Slovenia

There's a reason wine people talk about Slovenia and nobody else does. The country is small. Smaller than Tasmania. But it sits where the Alps, the Adriatic and the Hungarian plain all push up against each other, and that pressure shows up in the bottle.

Wine from Slovenia has been quietly building a reputation in Europe for years. The Reserve Cellar has been working with these producers for most of that run. Indigenous grapes. Old methods. Worth knowing before the rest of the room catches up.

What is Slovenia known for in wine?

Indigenous white grapes, and skin-contact wine. Three regions matter: Primorska on the west coast, Podravje up northeast, Posavje to the southeast. In Maribor there's a vine that's still fruiting after 400 years. Guinness calls it the oldest on record. Three-quarters of what Slovenia produces is white. What put the country on the map, though, was its hand in bringing orange wine back.

Is Slovenian wine good?

Very. The international press worked this out about a decade ago. The serious bottles come out of Primorska, mainly Goriška Brda and the Vipava Valley. Producers like Movia and Klinec sit comfortably next to the bigger names just over the Italian border, and The Reserve Cellar carries both. These are family estates working with indigenous varieties and a hands-off approach to winemaking. Production is tiny and prices haven't caught up to the quality. That gap won't last.

What grape varieties are grown in Slovenia?

Rebula is the signature white. Italians call it Ribolla Gialla. Šipon is the other one to know, identical to what Hungary calls Furmint. Beyond those, Malvasia, Zelen and Pinela are worth chasing. Refošk is the local red. Blaufränkisch turns up in the cooler eastern hills. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Merlot all grow well in Primorska where the climate runs warmer.

What is orange wine and where does it come from?

Orange wine is white wine made like red. The skins stay in during fermentation. That's where the amber colour comes from, and the grip, and a savoury quality you won't find in a normal white. Georgia invented it roughly 8,000 years ago. They buried clay vessels called qvevri in the ground and fermented everything inside them. Outside Georgia, the method nearly died out. Then in the late 1990s a handful of producers along the Italy and Slovenia border decided to revive it. Joško Gravner in Friuli. A generation of Slovenian winemakers in Goriška Brda working alongside him.

Finding it from Australia used to be quite hard, but the Reserve Cellar makes it effortless. Secure your bottle today. Feel Transported.