Wine tour in Croatia and Slovenia

Departure from your hotel in Ljubljana at 9AM. We head to Slovenia’s premier wine region of Goriska Brda (or known to many as simply Brda). On the way there we’ll pay a visit to the castle of Predjama, tucked away in a honeycomb of limestone caves. Then it is off to the vineyards, orchards and winding country roads of Brda. We will stop for a tasting of cherry jams, juices and liquors to whet the appetite before our big lunch. A very special 5-course ‘slow-food’ lunch at our guesthouse – includes wine tasting and lasts about three hours. Our hosts offer a selection of Mediterranean dishes & Brda specialties and pair each dish with one of their wines. A true gourmet experience! After the meal we will learn about the the family’s wine making traditions and methods (that include the use of amphoras) as we tour their cellars.

Our first excursion takes in many of the delicious Brda specialties. Guests will visit the oldest olive tree plantation in the Brdo hills and sample different olive oils with cheese and bread. Enjoy an easy stroll through some of the tiny villages that dot the hills. Then we will visit the wine cellars at Kristalvin for a tasting followed by a viewpoint tower to see the beautiful natural setting of Brda. After a visit to some typical houses of the region we’ll enjoy a lite lunch in the walled town of Smartno. Dinner will be A la carte at our guesthouse.

Today we welcome Matjaz, the owner of Tilia Wines, as our local guide around the Vipava Valley. Matjaz has his own private winery which is quickly approaching 10 hectars. His heavenly, fruity Pinot Grigio is the staple of the line. We will start our day in the small village of Goce village for a tasting and then work our way over to a few more small wineries in the Vipava Valley. Lunch will be at Gostilna pri Lojzetu – which features Tomaž Kavcic, arguably Slovenia’s top chef, a spectacular setting and quite imaginative presentations. We’ll end our day at Tilia’s vinska klet (wine cellar) for a tasting of Matjaz’s wines. Overnight and traditional dinner with hand made regional specialties and wine at the Skerlj farmhouse. Make sure to save room for their honey ice-cream!

We pay a short visit to the hill town Stanjel to see its art gallery and pretty gardens with views over the Karst. The karst plateau drops down to the Adriatic Sea and it’s here that is hidden the most un-Italian city in Italy – Trieste. We’ll explore this city that owes far more to its Habsburg and Slovenian past than its Italian present as we enjoy a typical Trieste lunch followed by a guided tour of this unique city, plus a historic, scenic tram ride and time for soaking in some of that Habsburg-era Vienna café culture with espresso and pastries. Dinner back at Skerlj.

A morning visit to Hrastovlje village to see a 12th century church built from stone that features wall to wall colored frescoes. Then we enter Croatia’s Istria region – well known for medieval hill-towns, wine, truffles and other gastronomic delights. First we will meet with Dimitri, a young Frenchman whose Croatian father brought him here to start the Piquentum winery. In a 1920’s army bunker, we will taste the Istrian Teran the classic white Malvasia. Lunch at Hum, a tiny town that offers up hearty goulash pastas, mistletoe brandies and some other tasty souvenirs and medieval curiosities. Afternoon to browse the charming hill-town of Groznjan, packed withartisan shops, art galleries and views down onto the Mirna Valley. Dinner at our pension’s rustic restaurant in the Istrian countryside. at La Parenzana.

After breakfast a visit to an olive mill where we can observe the process of many local farmers bring their olives to be made into extra virgin oil. We travel to the iconic Istrian hill town of Motovun for a a special handson experience as we join Klaudio & Daniella Tomaz and their canine friends to hunt for truffles burried under Istria’s fertile soil in nearby forests. For lunch guests will be a treated to a trufflethemed menu at Tomaz’s winery, the home of the top rated Malvasia in Europe. Top it off with Fritule, Istria’s delicious version of a doughnut. Everyone can then enjoy leisure time exploring Motovun including an optional spa treatment of message. Guests can choose to have dinner in the town or head back to La Parenzana for A la cart dinner.

A guided walking tour will take us around Rovinj. This seaside town with a Venetian past is hands down Istria’s most charming. Some at your leisure time to explore art shops & galleries and browse the outdoor market or get lost in a labyrinth of narrow cobblestone streets Afternoon to tour a farm that makes gourmet goat cheeses (semihard cheeses and fresh cheeses). Enjoy some lunch-sized tastings of cheeses, wines, olive oils and homemade sausages. In the late afternoon we will arrive at our hotel in the Kvarner region. It is positioned on the green slopes of Mt. Ucka above the town of Lovran and overlooks both the town and the Adriatic.

A day of rest, relaxing, recharging and detox. Guests can choose to lounge around the hotel, taking beautiful views of Cres Island and Kvarner Bay on the Adriatic. Or they can do easy walks to waterfalls or longer hikes for 2-3 hrs around Mt. Ucka. There are also the historic Habsburg spa towns of Lovran and Opatija to explore and enjoy a grand old coffee house or walk along the boardwalk. Back at the hotel we will organize our own ‘souvenir’ happy hour. This will be a good opportunity to open up and taste our wines, liquors, snacks and other food items that we’ve have purchased along the tour. After our popouri tasting, guests can enjoy A la carte dinning with a view from the hotel balcony

We drive back to Slovenia and head east for a short visit to the country’s oldest town of Ptuj. We then take a detour and cross over into Austria to visit a fantastic micro-brewery, owned by a Slovenian. Enjoy a tour of the facilities, sample 5 beers with lite lunch and learn about the up and coming Slovenian micro beer scene. We’ll then make our way to the region of Prlekija, tucked away in rolling vineyards of southeastern Slovenia near the Croatian border. This small region might just be Slovenia’s most scenic wine growing region. A delicious five-course dinner at a nearby village should leave everyone happy and certainly no one hungry.

Start off the morning with a visit to a small, family run mill that produces pumpkin seed oil and have a tasting with a few different local breads and soft cheese. Before lunch we’ll stop at a private bee keeping museum where guests will learn about Slovenia’s imporant bee-keeping history and try home made gingerbread, honey liqueur and different sorts of honey. Then we go further east, close to the Hungarian border to the land of Prekmurje where we will have a traditonal lunch of cold cuts, veggies, brown breat, local white wines and top it off with innovative chocolate truffles. After time to relax in mid-afternoon we will enjoy a home cooked meal with our hosts at their farmhouse.

We will enjoy our last lunch at Bled Castle, overlooking gorgeous Lake Bled and nearby mountains. Make sure to try their famous cream cake called Kremsnita. Weather permitting, we will take a gondola ride out to Bled island and have some free time to relax at the lake. Upon arrival in the small medieval town of Radovljica, guests can visit the pension’s gingerbread making facilities that doubles as a museum. Nextdoor is a museum that showcases the unique Slovenian art of beehive panels. A farewell dinner of hearty Slovenian fare in our pension will conclude our tour. Transfer to airport the following morning.