Svečina Heart-Shaped Road

 The region claims some other records. The Svečina hills are famous for a heart-shaped road, which residents claim was a happy coincidence in a very lovable place. The Ptuj Wine Cellar, which produces a variety of easy-drinking wines under the Pullus label, is said to be the oldest in the country. The town of Ptuj also claims the oldest preserved bottle of Slovenian wine, the Golden Vine from 1917.

But at least as interesting is what’s happening today. Contemporary Slovenia’s style of weirdo winemaking is alive and well in Styria. These days, the most famous weirdo wine is probably pét-nat, a fashionable abbreviation for a fashionable French style of winemaking, pétillant naturel.

Maribor's famously old vine

 The gateway to Styria is Maribor, Slovenia’s second city. Maribor has a charming old town, a lovely namesake hotel with penthouse suites on the main square, a lively restaurant scene—Sedem, which Kordiš says is the only hospitality-school training restaurant in the world that’s recognized in the Michelin Guide—and the world’s oldest grapevine, a massive plant that’s trellised along the length of a historic building and that, locals claim, is the only plant in the world with its own museum. It’s still producing grapes.