreed to give me a little tour of one of the world’s most underrated wine areas.
“The white blends in this area are among the best white wines in the world,” he says. “That is a big statement.”
I agree. Ten years ago I drove around this same Goriska Brda zone of Primorska, one of Slovenia’s three major wine regions. At the wineries of Edi Simcic and Dolfo, I was introduced to Slovenia’s signature Rebula wine as well as the wonderful Malvazija.
I am no wine connoisseur. I can’t tell an oak barrel from a steel barrel. But I’ve lived in Italy for 11 years and it takes a good wine to impress me. Slovenian wines impress me. Due to 45 years of communism and bordering the 500-pound wine gorilla that is Italy, few outside Slovenia have noticed.
“It has great potential for international interest,” Balke says of the region. “If you have a big card to throw in the game, you should use it.”
Why is Slovenia wine country?
Slovenia is a sleeping giant ready to jump from the vines. Its wine production dates back to the 5th century B.C. The Celts and Ilyrians were toasting conquests here even before the Romans introduced wine around its empire.
Today this country the size of Massachusetts has 28,000 wineries covering 57,575 acres (22,300 hectares). But of the 80-90 million liters produced annually, only 6.1 million are exported.
We pass a small white building with a slanted wooden roof. It’s abandoned. It could pass for a closed convenience store. Forty years ago, this was a heavily guarded border crossing. I think I’m on the Slovenian side. Maybe I’m on the Italian side. I don’t know. These unmarked border crossings leave me dizzy.
Eighty years ago, this is where the totalitarian government of Yugoslavia began. It’s such a cold image for such a beautiful corner of Europe. And most beautiful places produce beautiful wine. This Brda is perfectly located. It’s bordered to the north by the Alps and to the west by the Adriatic. The crossing of the fresh air between the mountains and sea creates the perfect conditions for the ripening of grapes.
Sibav winery
I get proof in two wineries here in Dobrovo, a border village of 330 people. The Sibav winery started way back in 1680 when it sold wine and olive oil. In 1964 it moved its operation to a lovely, airy house with big picture windows opening up to a long balcony and the rolling green land beyond.
Miran Sibav greets Balke like the long-time friend that he is. Sibav is fit, clean-shaven with a wisp of gray hair. He leads us to a big wooden table with his wines lined up like bowling pins. A fire feels good in the background.
He gives me his Rebula from 2021. Seven-five percent of Slovenian wines are white and the Rebula is the wine that made Brda and Slovenian wines famous. Known as Ribolla Gialla in Italy, it is endemic to this region and became so popular in the 14th century that Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio claimed Rebula wine was one of the sins of gluttony.
Leopold III, the Duke of Austria, then proved it when he captured the territory and demanded that he receive 100 urns of Rebula wine every year.
I settle for two glasses. Rebula is light with high acidity and a slightly nutty taste. It’s very fresh, even on a cold, dreary winter day. The best he has, however, is a Tajo Sauvignonasse. Not to be confused with a Sauvignon blanc, the Sauvignonasse is a full-bodied grape that produces a higher alcohol wine with floral and fruit flavors.
The best part? It’s only €10 retail. I eagerly buy one and we’re on our way.
Scurek winery
We drive about 10 minutes and come to a huge modern home with a round archway entrance and a swimming pool out back. Like Sibav, the Scurek winery has rooms to rent. Scurek also has a spectacular panoramic view of the countryside …
… in Italy.
Scurek is right smack dab on the Italian border. Out back on the other side of a vineyard stands a huge house that represents the Colle Duga winery in Italy.
“The landscape is the same,” says Tomaz Scurek, 40, one of five brothers who run the winery. “You don’t know you’re in Italy. We look more to Italy than Slovenia.”
It is so close to the border, the Scureks have 50 acres (20 hectares) of vineyards in Slovenia and 22 acres (nine 22 hectares) in Italy. The winery goes back five generations with Tomaz’s nephew ready to take the mantle for the sixth.
Like many Slovenian wineries, Scurek has overcome the circumstances of being in fertile wine country under a communist government. After Yugoslavia was formed after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, private wineries in Slovenia began a slow decline.
“Just people who had some important politics were allowed to have private estates,” Tomaz says.
The history
At the end of World War II and communist Yugoslavia took control, co-ops controlled the majority of the wineries with an emphasis on bulk and not quality. Even after Yugoslavia evolved into more of a socialist government (Yugoslavs could travel and had a market-based socialist economy), Slovenian wines were, reportedly, awful. Wineries were forced to sell grapes to the major co-ops or forced to pay higher taxes.
Scurek didn’t start bottling until 1986. Before that, they sold their Slovenian grapes to the co-op and used their Italian grapes for Italian wine to sell to trattorias in Italy and Slovenia.
“Before 1965, this was the poorest region in Yugoslavia,” says Tomaz as a Stevie Wonder tape plays in the background. “It was blocked on both sides. It was very difficult to come here for the people of Yugoslavia. The only thing here was agriculture. Before 1965, the border was very closed. They put money in Belgrade, and the countryside was really, really poor.”
But by the time Slovenia became the first Yugoslav republic to gain independence in 1991, it was the richest and most advanced of the six republics. It suffered little in the Balkan Wars. Due to Slovenia’s location and ties to the West, its wineries began to grow.
Today, Scurek produces between 100,000-120,000 bottles s year and Sibav 45,000. Forty-five percent of Scurek wines are exported, to the U.S., China, Japan and Israel.
Scurek wines
Tomaz lays out a healthy plate of Slovenian cheese, salami and prosciutto and begins pouring. I have a nice Friulano Sauvignesse and a Pinot Grigio from 2023. I have something called an Jazbine, a single vineyard blend that is 35 percent Tokai, 30 percent Pinot Grigio, 15 percent Rebula and 15 percent Sauvignon blanc.
Then we move up in quality. His Stara Brajda, meaning “Old Vineyard” in local dialect, is fabulous. Let the wine website Evino describe it: “The wine is straw yellow in color with golden yellow hues, with delicate aromas of ripe fruit, wood and dried flowers. In the mouth it is full-bodied with a pleasant freshness and a long aftertaste.”
The best is a 2020 Rebula that explodes in my mouth and is an absolute steal for €30.
A wonderful day in a little-known corner of the wine world is ending. We’re all feeling giddy and filled. I ask Tomas if he associates his love of wine with the taste or his emotion.
He lovingly looks at the bottle of Rebula in his hand and says, “This is a problem for the winemaker because how you make the wine affects your feeling. For everything. If you have a bad taste in your life, it’s impossible to make good wine.”
We raise our glasses and say “Na zdravje (Cheers in Slovene)” to Slovene wines and democracy. To drink great wine in beautiful countryside with happy people, that is the definition of freedom.
If you’re thinking about going …
How to get there: Drive. The wineries are so remote, on such small roads, public transport is sparse and unreliable. Go to Kayak.com and you can find cars in Gorizia for as little as $23 a day.
Where to go: Sibav winery, Nebio 45, Dobrovo, Slovenia, 386-41-818-163, https://vino-sibav.si, info@fino-sibav._Tsi, 2-6 p.m. Monday, Friday-Saturday, 2-7 p.m. Tastings by appointment. Two rooms available for overnight stays. He had two double bedrooms for €95 a night including breakfast.
Scurek winery, Plesivo 44, Dobrovo, Slovenia, 386-41-702-234, https://www.scurek.wine, info@scurek.com, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, tastings 1-6 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Eight rooms available for overnight stays ranging from €120-€180 a night.
Where to stay: Apartmento BonBon, Via delle Monache 10, Gorizia, 39-338-494-1832. Big apartment on a quiet street a few minutes walk from Piazza della Vittoria. Host speaks fluent English and is excellent with checkin communication and tips around town. I paid €283.98 for three nights.
Where to eat: Difficult to recommend a restaurant when I never found an open table in Gorizia. This doesn’t include an Asian place on the main piazza which forgot my sushi order. My host recommended Trattoria alla Luna, Via Oberdan 13, 39-04-81-530-374, https://trattoriaallaluna.com, 6:30-11 p.m. Wednesday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 6:30-11 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Open since 1876, dark, homey restaurant specializes in Northern Italian cuisine. It looked good.
When to go: Close to the Adriatic, it still gets hot in summer with highs averaging 86. Spring and fall are pleasant in mid-70s but also getting the most rain. My weather in mid-February was in 40s and 50s with occasional rain.
For more information: Agenzia Turismo Friuli Venezia Giulia, Corso Italia 9, 39-04-81-535-764, https://www.turismofvg.it/en/gorizia, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 2-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday.
Tourist Information Center Nova Gorica, Kidriceva Street 11, 386-5-330-4600, https://www.slovenia360.si/en/tourist-spots/turisticno-informacijski-center-nova-gorica.