Slovenia’s Wine Region: Štajerska/ Styria 3

 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.)