Hello wine lovers!

As promised here’s some news from the Malvazija tour. I hear all stops of the tour have been a total success so far and if you still haven’t attended any, here’s a post that will surely make you change your mind…

This time the tour stopped in Ljubljana at spaghetteria & pizzeria Favola. The winemakers present were Vinakoper, Ražman, Korenika & Moškon and Mahnič while a special guest chef has been enlisted for the occasion. I’m talking about Peter Patajac from Ruj inn. The atmosphere was intimate and quite an audience of thirsty and hungry people gathered.

As aperitif we got served a sparkling wine and could only guess what it was. In the end we guessed right, it was a sparkling Malvazija which is a new wine, coming from Vinakoper and is produced via Charmat procedure.

The evening started with Ingrid Mahnič’s introduction to the Malvazija festival and tour. Ingrid is the president of the Association of winemakers of Slovene Istra and one of the responsibles of the festival. The effort that she and the Association invested is having a huge impact on the perception of Malvazija in Slovenia, Italy and Croatia.

End of the introduction, loud applause and here they were, waiters with bottles of Ražman’s 2008 Malvazija and the evenings first dish – Mussels, prawns and leek tagliata with 25 years old balsamic vinegar Solai Vecchi.

Malvazija – Ražman, 2008

The wine is of a straw yellow color with golden nuances. It has rather intense, fine aromas of acacia, camomile, liquorice and mature fruit (pineapple, agrumi). It is dry, rather balanced with freshness and minerality prevailing on the palate. It’s an elegant, intense, full-bodied and well structured wine with a rather long aftertaste.

The wine kept pace with mussels and prawns and if talked in a racing language surpassed them, it also had an interesting play with balsamic vinegar and leek.

Malvazija Capris – Vinakoper, 2008

This wine is of a straw yellow color with golden nuances. It has fine, intense aromas of matured fruit (pineapple, banana, agrumi), acacia and also some wild berry nuances. It is dry, rather balanced, elegant with a rather long aftertaste. It is a rather harmonic and matured wine.

The dish that accompanied this wine consisted of Cream polenta with cicory, filet of fresh seabass Fonda, a slice of speck with a bit of pelati reduction San Marzano. Peter Patajac explained us how he prepared the dish, while Irena Fonda introduced their seabass and how they produce some of the best fish in Jadran.

Malvazija – Korenika & Moškon, 2007

Matej Korenika presented the Korenika & Moškon wineries, the philosophy which they follow and how their Malvazija is produced.

The wine is of a straw yellow, with golden nuances color and is rather dense. It has fine, intense nuances of mature fruit (pineapple, agrumi, banana), flowers (acacia), making it rather rich on aromas. The wine is dry, rather balanced, elegant, full-bodied, and well structured. It has a long aftertaste.

The wine gently evolved in mouth and it was a perfect pair with Lambkin cutlet with bio barley risotto, radicchio tardivo, olive oil and Piranean salt flower.

Malvazija – Mahnič, 2006

Ingrid Mahnič presented her Malvazija which is medium dry. The wine is of a golden color and is dense. It has rich, intense and fine aromas of matured fruit (pineapple, agrumi) and flowers (acacia). It is medium dry, elegant, rather intense, balanced and full-bodied.

The wine went perfectly with the dessert – mousse with half-candied oranges, orange sponge-cake and coffee beans, leaving in mouth a nice orange aftertaste.

Ingrid also prepared us a surprise. She brought a sweet Malvazija 2000, which she only has about 12 bottles left now. The grapes were attacked by Botrytis and the result is a sweet, dense wine of a golden color. The aromas are rich, fine and intense mainly of matured and dry fruit (pineapple, orange), acacia honey, lacquer, … It is elegant, full-bodied, well-structured and has a long aftertaste. A harmonic wine, which still has a lot of life ahead.

To sum it all the evening offered a nice introspective into winemakers philosophy the Malvazija’s evolution and the trends in its production. I hope this post convinces you to visit a stop of Malvazija tour or to come to the festival.

Stay tuned and cheers!

Hello wine lovers!

It’s been a while but I’ve been busy lately, hence the luck of updates. OK, let me start this years posting with an invitation to the Malvazija festival or as the official name goes ”Malvazija the Mediterranean noble taste”. It is already the 12th edition and is organized by the Association of winemakers from Slovene Istra. The festival is a 2 day event and is held March the 28th and 29th at the Manzioli palace, Izola.

The festival features winemakers from Slovenia’s wine region Primorje, with guests from Croatia and Italy. Visitors will have not only the pleasure to taste Malvazija but also to join workshops and get acquainted with the variety and learn how it combines with food.

That the Malvazija is well represented shows also the vast range of events named The Malvazija Tour which starts about a month before the festival and continue until it’s end. The Malvazija tour features events at restaurants where you’ll be able to enjoy Malvazija with the proper dish and learn something abotu it from the winemaker itself.

Here’s the list of events:

February the 25th at 7 PM

Restaurant Pikol – Nova Gorica, winemakers present: Silveri, Rojac, Santomas, Rodica Truške
Price: 40 Eur
Info and reservations: please call +386 5 302 25 62

February the 26th at 7 PM

Restaurant Ondina – Portorose, winemakers present: Montis, Santomas, Kocjančič Truške, Roja
Price: 38 Eur
Info and reservations: kuhinja.ondina@gmail.com

4th of March at 7 PM

Mahorčič Inn – Rodik, winemakers present: Rodica Truške, Martisa, Steras, Joško Renčel
Price: 38 Eur
Info and reservations: please call +386 5 680 04 00

5th of March at 7 PM

Restaurant Scabar – Trieste, winemakers present: MonteMoro, Martisa, Mahnič
Price: 35 Eur
Info and reservations: please call +39 040 810 368

9th of March at 7 PM

Villa Rosetta – Savudria, winemakers present: MonteMoro, Montis, Coronica, Degrassi
Price 35 Eur
Info and reservations: please call + 385 527 25 710, info@majda.it

11th March, 7 PM

Restaurant Majda – Gorizia, winemakers present: Steras, Marega, Bordon
Price: 35 Eur
Info and reservations: please call +39 048 130 871

12th March, 5 PM and 7 PM

Hotel Tartini – Piran, winemakers present: Mahnič, MonteMoro, Štule, Vinakoper
Price: 35 Eur
Info and reservations: please call +386 5 67 11 000, info@hotel-tartini-piran.com

16th March, 7 PM

Pizzeria Favola – Ljubljana, winemakers present: Mahnič, Ražman, Korenika & Moškon, Vinakoper
Price: 34,50 Eur
Info and reservations: please call +386 1 566 20 94

18th March, 7 PM

Villa Andor – Ankaran, winemakers present: Klabjan, Robi and Dorjano Korenika, Brič, Bordon
Price: 35 Eur
Info and reservations: please call + 386 5 615 50 00, villa@andor.si

19th March, 7 PM

Wine bar Štrigon – Portorose, winemakers present: Steras, Pucer, Silveri, Montis
Info and reservations: please call +386 5 6740340

23rd March, 7 PM

Restaurant Skipper – Koper, winemakers present: Steras, Rodica Truške, Mahnič, Markovič, Markežič, Štule
Info and reservations: please call +386 5 626 18 10

25th March, 7 PM

Restaurant Mediterraneo – Izola, winemakers present: Štule, Pucer, Vinakoper
Price: 30 Eur
Info and reservations: please call +386 5 641 7444, info@mediterraneo.si

26th March, 7 PM

Restaurant Marina – Portorose, winemakers present: Mahnič, Vinakoper, Černe, Markovič
Info and reservations: +386 5 676 13 17, restaurant@marinap.si

Whole March

You ‘ll be able to taste Malvazija the whole month of March in Ljubljana at Wine cellars of Slovenia.

As you can see the festival is quite an event and the tour is startind today. Hope to see you somewhere on the road!

Cheers!