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.

Piran 764

 

Piran 765

 

Piran 761

 

Piran 756

 

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.