Open wine cellars in Vipava valley are a set of wine events traditionally held between St. Martin’s Day (11th November) and Christmas in different villages around Vipava valley, Slovenia. Local wine makers open their vaulted wine cellars to the guests. Wine cellars are part of the culture in Vipava valley and they can be found in almost every house. Looking from the outside, you can get an impression that all of them are looking the same (wine barrels, degustation corner, wine glasses) but if you drag more deeply, you can see and feel that each wine cellar has its own character and its own story to tell.

Each wine cellar reflects the owner and his hard-working family. Are you up for exploring more? Send me an email to vesna@slocally.com and I will prepare an itinerary based on your wine wishes for you.

Arriving to the village of Planina we bought a wine glass (15 EUR) and got a coupon for goulash with polenta. A map of the village with 9 well-signed wine cellars was a must in order not to get lost.

1. NO MOBILE SIGNAL … don’t worry, you will post photos on Facebook later on 😉

Well, as soon as you enter the wine cellar there is no mobile signal. Walls of wine cellars are very thick and most of the wine cellars are 150 years old. Some of them even older. What are you going to do? Take a wine glass and start enjoying. Devote yourself to wine, food, friends and singing. Wine cellar is a sacred building (a place where the wines are almost worshiped by the local winemakers) as a church is for priests. Here, if you want or not, you become more cheerful and happy. Of course, you are surrounded by wine barrels and enjoyable company. Take a photo, cheers and enjoy with a musical accompaniment!

2. tasting, Tasting, TASTING … which one is your favourite?!

After visiting 6 wine cellars or more, sampling 5-6 samples of wine in each cellar with, of course, homemade local food, you probably don’t know which wine you prefer most. It really doesn’t matter. We stopped counting how many different wines we tasted so far. What matters the most is that I really appreciated local wine-makers selection of wines I sampled glass by glass from whites to reds and hearing their unique wine stories. I felt in love with local grape varieties Zelen and Pinela. Well, Barbera and muscat sparkling wine rock as well 😉 In my opinion, each wine cellar has its own wine winner!

When you taste, sample or drink, do not drive! Call for a taxi instead!

3. Even though you cannot sing, YOU WILL SING!

I am bad at singing and I’m aware of that. When I was in a primary school, my teacher told me: »Vesna, I am really sorry but you cannot sing and you cannot attend a school choir«. Well, but I did sing while visiting wine cellars in Vipava valley. There were 2 bigger Slovenian groups with guitars and accordions. Vaulted wine cellars in Vipava valley have great acoustics. Singing Slovenian folk songs, Croatian klapa songs, sometimes even well known international songs all night long. Singing connects people. Singing has a long tradition here. Locals in Vipava valley love singing. They sing in the vineyards during grape harvesting, in the wine cellars and during Sunday’s lunch. Beside that it’s nice to see how seriously younger generation is taking care of wine production. All this resulted in amazing local hospitality proved by excellent wines, delicious homemade food and pleasant company. Under those conditions even your singing improves rapidly. So sing along! 😉

Wine cellars with its long tradition in Vipava valley reflect a respect to wine making and wine tasting.

I would suggest visiting open wine cellars in Vipava valley between St. Martin’s day and Christmas. It is an unique experience you don’t want to miss. Simple as that. And as the locals say: »A day without a glass of wine is like a day without a sun.«

Need a place to sleep in Vipava valley? Check accommodation options for Ajdovščina here. You might want to stay in Vipava instead.