Feeling inspired in the Goriska Brda, Slovenia

Last week I spent a fabulous week touring the north of Italy and Slovenia with my husband, who luckily loves wine as much as me. Despite an early morning flight and feeling very tired and unsteady after a fantastic wedding the night before…we arrived in Venice in good spirits and were ready to tackle the Italian roads! Or so we thought…. 

An hour later, we were driving on a B road that was exactly parallel to the motorway and seemed to be moving further and further away from our destination. Despite a few detours and a near disaster on the side of a cliff when my husband mistook the brake for the clutch (?!), we managed to successfully navigate ourselves to Dobrovo on the Italian/Slovenian border. 

Our hotel was in a tiny village called Smartno which had the most amazing view of the surrounding Goriska Brda wine region. 

Battling against the arctic gale force wines as (spring had also not arrived in Slovenia!) we trundled into our very quaint hotel in the old town. I think we were probably the only foreign tourists in the region at that time and so the hoteliers were all too happy to practice their English with us. 

Dead set on making the most out of our vinous and culinary tour of Northern Italy we started as we meant to go on and ordered the ham “a la maison” as well as some Ribolla from a local producer. Ready for more Slovenian delights we set off in the dark to find the Simčič’s house and winery. Valerija, Marjan’s wife, was there to welcome us and gave us a quick tour of the cellar before Marjan and his cousin joined us for a long dinner over several bottles of Simčič. Highlights for me were the Opoka Sauvignon 2009 and Sauvignonasse 2010 that went perfectly well with the cervice salmon with pink peppercorns, octopus salad and roast sea bass. I was glad I wasn’t driving back to the hotel!

The next morning Valerija lead us through a fantastic tasting of their latest bottlings: Chardonnay selekcija 2010, Chardonnay Opoka 2009, Merlot opoka 2007, Pinot noir 2009, Rebula opoka 2008, and Leonardo 2007. 
 

The Simčič philosophy is to produce the best wine they can from their terroir and wine that they would like to drink themselves. They are 100% certified Organic and have some plots of vineyards that are over 60 years old. Marjan is the fifth generation Simčič and a pioneer in the region as he is constantly leading the way and trying new things to improve the quality of his wines. We found out he was the first winemaker to use oak barrels in the area and instigated a cult following as other winemakers started to label their wines “Barriques”. Marjan is truly dedicated to his craft and makes no compromises, inspiring other local winemakers in the process. As we waved goodbye to them both, we couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of their life there in the beautiful Dobrovo hills – what could be better than making incredible wines from a land that you love and being a local VIP celebrity to boot! Marjan and Valerija, we will certainly be visiting again!

Written by Claire Scott-Gall, Marketing Manager