A weekend in Goriška Brda
We picked up our friends in Ljubljana and drove to Goriška Brda for a lovely yet rainy weekend of good food and wine. We haven't been there before, so Žan and Anamarija showed us around. Goriška Brda is a small hilly region is western Slovenia, mostly cultivated with vineyards and orchards, so it's especially beautiful in spring and autumn.
Our day officially started off with breakfast at Belica homestead in Medana village, which is a bit elevated and thus offers great views all around. We got to see their estate and a tour of their wine cellar as well. We continued north to check the Dobrovo Castle and then drove to Pristavo for a wine tasting tour with Čarga, a family farm sitting atop a hill. A nice lady welcomed us and told us about their family, region's history and wine. The whole process of wine making as well as selling of their production is done by themselves.
We drove back to Biljana and checked in our rooms at Bjana before heading back out. Miran and Petra Sirk gave us a warm welcome with a taste of their Brut Rosé. Sirk family was extremely lovely and the rooms in their Chateau Dorisce were just amazing. I'd definitely recommend staying there! Bjana is mostly focused on and famous for sparkling wine and traditional production method, where the secondary fermentation that transforms the base wine into sparkling wine takes place in bottles as opposed to tank method, where fermentation takes place in large tanks.
We then went for a cup of coffee at the Kabaj Morel homestead in Šlovrenc. It is another winery with long tradition and it's run by a Slovenian/French couple. The homestead also includes a restaurant with traditional homemade food and a guesthouse. We tried a few glasses of their great wine, bought a couple of bottles of white and moved on to a fancy dinner at Gredič. No words needed I guess. It was expensive but worth it.
Petra gave us a tour of beautiful Bjana wine cellar the next morning and we got through the whole process of making sparkling wine. We continued to Šmartno, often considered the most beautiful of Goriška Brda villages with its preserved prominent medieval walls.
We headed back home through Solkan and had a late lunch at Žogica. A rainy weekend well spent!