Slovenia is Europe’s hot new food and wine destination

If you love your food you’ll be amazed by the delicacies and specialities of Slovenia – and with 400 years of viticulture under its belt, there are some fantastic local wines to try too.

Black barley, salty oysters and mortadella served with drops of lovage oil. Beef tartare with sour cream and anchovy mousse.

Fresh river trout adorned with wild asparagus and aromatic truffle… all savoured in the rural peace of the Soca valley with carefully paired wines from Slovenia’s biodynamic vineyards.

Ana Ros – the self-taught chef who with her sommelier husband Valter Kramer runs Hisa Franko (a secluded hotel close to the Italian border where Ernest Hemingway is said to have written A Farewell to Arms) – was recently awarded the title of World’s Best Female Chef 2017 by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

One of six “visionary chefs” featured in the Netflix series Chef’s Table, she is eclectic in style. Her signature nine-course dégustation menus encapsulate the ingredients found in the natural larder in her wooded locale. Gastro-savvy visitors travel to Slovenia just to treat themselves to dinner, bed and (sumptuous) breakfast at Hisa Franko.

Creativity comes in the detail: dessert might be walnut meringue, 21-day kefir, pear in camomile with forest honey and pollen ice cream. “Wild herbs, flowers, apples, chestnuts, nuts, all kinds of mushrooms, collected only at their best,” says Ros. “These flavours make our guests live the emotion of the season and of the territory.”

Slovenia is fast gaining global attention for thrilling wine. Its steep terroirs – divided across three main wine-producing regions – are perfect for producing organic wines of top quality.

Best known are the light, crisp white wines from the Brda district, which borders Italy, and from the Koper region on the Istrian peninsula.

The latter includes stunning dessert wines enriched with white truffles as well as the flourishing vineyards of the Vipava Valley where, in addition to the established white and red wines, you also find fascinating indigenous grapes such as zelen, picolit and pinela.

Viticulture has been a feature of this region since the Celts and Illyrians tribes who preceded the Romans.

That sense of continuity is hailed in Maribor, the wine-loving second largest city in Slovenia, which is home to the world’s oldest vine still bearing grapes.

Planted more than 400 years ago, it amazingly still produces an annual harvest of 45 kilos of grapes, which is made into wine and bottled as a symbol of the rich wine culture of Slovenia.

Quality wine bars in Ljubljana showcase wines from across Slovenia including sparkling wines from the Lower Sava and the full-flavoured Teran, produced from Refosk grapes on the reddish soil of the Karst region, which claims a multitude of health benefits.

At JB Restaurant in Ljubljana, Janez Bratovz is a chef who is a proponent of translating the elements of earth, water, air and fire into sweet, salty, sour and bitter flavours.

A feature on San Pellegrino’s Top 100 World’s Best Restaurant list, JB Restaurant has an elegant interior in a famous Secessionist building of the 1920s and offers warm hospitality courtesy of a family team: Bratovz’s wife Ema is manager, his daughter Nina, sommelier, and son Tomaz, a junior chef.

Bratovz picks the freshest ingredients daily from the Ljubljana farmers’ market. Like Ros, his menus are innovative yet rooted in local produce. He fills homemade ravioli with cottage cheese and pistachio, meat and cream sauces, foie gras and liquorice; he serves marinated pig’s head with pumpkin, fried buckwheat, and mustard.

Away from the sophisticated fare, visitors must try the Carniolan sausage which has PGI status (Protected Geographical Indication). This garlicky pork speciality is traditionally served with a fresh Kaiser roll, fine mustard and fresh horseradish, but also found in dishes such as kranjska klobasa (pork and bacon sausage), štruklji (with cottage cheese), and ričet (pearl barley stew with smoked pork).

Beautiful Slovenia

Slovenia is a land of natural beauty, its mountains, lakes and thermal springs inviting superb outdoor activities. 

It is also a country where a friendly welcome, unsurpassed hospitality and gastronomic treats await. 

To find out more and to plan your trip, see slovenia.info