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The Harvest Tour:
Food and Wine of Slovenia & Northern Croatia
October 20-30, 2022 (SOLD OUT)
Our Harvest Tour is a one of a kind opportunity to sit down and talk with the generous and hospitable owners, wine makers and local producers in their cellars, houses, restaurants, shops and mills. A special invitation into peoples’ place of work & passion that focuses on the history, wine making traditions and culinary magic of these countries.
And there’s no better time of year to immerse in this culinary utopia than the harvest season. Most of the tourists have gone home, the leaves are turning color, vineyards are being harvested and the smell of wood stoves and heavenly aromas float through the cool air. This unique tour features a variety of home-cooked dinners, a few very special five-course meals, strolls in the beautiful wine country, ten wine tastings and an array of other tastings including honey, olive oil, jams, fruits and truffles.
Nearly two weeks of stimulating your taste buds can be a bit much. That’s why we’re leaving time for curious guests to back away from the kitchen table and go explore castles, stroll through old Venetian towns, discover colorful frescoes in tiny churches and make a personal connection between the food, the land and its people. Like with our other tours, a maximum group size of ten guests lends itself to a more intimate travel experience served up with a genuine, personal touch..
We have enjoyed our small groups so much that we will continue to keep numbers low and personal attention high. This tour will have a maximum of 12.
Tour leader Andrew and Miha.
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Highlights Include
• Engaging on a personal level with local wine makers in six different micro regions
• Getting your shoes dirty in the forests as you follow truffle-hunting dogs for your next meal
• Indulging your sweet tooth with Slovenian ‘potica’ cakes, honey ice cream and hand made chocolate truffles
• Enjoying the secluded view down to the Adriatic Sea from your hotel and Michelin starred restaurant
• Savoring gourmet goat cheeses, olive oils, prosciutto and handmade pasta in Croatia’s Istria gourmet region
• Soaking in the atmosphere at a converted 13th century chateau with sparkling wine tastings
• Discovering the nutty flavor of pumpkin seed oil and other local treats off the beaten path in eastern Slovenia’s eastern ‘chicken-head’ region
• Getting more than your fill of traditional home-cooked meals and local spirits at rustic, countryside eateries
Experience, taste and discover the wine and culinary traditions from two Central European countries that should be high on any foodies’ list’ Hungary and Croatia. This is a 10 day small-group tour starts in Hungary before heading to Croatia. Along the way we will experience a variety of terroirs, taste dozens of different wines, nosh on an array of local dishes and flavors and meet the hospitable and passionate people who make all of this happen.
Day One
Overnight: Vipava Valley, Slovenia
Introduction to Slovenian Wines
Overview of Slovenian history, wine making and geography AND intro to Vipava Valley’s predominantly white wines (Pinela, Zelen and Malvazija) at Lepa Vida winery. Extravagant and imaginative welcome dinner at Zemono restaurant, a one-star Michelin restaurant and Gault & Millau pick for Slovenia’s top eatery.
Day Two
Overnight: Vipava Valley, Slovenia
Young winemakers of Vipava and Karst regions
Tour and tasting at one of the country’s premiere biodynamic winemakers, Guerila. Visit to hill town of Stanjel in the Karst region, a region dominated by air-dried prosciutto, bold red Teran wines, caves and stone houses. Tasting of Teran (fresh, aged and barrique styles) and Vitovska (indigenous white of the Karst) at CV winery. Four course dinner at Majerija restaurant/homestead, where we overnight in Vipava.
Day Three
Overnight: Brda region, Slovenia
Prosciutto, caves and macerated wines
Tour of UNESCO protected Skocjan caves, an amazing underground world featuring Europe’s deepest underground canyon. Typical Karst lunch at local family’s agriturismo who make virtually everything on the table, including a killer honey ice cream! Arrive into Brda, Slovenia’s most prestigious wine region and get a great intro to the region’s flagship white, Rebula.
Check into lodgings at a villa with patio opening up to rolling hills and olive groves. Five course dinner paired with orange wines including Tokaj Friuliano, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc all made in macerated style.
Day Four
Overnight: Brda region, Slovenia
Cross border tastings Italy and Slovenia
Optional visit to outdoor First World War museum before exploring the narrow streets of Brda’s most charming hill town, Smartno. Lunch of traditional white polenta in a sauce of prosciutto and peas with a surprise dessert that will prompt you to ask the chef for her recipe. Explore the originator of orange wines on the Italian side of Brda (known as Collio) at Radikon winery. Enjoy a wonderful array of comfort foods at a Slovenian family-run restaurant in Italy.
Day Five
Overnight: Brda region, Slovenia
Sparkling wines and organic cheeses
Start the day with Slovenia’s best sparkling wines and a tour of the region’s oldest cellar at Bjana winery. Mouthwatering cheeses (herbal, aged and fresh cheeses) at Zoff, a BIO-certified dairy that also makes the regional cheese and potato soufflé called frico.
Explore an Italian city founded by none other than Julius Caesar himself and meet with a local Friulian family that helped save the most typical indigenous red wine of the region called Schioppettino. Arrive back in Brda for a home-cooked dinner and samplings of more wines.
Day Six
Overnight: Istria region, Croatia
A Taste of Two Istria regions
Visit to gorgeous little seaside town of Piran. Learn about organic farming and olive oil production at an olive farm situated on the Adriatic with views down to 14th century Venetian salt flats. Tour of farm followed by a beautiful lunch of all eco certified products.
Cross into Croatia and check-in to your hotel in the enchanting artisan hill town of Groznjan. Tuck into some refreshing semi-sweet Momjanski Muskat wine followed by a dinner grilled Istrian sausages, Boškarin (Istrian ox) ragu over melt-in-your-mouth gnocchi plus other regional delights at a rustic taverna.
Day Seven
Overnight: Istria region, Croatia
Goat cheese feast
Morning to browse the shops of Groznjan and try a hot-out-of-the-fryer fritule (Croatian doughnut hole). Get your taste buds ready for a wholly unique pairings of honey and wine – served as one spoonful together – from a great central Istrian winemaker who also keeps bees.
Epic goat cheese feast at Kumparicka farm that is far off the tourist grid with home cooked stews, soups and tasty surprises, not to mention about a dozen types of soft and semi-hard goat cheeses to go with hot-out-of-the-oven bread. Consistently one of our guests’ favorite experiences on any of tours! Later afternoon visit to historic Venetian town of Rovinj, Croatia’s most beautiful seaside town. Enjoy a light dinner or night cap on your own.
Day Eight
Overnight: Kvarner region, Croatia
Truffles and chill out with a view
Morning to browse the charming hill town of Motovun with glorious views all around. Then we ead to the forests with a local woman and her dogs to sniff out and dig up truffles. Hopefully we will find some truffles but regardless there will be a special truffle-themed lunch in the countryside.
Chill out with fantastic views down to the sea at our secluded hotel perched up on Mt. Ucka near the Bay of Kvarner. Relax with your favorite wine and watch the sun go down over the Adriatic or take an easy walk to waterfalls through a quiet chestnut grove. Four course seafood dinner in an elegant one-star Michelin restaurant, Draga di Lovrana.
Day Nine
overnight: Jeruzalem village, Slovenia
Štajerska wines and countryside charms
Cross back into Slovenia to discover the oldest still-producing vine in Europe (400 years old) before an introductory tasting of wines from Slovenia’s Štajerska region and lunch at Joannes winery. Visit to Ptuj, Slovenia’s oldest town situated on the Drava river.
Arrive into perhaps Slovenia’s most idyllic micro wine region of Jeruzalem. Meet with owner of Kupljen winery and taste his macerated and experimental twists on many of the classic wines (Renski rizling and Šipon) of eastern Slovenia, not to mention his love of Star Wars that has made a mark on the wines. Dinner at his restaurant, surrounded by terraced vineyards.
Day Ten
overnight: Jeruzalem village, Slovenia
Eating our way through the ‘chicken head’ of Slovenia
Discover the flavors of of what is affectionately known as the ‘chicken head’ of the country in the Prekmurje region. Start things off with some 360 degree views and sparkling wines at Doppler winery. Then learn all about the delicious nutty and smokey taste of pumpkin seed oil, the ubiquitous speciality of the region. Meet a young Slovenian couple producing amazing chocolates, marmalades, and fruit juices. Their chocolate pralines feature very local items like Traminer grapes, pumpkin oil, dried pears and elderflower.
Farewell dinner at family-run Gostilna Rajh that serves up quintessential dishes such as bograc, a spicier, thicker cousin to goulash, and gibanica, a multi-layered cake which seemingly has every ingredient packed into it.
Tour Dates: OCTOBER 20th – 30th, 2022
Price: $3700 (Air not included). Single Supplement is $600. We welcome singles and can try to pair you with another single to room with, but the single supplement will be required if we can’t.
Tour price includes 10 dinners (wine included), 8 lunches, 10 nights lodging at B&B and farmhouses (en-suite), 10 wine tastings, tastings of olive oil, honey, pumpkin oil and truffles, transport, private guide, transfers to/from airport.
Tour begins morning of October 13th. Pick up can be from Ljubljana hotel, airport or train station. Airport LJU.
Tour ends near the city of Maribor where we can arrange transfers to LJU airport or help you with onward journey to Vienna, Budapest or Zagreb.
Post Tour Option
Two days uncovering Slovenia’s Dolenjska region, a nearly forgotten region in the south of the country. Meet with young craftsman creating exceptional organic salamis from local pigs, bear and deer. Sample Modra frankinja (Blaufrankisch) red wines from a French winemaker residing here. Discover small towns, castles, non disgorged sparkling wines, blended Cviček wines and cozy farmhouses for a 2 day treat that will take us far off the beaten path.
Email us for more details!