I am Valentin Bufolin, a passionate wine lover from Slovenia. I enjoy tasting wine, discovering its aromas and flavours, and learning as much as I can from it. However, I also appreciate good food, good company, friends, spending quality time with my family, and exploring interesting locations around the globe.
I won the 2022 Best Sommelier of Slovenia competition. I have been competing at several sommelier competitions since 2018, when I attended the first International Best Balkan Sommelier competition in Belgrade. In 2019, I qualified as second at the Best Sommelier of Slovenia competition. In 2022, I attended the second edition of the Best Balkan Sommelier competition in Belgrade. In 2023, I represented Slovenia at the Best Sommelier of the World competition in Paris, where I qualified as 41st among 68 candidates from around the World. My last competition was in 2024 at the Best Sommelier of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, where I finished in 29th position out of 41 candidates.
In 2020, I dedicated this blog to the world of Slovenian wine. Each day, I posted a presentation and an organoleptic description of a wine, totalling up 366 posts at the end of the year. I have been contributing regularly to the “Wine of the week” section in O Vinu magazine, as well as in other professional publications.
Between 2018 and 2023, I supervised the wine competition and section of the Gault & Millau guide in Slovenia.
I am coming from a catering family. Therefore, my thirst for knowledge has led me to complete the 3rd-level Sommelier course at Slovenia’s Sommelier Association, where I also serve as President of the Association and assist with courses. I have also completed a 2nd-level course at Italy’s AIS FVG and graduated in the course for testers of organoleptic evaluation of wine, must, and other products made from grapes. In 2021, I passed the 3rd level WSET classification with merit, and in 2022, I became the first Italian Wine Ambassador in Slovenia by completing the VIA Course at Vinitaly – Veronafiere.
This has allowed me to judge several competitions, including:
This has enabled me to host several seminars and masterclasses in both Slovenia and Italy.
The Wine category features a selection of posts about wine, winemakers, wine regions, and industry news. Hopefully, you’ll find some valuable ideas on what to taste, where to go for your next wine trip or where to make your next purchase.
The Dine category is designed to showcase some interesting culinary tips, recommend some lovely places worth visiting to spoil your taste buds, and even share some recipes or ideas on how to do things in an easy, comfortable,y and quick way.
Everything fine is the most open category, here you’ll find the most open topics that don’t fit into any of the previously mentioned ones.
I have been the brand ambassador of ASKO wine cabinets since 2022.
I am Spar Slovenia’s wine ambassador since 2023.
If you have any additional questions, suggestions, or proposals, or would like me to write a review of your wine, or simply want to chat or have a glass of wine, feel free to contact me.
Send me an e-mail
Mobile: + 386 41 443 116
LinkedIn profile
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