Caroline Gilby (MW) selected 10 Vipavska wines for London Wine Fair
“It’s one small step for winemakers but one giant leap for Vipavska” Already from the beginning Faladur’s priority is connecting Vipavska winemakers. As a wineshop and tasting room with Vipavska products we quickly discovered that connectivity and collaboration between producers here is lacking professional approach. Listening to all the stories and experiences from winemakers and distributors outside Slovenia we’ve heard that it’s almost impossible to sell Vipavska wines outside it’s borders. Why is that we wondered? After scratching our heads, long talks and many questions we made a graph or even better a list of things which makes Vipavska unrecognisable. It’s was soon clear that the word “exciting” or “not exciting” was always used to describe any kind of wines. This basic description was done in a second and as we soon discovered a point of where the magic happens. So, we ask ourselves. What does “exciting” means? – Country of origin: Surely Italy, France, Spain and all the well known wine destination brands have that appeal which makes your decision as a consumer, or as a buyer to buy wine much easier. The country itself has that exciting appeal. Just imagine yourself buying wine in the wineshop. 10 wines, 9 from well known countries and 1 from Slovenia. Which one you choose? The answer is clear. Definitely not from Slovenia 🙂 – Pricing: Slovenia and especially Vipavska has small family owned estates. Majority of vineyards are located on slopes and extreme terrains. This surely brings the quality of the wines on a higher level, but the prices goes up. Bigger costs makes our wines quite expensive. Especially if you consider exporting them anywhere. And if we consider the fact that Slovenia is unknown as a wine country it’s easy to say that it’s going to be a challenge to sell a 20€ wine from unknown country in UK. – Branding and competition: Little or none recognisable brands on the shelf makes it difficult to convince buyer to pick the bottle from the shelf. Ideas, marketing strategies, no information makes it even harder. Competition is hard. There are literally thousands of labels available in the UK market. – Small quantities, expensive wines, shipping cost: Many of the producers here are small. Which means that the wines are not counted in millions of bottles, but instead in thousands. For large buyers small numbers doesn’t always seems to be a good choice, but for smaller buyers this can be interesting. Shipping cost of small quantities can be a problem, and many importers loose interest after they hear the price. You see. It’s difficult to say we are exciting. These are definitely factors which doesn’t help us. But what can help us? Where are we good at? Are we exciting somewhere else? We think we are! People who come here and try the wines, experience the valley and see the potential, are blown away. They can’t understand why is there no Vipavska wines in their country? In one year we have met many people. It’s crazy how many people decided to import the wines because they said that this is a wonderful opportunity and they just don’t understand why there is no Vipavska there. Let’s find out where are the “exciting” factors. – Boutique production and family ownership: 90% of all wineries in Vipavska are small and family owned. Everything is done by hand and with one clear purpose. Make good wine and have a sustainable winery. Wine which is done to support the family, with no mistakes and with care. Because the family survives from it. – Setting up the new trends in wine business: Orange wines, biodynamic production, organic winemaking. This are just a few things that are done here for a long time. Small estates means that people are more focused and they think long term with connection to nature. Orange wine trend was born in this place. This was a tradition. Style existed here for centuries. Old folks did the maceration of white skins in every vintage. It was done to preserve the wines. Nowadays it’s getting more and more recognition. – Local varieties: Can be a + or a -. But definitely a good opportunity for expending a portfolio of one distributor. One of the local varieties Zelen is considered a extremely interesting wine for many importers worldwide. – Trend of having a unknown or let’s say not found jewels in your portfolio: Many people are looking for something different, for something new and exciting. Many restaurants and wine shops want’s to have “exotic” wines. We are definitely that 🙂 So You see. There are some exciting factors which must be taken into consideration. After all of this “grand” brainstorming there came an idea. Idea which was stuck in our brains for more than a year and finally came to existence now. How to offer something exciting for YOU? Taken into consideration all the factors which we thought were important we decided to make a selection of wines. So this is it, you ask? Yes, it is. But WHAT kind of selection. 10 wines, 10 styles, best of Vipavska, all price ranges and all the support You need. We contacted CAROLINE GILBY – Master of Wine. She provides consultancy on wine quality; brand development; benchmarking against competitive products; range selection; technical specifications; copy writing for websites, back labels, shelf talkers and brochures. Clients range from major international PLCs to small boutique wineries. She judges regularly at international wine competitions including being appointed Panel Chair for Hungary at Decanter World Wine Awards in 2011 and have since added Slovenia, Romania and Czech Republic to her responsibilities. She has also judged recently at Pannon Bormustra in Hungary, Vinaria in Bulgaria, the biannual Georgian wine competition and the annual Cyprus wine competition and was appointed President of the Vinistra Wine competition in Croatia in 2014 and 2015. We can say that she is quite familiar with the style of our wines. After few emails we decided to ship her a palate of Vipavska wines. More than 50 of them! We asked her to evaluate the wines and make a
Why is Slovenia a must-see destination for you?
…it will take us less than 3 minutes to convince you! No matter why you travel, if it’s for business or just because you love experiencing new cultures and meeting people, Slovenia has something for you. I promise. Have you booked your flight yet? No? Right, let’s get flights sorted. Believe me, it’s easy! Luckily, Vipavska is positioned only an hour’s drive from Venice. Even if you haven’t heard of Vipavska, you’ve heard of Venice. Ryanair, Easyjet and other low-cost airlines know our local airports very well, so finding a flight should not be a problem. Thanks to them, and thanks to 4 airports inside 100km from Vipavska (and Slovenia), you can get to us from from more than 50 destinations around Europe in less than 3 hours! Check here – From the UK and Ireland alone there are 13 destinations that fly directly to Venice / Treviso / Trieste / Ljubljana in no time at all! Still not convinced? Right, prepare yourselves for the hard sell… Despite it’s rich cultural heritage, Slovenia and Vipavska are seen as new and exciting destinations. For that reason it is not crowded and massive but focused on everything boutique. And people take TIME for you. You will see, you will enjoy it a lot! Source: www.slovenia.info; Photographer:Vladimir Toš I assume after that, your bags are already packed 🙂 Just so you know what to bring with you… Our breathtaking mountains and natural wonders mean that there are a plethera of outdoor pursuits for you to try, if you’re looking for adrenaline pumped activities like climbing, paragliding, caving or just want to enjoy the natural sights on bike or on foot, you will not be disappointed in Slovenia. And that’s a guarantee. If you enjoy a slower pace of holiday and want to soak in some of our cultural heritage or have money to burn in your pocket and fancy your chances at the casino… you can find something in Slovenia too. And lastly if you are a foody and a wine-lover (like myself), prepare your taste buds because you are about to be amazed. Well if I’ve not made it obvious already – Slovenia has it all. In a country of 2 million people, where you can drive from north to south or east to west within two hours – the possibilities are infinite! So, if you still haven’t booked your ticket, packed your bags and you’re still not on the way to the airport – I guess we will have to organise your trip for you. Visit us at the London Wine Fair, where we will award one of our visitors with a 3-day visit to Vipavska and Slovenia. See you in London and later in Slovenia! Warm greetings from sunny Vipava, Matej Taste a selection of 10 Vipavska wines @ London Wine Fair. Find us at WINES UNEARTHED section, stand K132! Book a meeting with us!
Krapež wine estate
“Viticulture and winemaking aren’t only a job, but a passion, charm, discovering, searching, never-ending route.” Martin Krapež The Krapež wine estate is a boutique, family owned winery in the village of Vrhpolje (close to Vipava). Martin took over the family business in 1987 and has been developing the winery ever since. They are focused on extremely small yields (below 1kg per vine), making sure that only the best possible grapes arrive to the cellar so they can produce their structured and complex whites and reds. Their vineyards are spread across 7 hectares of land and all the grapes are handpicked. All wines from the Krapež estate are made exclusively from their own grapes; Whites: – Zelen – Lapor White (cuvee of chardonnay, pinela and rebula) Reds: – Merlot – Cabernet Sauvignon – Lapor Red (cuvee of merlot and cabernet sauvignon) Don’t miss Krapež’s LAPOR WHITE at the London Wine Fair! Here’s what Mrs Caroline Gilby MW wrote about Lapor White: Vina Krapež: Lapor Belo, 2010, 12.5% A lovely rich golden-hued wine, bringing together two local grapes; Pinela (40%) and Rebula (20%), with the global traveller Chardonnay (40%). Fermentation begins in stainless steel, with the wine finished and matured in oak barrels for around a year. The combination of sleek Chardonnay with the fresh floral notes of Pinela and exotic fruit flavours of Rebula are beautifully harmonious, and all at a refreshingly drinkable level of alcohol. And if Krapež‘s Lapor White wasn’t enough, you will be able to sample 9 more wines from the Vipavska region! Looking forward to meeting you in London in May! Warm greetings from sunny Vipavska, Matej You’ll have an opportunity to find out more about this story at the WINES UNEARTHED section, stand K132. Book a meeting with us!
Home is where… the wine is ☺
Usually in the cellar, of course. A cellar is to a winemaker what a kitchen is to a cook, a church to a priest or workshop to a carpenter – this is where our passion creates something organic and unique. A while ago, a wine importer from the UK wrote the following in reply to my email: There is always room for new regions. 25 years ago no-one drank wine from Chile, Argentina, or New Zealand and Australia and South Africa were considered exotic. This made me think about Vipavska, our winemakers, our wines, your market, you, your drinking habits, your knowledge about Slovenia and Vipavska. And I realised that we simply have to bring you to our home to show you the many beauties of Vipavska. So now I welcome you to our cellar! Here you will find all the information you need about the Vipavska valley, tourism, attractions, our cuisine and of course our wine. Your comments, questions and suggestions are more than welcome! So, let’s start! Warm greetings from sunny Vipava, Matej p.s. Don’t worry, we will do our best to make sure you fall in love with Vipavska! Taste a selection of 10 Vipavska wines @ London Wine Fair. Find us at WINES UNEARTHED section, stand K132! Book a meeting with us!