Trip to Europe (Italy-Slovenia) Fall 2012...Luxury lunch in Ljubljana, Slovenia

(Monday, October 15)
From Mlecnik's winery, we kept going for a little over one hour to arrive in Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia.

It was a scenic view of mountains and nature all the way.


Our first destination in Ljubljana was its historic castle. By the recommendation of Josko Gravner, we had a reservation at Gostilna na Gradu restaurant in the castle.


They serve classic Slovenian cuisine at this restaurant. So, I was really excited to try what the food was going to be like.


At this restaurant, another unexpected amazing thing happened! Josko Gravner not only recommended this restaurant, but he also sent a case of his wines to the restaurant for us! So, we got to enjoy the amazing mariage of his wine and Slovenian dishes.

Also we were treated with such warm welcome by the restaurant, and even the owner of the restaurant joined our lunch.


Aperitif snacks were Ricotta with herb and olive oil, and fried pork and apples.


Raw porcini carpaccio. Pumpkin gnocchi with save and olive oil, topped with smoked cheese.


Poached seabass. Beef liver with polenta.


Roasted lamb and fennels. Apple streudel with raisin and pine nuts.

I was so impressed by such sophisticated and quality dishes we tasted. And, unlike I imagined, these Slovenian dishes were so delicate and not heavy. I loved every dish so much.


The wines were...
2004 Josko Gravner, Bianco Berg (Venezia Ziuria)
2004 Josko Gravner, Ribolla (Venezia Ziuria)


Gravner's amphora-aged wines were truly magical. They were so rich, yet so smooth and never tastes heavy. I couldn't believe we had almost "bottomless" Gravner wines!!


The view from the castle was great, too. I could see the whole city 360 degrees. On the way out of the castle, we saw a big rainbow!


After lunch, we walked around the city. Ljubljana has a nice relaxed atmosphere. We were invited to another restaurant by the same owner of Gostilna na Gradu for digestive. I don't remember the name, but it was made from medicinal herbs and tasted very good.

Power nap in the bus on the way back to Gorizia!

Trip to Europe (Italy-Slovenia) Fall 2012...Tasting at Valter Mlecnik

(Monday, October 15)

It was drizzling in the morning in Gorizia, but it was a comfortable temperature. It's been warmer than I thought in Friuli since we got here a few nights ago.

This morning, we drove to Valter Mlecnic in Bukovica, Slovenia. It's near the Italian border.


The estate is a large and beautiful place with old house and winery facility from Valter's grandfather's generation. Valter and his dog welcomed us.


The sky was already clear and he guided us to his vineyards just across the street from the estate. 5ha is planted with white grapes and 4ha (leased) is planted with Merlot. The total production of Mlecnic is only about 9,000 bottles/ year.

Mulecnik is one of the top quality producers of Slovenia and he has been influenced by Josko Gravner, just like Damijan Podversic. So, he makes extremely natural-style wines.


In his cantina, we tasted some of his wines. His son poured us wine.
2006 Chardonnay
2008 Rebula...Ribolla Giala's Slovenian name. Not yet released.
2007 Cuvee Ana...80% Chardonnay, plus Tokai, Malvasia, Pinela, etc.
2006 Merlot...aged in barrique (no new oak)

All his wines are aged for 1-2 years in oak, followed by 2-3 bottle aging.
Very unique and special wines.

Trip to Europe (Italy-Slovenia) Fall 2012...Visiting Damijan Podversic

(October 12 and 13)

My much anticipated trip to Friuli (Italy) and Slovenia plus Budapest has finally begun.  I left LA on October 12 (Fri) and after a long trip, I finally arrived in Trieste, Italy (in Friuli region) on the night of 13th (Sat). At the airport, I met with Etsuko (my first wine teacher at Academie du Vin in Tokyo) and other hard-core wine buddies who flew from Tokyo via Rome.

It was already past 11pm, and our driver took us to Gorizia, which is about 45 minutes from Trieste.  We checked in at the hotel and slept.

(Sunday, October 14)

This was practically our day 1 of this trip. We had an appointment with Damijan Podversic, who is one of the top natural wine makers of Friuli.  His philosophy is extremely unique and strict to nature's advantage.  Damijan himself kindly came to meet us at the hotel.  We spent a full day with him!

First, before visiting his vineyards, since we just arrived in the historic town of Gorizia, he took us to its landmark castle.  It was originally built in 11th century but was bombed during WWI and rebuilt in 1930s.  The view was very nice.  From the hill, we could even see Slovenia in just a short distance away.

Then, we drove to the border of Slovenia. The train station is within Slovenian border.

We were back in Gorizia and drove to Damijan's vineyards. He owns a 10 ha farm of which 6 ha are planted with vines. The location of vineyards used to be just woods and he cultivated the land from scratch in 1990's. It was very interesting to learn about his philosophies in growing grapes. He does completely organic (certified, but he doesn't want to advertise, as he think the certification means nothing) with no irrigation, and he let his white grapes ripen until they are partially botrytized.


So, his grapes are naturally late harvest (almost a full month later than other producers in Friuli region). All the grapes are hand-picked and even the grape berries are individually selected. The grapes tasted so concentrated and sweet! While he bares much higher risk of letting the grapes damaged from bad weather, etc. by doing late-harvest, his wines made from these painstakingly selected grapes are totally exceptional. From those grapes including botrytized kinds, he makes only dry wines.


We drove again for a little while to get to his winery, where his wine Elena welcomed us with her homemade picnic dishes. We did tasting of Damijan's wines over picnic lunch. Damijan also sliced special prosciutto from Slovenia. It was made by his friend in the very natural way. Cured only with salt and air-dried for months. It was so scrumptious.


Damijan produces 5 kinds of whites and 1 red. The total production, at best, is only up to 30,000 bottles. So, it was such a special opportunity to taste some of his rare wines. The wines we tasted were...
2008 Malvasia (magnum)
2008 Bianco Kaplja...blend of Chardonnay, Friulano, and Malvasia. 3 bicchieri by Gambero Rosso
2008 Prelit...Merlot and CS
2008 Ribolla Gialla


He took us to the cellar and showed us fermentation tanks. For the newly-harvested grapes, he macerate skin for 3 weeks and does punch-down 3 times a day. We also tasted from barrel the followings.
2011 Ribolla Gialla...from very hot year, so no botrytis. More than 16% al!
2010 Ribolla Gialla

All wines were extremely intense, yet because of natural character, none of them were overpowering in any sense. They were all fermented with natural yeast and aged for at least 3 years in barrel and bottle.

So special! I loved how passionate and philosophical Damijan was about his wines, and I could really taste honest his personality in his wine.