Open Wine Cellar Days, or Dnevi odprtih kleti in Slovene, took place across Goriška Brda over the weekend of June 20th and 21st. There were 30 different vineyards participating in the event. Familiar names such as Klet Brda, Marjan Simčič, Vinarstvo Mužič, or Vina Pulec opened up their wine cellars to visitors.
The event centered around the Dobrovo Castle (Grad Dobrovo) where you can pick up your wine glass, bus pass, picnic lunch, and of course try some wine. From here you could drive or take the bus from vineyard to vineyard, some people even did the event on mountain bikes. Although I would advise against this if you are not a confident rider. The roads can be steep and narrow, and on that weekend, in particular, temperatures reached 40 degrees Celcius.

Rebula is King in Goriška Brda
Goriška Brda is also locally known as Brda. It is a small wine-growing region along the border with Italy in the Primorska region. Brda is often said to be the Tuscany of Slovenia. The difference here is that the bora (burje) wind that blows through cools down the air and cellars, allowing the wine to chill and then heat up again in the summer.
The most popularly produced wine in this area is Rebula. It has a slightly amber color due to skin contact with the grapes during processing. Rebula thrives in Brda’s landscape producing a dry, high alcohol content wine that is perfect for a hot summer day or paired with a light meal. Another advantage is the presence of steeply terraced landscapes that define Brda.
Rebula has been growing in Slovenia for over 700 years after it was brought from Greece. During that time many of the producers have perfected their product. Some cellars that we visited were hundreds of years old. The grapes are also usually handpicked.
Open Wine Cellar Days
I am not a wine expert and I definitely am not trained in the intricacies of tasting and review wine so I will spare you the pain. Also, after your 6th or 10th wine tasting things get a bit interesting, for many reasons.
We began our day in Višnjevik where it is said Rebula got its starts in Slovenia. It also happened to be our favorite wines of the entire day. The next morning we stopped by the vineyards once more to buy a couple (or more) bottles.
Some other wines available that I tried at the event were Tokata (Sauvignonasse), Bele Pinot (Pinot Blanc), Sivi Pinot (Pinot Gris). Below are the six vineyards we visited and I would personally recommend trying any of them as they were all fantastic and in such beautiful settings.
Vina Erzetič
Višnjevik 25A | vina-erzetic.com
Kristalvin
Vienjevik 39A
Ščurek Vino
Plešivo 44 | scurek.com
Vina Pulec
Plešivo 38A, 5212 | pulec.com
Vinarstvo Mužič
Plešivo 5A | muzic.si
Marjan Simčič
Ceglo 3B | simcic.si
Thanks
Thank you for taking the time to visit Wandering Helene and to read this article. If you have any comments or questions feel free to leave them below. To follow my daily adventures head over to Instagram.