It is always a joy to be back in Slovenia and in particular the wonderful capital city Ljubljana. Our second Slovenia wine tour tour of 2025 has commenced. The weather forecast a week ago was not looking promising but that has all changed and blue skies and 25 degrees seem to be the order of the week.
With most people already in Slovenia and the Easyjet flight being on time, we kicked off bang on schedule and headed for lunch at the excellent Landerik restaurant in Ljubljana. Sommelier Luca guided us through a delicious four course tasting lunch with wines that spanned four different regions of the country and introduced us to some lesser known grape varieties. Sparkling wine began our journey with Chardonnay/Rumeni Plavec blend made by Istenic winery – paired with cod in a rich pea soup; a cauliflower cream with a poached egg was matched with a Teran – an indigenous grape from the Vipava Valley, both wild boar and trout were drunk with a textured Rebula and an off dry Gewurztraminer rounded off dessert – fried pancake cubes with a rich vanilla sauce.
Fortunately, our next stop was only 100 yards away at the Movia tasting room. Movia is one of the most important wine estates in Slovenia and date back to 1820. While we are visiting their estate itself on Saturday, their wine bar in central Ljubljana is a great place to sample their wines. Certified biodynamic since 2004, Movia have an eclectic selection.
We were hosted by Ela Movia and her boyfriend Grega. It was great fun and Ela Grega brought the estate to life with six different wines. An unfiltered sparkling which Tim disgorged under water was a first on any tour, two contrasting Rebulas, a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and culminating in a magnificent magnum of 2003 Merlot/Cab Sauv/Pinot Noir blend.
A sparkling start to our tour!