To the visitor, the Gorizia Hills of Slovenia feel like an undiscovered treasure – the area is not over-touristed, overdeveloped, or overbuilt. History and geography have conspired to keep it this way.
One is greeted by emerald hills, quaint towns, fresh air, the fragrance of rich cultivated soil, and vast expanses of vineyards. The wines here are only beginning to gain prestige and appreciation in the outside world, but they are perhaps the heart of the treasure found in this land.
The Gorizia Hills region straddles Italy and western Slovenia. The Italians call it Collio Goriziano, and to the Slovenians, it is Goriška Brda. It was in the Slovenian sector that Revealed Films met with Tomaz Scurek of Scurek Wines.
Scurek himself is a fifth-generation winemaker dedicated to not only bringing out the best from his little corner of the world but of reflecting the locality in the character of the wines.
The name Scurek means cricket in the local dialect, and reflects an old Slovenian fairy tale in which a cricket plays the violin. Fittingly, this is the image they chose for their logo.
Tomaz is the second oldest of the five brothers. He started learning about wine at a very young age and made his first wine at the age of 12. The first wine he made that went to the market was when he was just 15.
One of his favorite stories is from when he was 17 and his father bought an expensive piece of equipment but didn’t know how it worked. Tomaz didn’t either, but was put in charge, figured it out, and this became his job.
Choosing winemaking as a career was clearly a natural next step for him. He summarizes, “from a hobby, it starts to be a job, and then it’s a style of life.”
The winery offers three different ranges of wine. One is a fresh or classic wine made in oak barrels. The second range is made in new and used oak and aged at least 1 year. The third line consists of special wines with long maceration, different styles, and long aging.
Scurek is a lover of blended wines and spoke in detail of Kontera, a mix of rebula and chardonnay. All the grapes are picked by hand and undergo a long maceration. The grapes are not crushed completely for this stage, giving a unique character to the wine.
While it has notable tannins, there is also a fresh fruitiness. The final notes of the flavor evidence that the wine was macerated for a long time, which makes for a stronger finish.
The harvest schedule here is worked in between rains and storms that blow through between the Alps to the north and the Mediterranean to the south.
Harvest times depend on vintages, and the range of harvesting takes about a month. It begins with Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio. The last of the whites is rebula, and the last of the reds is Cabernet Sauvignon.
They used to make their Cabernet and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but are now making them in the more local Brda style, and find that there is a growing market that appreciates this. The style includes ripening the grapes a little more and using bigger fruit in the wine.
Looking to the future, Scurek says the focus is on improving quality over quantity. The focus is to create wines with distinct personalities showcasing local grapes. After all, the uniqueness of this place is its treasure, and it is a place worth getting to know, even if only in a glass of wine.
Photos used in this post are courtesy of Scurek Winery and Marijan Mocivnik.