Slovenia

This is perhaps the most westernised wine producer of Eastern Europe, known principally for its crisp, aromatic white wines produced in two zones, respectively in the coastal region and hills of the extreme west (Primorska) and east of the country (Podravje, plus the much smaller inland region Posavje). The western wines are made in the image of the best of Friuli just over the border in north-east Italy, with a distinctly Burgundian artisanal attention to detail, while there are some similarities between the eastern wines and their near neighbours in Austria’s Styria. Welschriesling, often called Laški Rizling here, was a staple for many years, exported in often murkily sweetened-up form under the Ljutomer label in the days before the Germans managed to ban calling this unrelated central European vine variety ‘Riesling’. Some red wines are gaining ground, particularly in Podravje’s Premurje district. This is a country worthy of investigation by any serious wine lover.

For more detail see Slovenia – land of extreme winemaking.