Here's a TN that will generate zero interest:
Tasted this wine I had purchased over in the VipavaVlly a week afore at our B&B in Stanjel (10/15/16)
1. Sveti Martin rebula Tradition ZGP: VipavskaDolina/Kakovostno (13.5%; http://www.VinaSvetiMartin.Si; L.04.2014) 2010:
Med.gold/burnished bronze color; light apricotty/floral/mango light phenolic/resiny some spicy/smoked hot dog
rather complex very attractive nose; quite tart/lean/austere rather phenolic/resiny slight earthy/chalky/mineral
light mango/guava/fruity flavor w/ light tannic bite; very long light floral/orangey/orange peel some phenolic/
resiny/skin-contact fairly tart/tangy some complex finish w/ light tangy/tannic bite; a quiet/gentle skin-
contact white w/ a nice balance between quiet RG fruit & phenolics. A really lovely skin-contact white and one
of the better ones from Slovenia I've had.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This was a wine I purchased at the TIC (TouristInformationCenter) in Vipava in the heart of the VipavaVlly of
Slovenia. If only they had TIC's in the US this good. The lady & the guy working the TIC were extremely helpful
in making suggestions where to sight-see in the area. Not only that, right across the hallway from their office
was a small wine shop of Vipava wines, where you could taste a variety of wines. The guy who was helping me was
extremely knowledgeable and was full of recommendations....absolutely first rate. More areas should have a
tasting facility like this in order to familiarize tourists w/ the local wines.
We were staying in the Petra Zorz Farmhouse in Slap where Susan had booked us. Very charming agriturismo and
Petra is very welcoming. We had an absolutely delicious dinner there. Kids galore all over the place added
to the attraction. Highly recommended.
The VipavaVlly is a wine region in Slovenia you hear almost nothing about and very few of their wines appear
to be imported into the USofA. That is a pity because the wines I tried I found to be well-made/sound and quite
tasty. Reminded me a lot of the GradiskaBrda wines and those of Friuli. And the area is quite beautiful, a broad/
gently sloping valley covered w/ vines, and bounded by beautiful/steep hills on either side.
There are two varieties that are indigeneous to the VipavaVlly, Zelen and Pinela. As best I can tell, there
has been little DNA work on the origins or parentage of these varieties. Pinela is probably the same as the
rare red variety known as Pinella (or Pinello) in Friuli, given the commonality of varieties in the area. Zelen
is a white variety that may be related to the pedestrian variety Verduzzo in Friuli. We had a PetiteBurja Zelen
2010 several yrs ago that was so tasty that we ordered a case of it. These are two varieties that are interesting
enough that they should be planting them all up&down the Coast in Calif.
I had never heard of the Sveti Martin (apparently an area in the VipavaVlly) wines before. As best I can tell,
they are not imported into the USofA. What a pity. When I asked the guy at the TIC for a recommendation of an
"orange" (or skin-contact white), this was his immediate recommendation. The wnry is owned by Boris & Boza Stojan.
It is now being run by their son, Peter. He makes an interesting tableau of wines (http://www.VinaSvetiMartin.Si) that
I would dearly love to try more of. He is definitely on my list to visit on my next trip.
The TIC folks had highly recommended a stop in the hilltop village of Stanjel on our journey down the coast
to the Croatian coastline. It's a beautiful little village sitting on top and overlooking a large valley of
vines. I had planned to stay on our last two days returning to Ljubljana in the Kras/Carso area to visit some
wineries. We'd not booked a place when we left Istria/Croatia and planned to wing it. Alas, we didn't have
much success in finding a suitable place, probably because of the proximity to Trieste. Susan was able to
find us a place in the Adrijan Rustja B&B in Stanjel, on the far west border of KrasPlateau and just over the
mountain ridge from the VipavaVlly. It was a stunning choice. Adrijan Rustja was the consummate host. His tiny
B&B (two rental rooms only) is in the heart of Stanjel w/ a beautiful view out over the vnyds of the area.
Only foot traffic is allowed within Stanjel. The house is a restored tower in the wall surrounding the village
and has several windows preserved from the original guard tower. It's a beautiful little village and a stay
w/ Adrijan is highly recommended. And, as before, the Stanjel TIC is extremely helpful in lining up accomodations
and places to eat & visit. In fact, all the TIC's we encountered in Slovenia were extremely helpful. You can
waltz into one and they can (usually) line you up w/ accommodations for that night.
Anyway, the VipavaVlly is an area of Slovenia worth checking out. Don't miss a stop at the TIC in Vipava to
get the lay of the land and try some of their wines. The people there in the TIC are absolutely first rate.
It's a beautiful area and one I plan a return visit to.
Tom