Slovenia’s Wine Region: Štajerska/ Styria 4

 
Other, vaguely familiar grapes are grown here, including Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and the Gewürztraminer that’s locally known as Traminec, but trying to compare the wines from Styria to the wines from anywhere else is missing the point. The rich soil (layers of sandstone, clay and marl) gives the wines their distinctive minerality.

But more than that, the passionate winemakers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, cooks and other hosts give the region its distinctive hospitality. After all, drinking wine from even the most fantastic bottle at home is never the same as enjoying it the place where it’s made with the people who made it.

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 The historic center of Maribor, Slovenia's second city and the gateway to Styria

Kordiš sometimes describes Slovenia as “shaped like a chicken,” with Styria as the neck. It’s part of the Podravska wine region, where the wines reflect the German influence that the area has often fallen under. One of the most common—and confusing—varieties is what servers kept calling Welschriesling. The variety is unrelated to Rhine riesling—and unrelated to Wales—and produces neutral, light and crisp white wines.

(Language tends to get messy in this highly multilingual part of the world; those servers were using a German term, the Slovenian name is Laški rizling and there’s no English version.)

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 Wanderlux Journeys, eight years ago with an emphasis on mountain biking and other adventure sports but has since moved toward more varied journeys.

Of Slovenia’s wine destinations, Primorska and Brda on the country’s southwestern Adriatic coast, are the most famous. But on the opposite, northeastern end of the country, an interesting new scene is growing. Called Styria in English, Štajerska in Slovenian and Steiermark in Austria, the region is a land of rolling hills between the Alps and the Pannonian Plain.

Slovenia’s Wine Region: Štajerska/ Styria

 Along with excellent wines, Svečina is known for its heart-shaped road—putting the love in Slovenia

Slovenia is riding high on the funky wine trend, producing orange wines, pét-nats and other low-intervention bottles since the 1990s. Now those vintages are in-demand, showing up on the lists of some of the world’s top restaurants and edgiest natural wine bars. And more and more people who visit Slovenia want to see where it’s made.

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