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Tomšičev drevored
of simple, modest layout
view from the Main bridge
under this building- KaosHead out into the countryside...
Head out into the countryside and do the Vinska Cesta or wine route which starts in Ormoz and ends in Ljutomer with the hilltop vineyard of Jeruzalem the highlight. Now, first off, I like wine, I really do, but have spent a good portion of the last ten years in search of rare beers and their accompanying experiences. That’s not to say I haven’t done my fair share of wine tours as well. From Australia to Chile, if in an area renowned for wine, I am all for trying them. And so I found myself in Slovenia, trying of all things, beer. Why I really can’t say. I managed to find some good ones, but it was at the cost of drinking a lot of poor quality beers as well. And so it was time to try some wine, and really it was for this reason that I ventured to eastern Slovenia. That, and I had this choir recital to go to. Yeah, that’s right, ME at a choir recital. Well, I had to go. Tanja had been nice enough to show me around her native country and her choir was giving a recital. It was the least I could do, but more on that later. As luck would have it, we would have to travel to the very far east of Slovenia and there would be a lot of wine (and beer) en route. The best bit was called the Jeruzalem wine route and we lucked out with just a perfect day and though I had anticipated the good wine, I had no idea just how picturesque it would be. It was hilly and lush, with rows of grape vines, and dotted with small wineries and craftsmen selling their wares. After stopping at a few of both, we happened upon a place that Tanja swore was the most famous of the white wine producers of Slovenia and so we ventured into the small house where the owner obviously lived. He greeted us warmly and happily brought us back to his storage facilities, which were lined with great wooden barrels. It wasn’t beer but I salivated nonetheless. It was a classic tasting, starting out with a tasty table wine right from the cask. It was nice, as you would expect from the nation’s top producer, even for the “cheap” stuff. He spoke very little English but was happy to welcome his very first American visitor. I thought this strange that such a famous vineyard had never brought one thirsty pilgrim from across the pond. He made the usual progression from fruity and sweeter wines to the driest, each bringing more to the plate and palate. I couldn’t believe my luck to be standing in this cellar, and enjoying such fine products with the owner of the vineyard no less. We asked about places to eat in the area and he said we were welcome to have lunch there. They cured their own ham and would put something out for us as long as we did not mind something simple. Mind?? Enthralled would have been a better word. He gathered up all the bottles he’s opened for us and sat us outside at a picnic table, bringing out delicious crude home-cured ham, homemade buckwheat bread and a cake, pickles, and a white spread I can imagine to be have been more or less lard. It was delicious and went well with the assortment of wines he left for our casual enjoyment. He said we were welcome for dinner as they had a birthday party for his son that day, but we had to push on. Of course, after such hospitality, I felt obliged to buy some wine so ordered a bottle of each of the five types he produced as well as a five-liter container of his table wine. I asked how much it would come to for everything and he calculated in his head for a few moments what the wine and lunch would cost as I nervously awaited a sum I might not have enough to pay. When the words 5000 SIT came from his lips, I sat in disbelief, perhaps wary of my knowledge of the currency exchange. I sheepishly handed over the equivalent of $20 and after goodbyes the befitted a family member going off to war, climbed in the car, bound for new adventures. Tanja explained it was in fact not the famous vineyard she had thought. This guy had the same last name and was allowed to use it as well. Who cared? It was great wine and I had found a new friend who for that one day at least, was the greatest artist of the grape in all of Slovenia.
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