Day 2 took us to the east of the country – very close to the second city of Maribor and within 200 metres of the Austrian border. This is very close to the wineries we visited in the south of Austria a few years ago.
Our first stop was the family estate of Valdhuber. Adam Valdhuber took us for a walk in the vineyard first to discuss the terroir and let us admire the truly stunning views. This is part of the Podravska region – Slovenia’s largest production zone – the majority of which is white wine. It is also the location of the historic Lutomer Laski Riesling which was very popular in the 1970’s.
Adam was very engaging and imparted lots of really useful information about the area and some of the trials and tribulations of climate change issues.
We then headed into the winery and settled in for a great tasting that encompassed a sparkling Pinot Bianco, Pinot Noir Rose, two contrasting Sauvignon Blancs and a Laski Rizling.
From Valdhuber, it was a fifteen minute drive to one of my favourite estates – Doppler. Perched on top of a hill, the winery has stunning views of the area and has been a staple of all my tours to Slovenia over the years. Greeted as always by Mihaela, the third generation owner, together with her daughter Lana, we could enjoy the latest new development in the Doppler story. We were literally the first guests to dine at their spanking new restaurant.
Stunningly elegant with the aforementioned views, we enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by Lana’s boyfriend who is a top class chef. We paired the different courses with a selection of the Doppler wines and revelled in a beautiful sunny day on what felt like the top of the world.
It was a quiet bus on the way back.
