Best Slovenia Wine Tour: A Wine Traveler’s Review

Goriska Brda, which is one of the famous Slovenian wine regions, has a very interesting history.

It actually belonged to Italy until the end of WWII. Then it became part of Yugoslavia when the Communist government took over.

Some family wine estates were literally split into two, one part in Italy and one part in Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia forced the winemakers to give the government a substantial portion of their grapes, so premium winemaking in this region came to a standstill.

Once Slovenia became independent in 1991, the focus on producing high-quality wine was once again able to flourish.

I highly suggest watching the documentary Terra Magica on Amazon Prime BEFORE your Slovenia wine tour!

Reviews speak for themselves.

5/5 on TripAdvisor!

You cannot get better than that. They have an exceptional reputation for providing an engaging, customized wine tour.

My husband and I did our first wine tour in Napa Valley with a large group. Never again.

I really prefer small group sizes, which give you the ability to visit some of the more unique, smaller wine producers.

Winestronaut offers private or small group tours.

The wine tasting experience is so much more intimate and engaging this way. Most of the time we were interacting with the winemaker him/herself.

My husband and I spent several days sipping our way through Slovenia wine country.

We visited Guerila Wines and personally met the winemaker the day before our wine tour with Winestronaut. Great experience.

Alright, now to the fun part … our Slovenia wine tour experience!

We had a lovely continental breakfast at our accommodation, Dvor Hotel, with a selection of yogurts, local cheeses, bread, vegetables, and fruits.

The two sisters who run the property were very kind and even cooked us some eggs. We have learned from past experience to always eat a big breakfast before one of these tours!

The wineries you visit will likely provide charcuterie plates, but there was no lunch stop during our wine tour.

Never drink and drive! To truly enjoy all this wonderful Slovenian wine, we booked a full-day wine tour with Winestronaut.

Jani, our very friendly tour guide, picked us up and took us on a private tour of three excellent wineries.

I wholeheartedly recommend him! He is an amazing guide with a wealth of information.

The reason we booked a trip to Slovenia in the first place is because of an episode of Chef’s Table on Netflix on the 2-starred Michelin restaurant, Hisa Franko.

You’ve got to see this! I mention it because the first winery Winestronaut took us to that day also came highly recommended by Hisa Franko (here’s my full dinner review!).

We knew we were off to a good start!  

Burja Estate was by far our favorite Slovenian winery we visited!

Winemaker Primoz Lavrencic is incredibly talented.

His cellar, which is carved into the rocky hillside, was still under construction when we visited, but that did not detract from our incredible wine tasting experience.

Winemaker Lavrencic operates under biodynamic principles and a minimalist approach. He loves working with local varieties that originate in the Vipava Valley like Zelen, Refosco, Rebula, and Malvasia.

What really got us excited is he works with vineyards of Modri Pinot Noir, which is excellent!

The wine tasting experience was incredibly relaxed.

We sat at a long wooden table next to a huge egg-shaped pizza oven as we enjoyed glass after glass of the delicious expressions of his wines.

Accompanied by some local Slovenian record punk music in the background, the conversation and wine flowed freely.

I was glad Jani was driving us to our next location!

The second stop was Tilia Estate in Vipava Valley.

With the slogan “House of Pinots,” expectations were high for their Pinot Noir.

Their wine label is a linden tree, which is a “symbol of Slovene independence and of a period in which our vision of being an independent winegrower was born” according to their website.

Tilia is the Latin name for the linden tree.

Matjaz Lemut, the founder and co-owner, is a talented winemaker who started making wine before he was 18. His father gave him a small vineyard to tend to at a young age, which instilled discipline and sparked his interest in winemaking.

Lemut’s success is due to his drive, education, and wine philosophy of producing authentic wine that is true to its terroir.

He recently helped start the annual Modri les Noirs, an annual wine festival showcasing Pinot Noir wine producers from central and eastern Europe.

Unfortunately, we were not able to meet Matjaz Lemut during our visit, however, he did have a very personable associate who guided us through Tilia’s pinot noir wine selection.

They have three wine selections: Sunshine Tilia Estate, Tilia Estate Black, and Tilia Estate White.

We had a lovely tasting of their Black Label wines (Pinot Noir Vipava Valley, Pinot Noir Merljaki, Pinot Noir Estate) and White Label wines (Pinot Noir 2016).

Of course, all of this was paired with local Slovenian cheese and bread.

Winemakers in Slovenia are also starting to dabble in producing local spirits.

We saw this too while in South Africa when we visited the Moreson Wine Farm. They were making gin from triple-distilled Chardonnay.

Tilia Estate is making grappa (made from a blend of grape seeds, stems, and stalks). The bottles have pretty cool artistic labels. Worth a taste.

The last stop of the day was Edi Simcic.

The winery is located in the renowned Goriska Brda wine region, where the Mediterranean meets the Alps!

This wine estate was also recommended by Hisa Franko. Run by a father (Edi Simcic) and son (Aleks Simcic) duo, their award-winning wines are well-known across the region.

There are two wine selections to taste from: Essential Line and Premium Line.

The focus at Edi Simcic is on their Rebula (dry white wine) but they also produce some beautiful reds.

An excellent example is their Duet Lex, a blend of Merlot (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%), and Cabernet Franc (10%).

This experience was the least personal of the four wineries we visited while in Slovenia wine country.

A young gentleman gave us a brief overview of the wines we tasted. Their wine tasting room is absolutely gorgeous, and it has a sweeping panoramic view of Goriska Brda.

The wine estate has a beautiful villa you can rent called Alma Vista complete with an outdoor pool, sound system, and even your own private wine cellar.

Jani got us back safe and sound to our accommodation after a truly enjoyable day of wine tasting. We relaxed on the community deck of our hotel and then freshened up for dinner.

Of course rates change, but we paid 210 € per person for a private 8-hour tour. This included all three wine tastings. 

Several readers have reached out asking if there are alternative wine tour options in case Winestronaut is fully booked on their preferred dates. So, I wanted to add this section to the blog post as a helpful backup option.

While I haven’t personally taken this tour, Wine Tours in Slovenia comes highly rated, with consistently glowing 5-star reviews.

The company is run by Boris and Tina, who I believe are sommeliers. Their small group tour is available to book through Viator (a TripAdvisor company), which I’ve used many times for other travel activities.

Viator also offers free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance, always a plus if your plans shift.

Check out the link below if you’re looking for another great option!

I love discovering a country through its food & wine. Slovenia is really producing some fantastic high-quality wines at excellent price points.

I can certainly see why wine critics have suggested Slovenia might be the next great wine destination.

Let Winestronaut be your expert guide in showing you some of the best wine producers this country has to offer.

If you are still looking for how to piece together your Slovenia vacation, don’t miss our 9-day Croatia + Slovenia itinerary that packs in some epic hikes and amazing foodie experiences!

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Questions about our Slovenia wine tour?

Let me know in the comments below!