KLINEC VINEYARD: Medana, Slovenia
After an incredible train ride along the Soča River, we arrived in Nova Gorica.
Maja, cousin of the owners of the vineyard, graciously picked us up and drove us the 20 minutes to Klinec, in Medana. Along the way, she offered to let us stop at a look out tower from which we had a perfect view of the Italian and Slovenia countryside. The sun was about to set, so we raced up the freestanding spiral staircase to see fading pink skies and villages dotting the rolling hills in every direction. She told us that each town had it’s own hill, and that each family made wine. This was evident from the countless numbers of grapevines. In this area, right on the Italian border, everyone speaks both Slovenian and Italian—and many also speak English.
It was almost dark when we pulled in and Grandpa Klinec—this may or may not be his real name—invited us in for our first glass of wine while we waited for Uroš, one of the two brothers who run the vineyard.
His brother Aleks, who is primarily responsible for making the wine, was in Rome on vacation with his family. Uroš, who definitely knows his stuff, makes the cured meats, olive oil, and is usually cooking delicious meals for the guests. While he is used to being in the kitchen, he was an excellent host. He drove us down to a new guesthouse that had about 7 rooms and showed us to ours, number 3. The exterior is still a work in progress, but the interiors were tastefully and modernly decorated. After a few days in hostel hell, there was really nothing to do but face plant into the comfortable bed.
After we settled in, Uroš came to pick us up for dinner. Coming in the door, we were immediately handed a glass of wine and were showed to our beautifully set table for two. A table was also set for a group of five Austrians, who we would soon befriend.
The meal began at 6:30 with a hearty, country style bread and homemade olive oil. Then Uroš brought out the first of many amazing courses. (And with each course, he served a new wine!) For some of the courses, they brought two different dishes for each of us, but we always ended up sharing. The first course consisted of Uroš’ prosciutto next to an olive and a sun dried tomato. The simple, melt in your mouth meat was unlike any prosciutto we’ve ever tasted. The other dish served was tongue marinated in garlic, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, and other herbs, which sat atop a bed of thinly sliced red beets. Absolutely incredible.
For the second course, we were both given a creamy pumpkin soup with mushrooms and smoked ricotta cheese. We would later learn that at Klinec they only use seasonal produce in their cooking. Fall was a truly wonderful time to visit!
The third course again was comprised of two different dishes. One featured the ubiquitous mushrooms in a risotto. The mushrooms, it has to be said, were incredibly fresh and delicious, and unique to anything we’ve had in the United States. The other dish was gnocchi with tomatoes, red peppers and onion.
The next course was a small bowl of short, thin, wavy homemade pasta served almost al dente in a buttery, creamy cheese sauce topped with local truffles.
All of these courses were served with different kinds of white wine. We can’t quite recall the order in which all of these amazing varieties were served, but we know we were fortunate enough to sample nearly all of them. In some cases, we tasted the difference between the same type of wine from two different vintages. We also tried one white wine that had a faulty cork and oxidized too quickly. We compared it with a bottle that was still maturing and the difference between the two was staggering. It shows how subtle an art winemaking is. We tried: Malvazija, Chardonnay, Tokaj, Modana, Verduc, Sivi Pinot, Mora and Quela. The last two wines are reds. Of the lot, the Chardonnay was probably our favorite, but suffice to say that none disappointed. At all.
The Quela, which was coupled with our fifth course, was a particular treat. It arrived with two different beef dishes. One was a steak sliced into thin strips, served with those spectacular mushrooms and a side of white polenta. The other dish was filet, topped with truffles and olive oil, also next to white polenta. Words fail us. We haven’t had real meat in so long, and to be welcomed back into the carnivorous world with those dishes was unreal. The meal was even more special because Uroš invited us to watch him cook the meat over an antique woodstove.
The last course was dessert. We were presented with two small dishes of tiramisu and panacotta with a grape drizzle. By this point, we had started to talk to the Austrians. One particularly jolly man took it upon himself to fill up glasses of homemade grappa for us, which we politely downed with dessert. They had three kinds of grappa—sweet cherry, peach leaf, and the classic, clear lighter fluid variety. Dinner ended around 10:30. Allotting three hours for dinner created a really nice conversational atmosphere in the small dining room and courtyard. Uroš carefully introduced ach dish and glass of wine with no small amount of passion that made the meal that much more enjoyable. The phenomenal night was far from over, as conversation—and naturally more wine—began to flow.
By this point, a Greek, a Frenchman, and a Slovenian woman had also joined the party. Around 11:30, we were all taken down to the wine cellar for a tour and tasting. To get to the cellar, we had to pass through an art gallery. A friend of the Klinec family had opened up a unique market to them by gathering artists and poets for various events during the year. These people all stayed at the vineyard, and the remnants of their creative output during their stay now hang on the walls both in the galleries and throughout the guesthouse and restaurant.
We tasted the red Mora in the cherry-barrel filled first cellar, and sampled several whites from large vats in a second room. All of the wines were close to maturation but were not quite there yet, and you could tell the difference between those wines and the bottled ones we had tasted earlier. We are not winos, but we learned a lot during both the meal and the cellar tour. It needs to be said that between these cellars, Burke made a new friend—the shaggy, black guard dog standing watch outside.
By this point, we had probably had about twenty glasses of wine each. Seriously.
Also, Burke had had more than a few drabs of grappa. My head was spinning, but we were having a great time. As we returned to the guesthouse with our boisterous, bubbly Austrian friends, more wine and topics of conversation were opened. This continued until about 2:00 or 2:30, at which point we commenced the face plant into the wonderful bed and slept heavily.
Still feeling the effects of the wine the next morning, we made our way back to the homestead for a quick breakfast before our (untimely, way too early) departure. Breakfast consisted of fresh yogurt and granola, bread with two kinds of homemade jam, coffee, homemade apple juice, and the highlight: another round of Uroš’ delicious cured meats, this time pancetta served with cheese. We didn’t want to leave, obviously, but we had a train to catch. We said goodbye to our new friends and fantastic hosts and Uroš drove us back to Nova Gorica through Italy.
We were only there for about 12 hours, but we can honestly say that it was one of the best experiences that we’ve had abroad or at home. When one thinks about the wine we drank and food we ate, as well as the hospitality and environment, one’s mind immediately jumps to Italy. What made this so special for us was that it wasn’t Italy, but instead Slovenia, a tiny country with a jaw dropping variety of things to offer all of our senses.
We want to say a very special thank you to Burke’s dad, Bob Cherrie, for arranging this unforgettable visit. He works for a company called PortoVino, who sell a few of the Klinec vintages, among many other tasty labels. When he heard that we were planning a trip to Slovenia, he thoughtfully lined up the visit for us. We never would have discovered such a hidden gem otherwise. As for Klinec, go soon! Now!
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