Taste and Explore: Open Cellar Days in sunny Goriska Brda

With a glass of wine in my hand, the savoury taste of prosciutto in my mouth and the smell of light fresh sea breeze, I can sum up most of what happens at the Open Cellar Days. The Open Cellar Days in Goriska Brda are not just about tasting great wine, they are much more than that. The two-day event is aimed at both, experienced wine enthusiasts and curious newcomers. It is a real wine exploration and socialising in an exceptional natural environment, imbued with energy, authenticity and homeliness.

Goriska Brda is located in the western part of Slovenia, on the Italian border. For Goriska Brda, the month of June is characterised by two bigger events, the Cherry festival and the Open Wine Cellar Days. The Open Cellar Days 2023 are traditionally held in the second weekend of June.

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The picturesque Brda landscape has always been known for its exceptional wine, delicious cuisine and hospitality. Wine lovers had the opportunity to visit no less than 36 wineries and enjoy the winemakers' stories and, of course, the good wine and other delicacies. Each winemaker offered at least four wine samples to taste.

You can watch a video from Goriška brda in the video presentation below.

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My friends and I had planned to attend this event for a long time in advance, so we postponed all our commitments, arranged childcare for our kids, booked accommodation, and reserved time just for us, to socialise, to relax and to spend quality time with friends. Nothing should have surprised us, and luckily everything worked out as planned.

That weekend we immersed ourselves in a world of exceptional flavours, picturesque vineyards in this exceptional environment. At the event, we had the opportunity to explore wineries, vineyards, farmhouses and winemakers' estates. We did not visit them all, of course, but we made our list of wineries we wanted to have a look at. This year, we decided to visit smaller and lesser-known wineries, as well as those that impressed us most last year. In total we visited 8 wineries on the first day and 7 on the second day. It was just enough, so we had enough time to taste the wines, talk with wine makers and have some lovely time.

Each individual winemaker offered us a different but unique experience. They introduced us to different vintages and varieties of wine, told us their unique stories, and some even took us into their cellars where their wine is aging in barrels. Tastings were also combined with local delicacies, cured meats, cheeses and other local products. Allow me just to briefly present few of the winemakers participating to the event this year.

We started our weekend in the village of Zali Breg at the Sosolic winery, which offers mainly fresh white and red wines. We were warmly welcomed on arrival, offered a smal snack and immediately started our wine tasting. Here, all of us tried Malvazia Aromatica for the first time, and were instantly impressed. We were impressed enough to take a few bottles of this wine home with us.

For the first time we visited the winery Sibav, located in the village of Fojana. It is one of the few wineries run by a woman, Mrs Dusica. Not only does she run the winery, but she also works in the vineyards and the cellar. She is a very well-known and successful winemaker, with her wines regularly winning medals and awards at wine fairs.

Moro Winery is based in the village of Vipolze. It is a relatively small winery, and the whole family works on their estate. They have a very nice, new and modern wine cellar.

Their range of wines is really large. They have different series of wines, from fresh wines that are very drinkable to those very structured flavours that are just calling out for food.

From the wine cellar there is a path leading to a small conference room, which is also a shop and gallery where various works of art are sold. Art and wine, the combination I love!

The Klet Brda winery is the largest winery in Goriska Brda, located in the town of Dobrovo, and was founded in 1957 as a cooperative. Today it is a modern winery offering everything that Goriska Brda has to offer in terms of wine. Seven quality classes of wine, where you can choose from white, red, orange, fresh, sparkling, vintage and more and more. Truly top-quality wines at a reasonable price, in my opinion the price/performance winner.

The winery also has a museum collection called Heroes of the Vineyard, which shows how wine used to be made.

The Erzetic Winery is located in the village of Visnjevik. It is one of those that impressed us last year, so we decided to visit it again this year. They produce all wines, from whites to reds, and sparkling wines are no exception. They are particularly well known for their series of wines produced in clay amphorae buried in the ground, as they did thousands of years ago in Georgia, where the vines are native. Their homestead offers a magnificent view of Goriska Brda. I think this is also the only winery in Slovenia that produces the red rebula variety of wine. A really likeable wine that you'll quickly fall in love with!

To round off our amazing weekend, we chose our favourite winery Ronk, also located in the village of Vipolze. His warmth and friendliness surprise us every year, so this is also where we end our get-together. His motto in winemaking is "Making wine means finding your path of taste and follow it, by learning and constantly improving". And he sticks to that, and I think very successfully.

It was great to see different generations of people at this event, and I can only conclude that the culture of wine drinking is rising to a higher level. Many people attended the event, and we also heard many enthusiastic foreigners praising the wine, the food and Goriska Brda. According to the news published by the Tourist Office, at the time of the event, it was not possible to get an empty room in Goriska Brda where visitors could stay overnight. Some winemakers, who also have accommodation, have even told us that they have already sold all their accommodation for the next event.

A shuttle bus service was also available to take visitors between each winery. Buses picked up visitors at pre-determined points every hour or so. This way there was no need to worry about driving and no fear of losing your driving licence.

The event also had a charitable note. Once again, the winemakers donated some of their fine wines, which this time were bottled in special bottles with original labels by international artists. They painted 37 bottles, which were then sold at auction. The proceeds were used to buy defibrillators and install them in smaller towns in the region.

Whether you are a seasoned wine enthusiast or a curious novice, the Open Cellar Days are a great opportunity to discover and taste wine stories. Above all, it's a chance to socialise in an exceptional natural environment, imbued with the wonderful energy of authenticity and homeliness.

We are all probably familiar with the saying In vino veritas. Some time ago I came across a variation of it, which goes as follows Who doesn't drink wine has secrets 😊 If this post has caught your attention, you can read what happened last year here.

Thanks for reading,
feel free to leave a comment, I will be glad to reply to.
Best regards, @miljo76