Maribor Wine Tours: The Old Vine & Štajerska
Maribor has the oldest fruiting vine in the world, a Žametovka on the riverfront that has been bearing for more than four hundred years, and behind it the hills of Štajerska, Slovenia’s biggest wine region, planted with aromatic whites and sparkling. This page compares the top-rated Maribor wine tours and tastings: the Old Vine House, cellar visits in the Maribor hills and the Jeruzalem wine road, and St Martin’s Day in November, when the city holds the country’s biggest new-wine festival.
What you’ll taste: Laški rizling, Šipon, Sauvignon, Renski rizling and Traminec; sparkling from the hills; and, if you are lucky, a few drops from the Old Vine.
The places: the Old Vine House on the Lent riverfront; the Maribor and Pohorje hills; Ptuj and the Jeruzalem wine road an hour east.
When: the Old Vine harvest in early autumn, and St Martin’s Day on 11 November.
Wine in Maribor and Štajerska
Maribor is Slovenia’s second city, on the Drava, and the capital of Podravje, the country’s largest wine region. The wine is white: Laški rizling, the workhorse; Šipon, the Furmint of Hungary’s Tokaj; Sauvignon and Renski rizling; Traminec; and traditional-method sparkling from the hills. On Lent, the old riverfront, the Stara trta, a Žametovka vine planted in the sixteenth century, still produces a small harvest each year, recognised by Guinness as the oldest vine in the world, and the house behind it is the city’s wine centre.
The Old Vine House
Tastings of Štajerska wines in the house that shelters the Old Vine, with the story of how it survived sieges, phylloxera and the war. The vine’s own harvest, a few dozen tiny bottles a year, goes to heads of state; the tastings pour the region’s best instead. Short, cheap and the right first stop.
Cellar visits in the hills
Half-day tours from Maribor visit two or three family cellars in the hills north and south of the city, or head to Ptuj, Slovenia’s oldest town, and the Jeruzalem wine road beyond it, where the vineyards look like Tuscany with more churches. Tastings come with pumpkin-seed oil, cheese and Prekmurska gibanica. 50 to 100 euros; full days from Ljubljana with transport 120 to 180.
St Martin’s Day
On 11 November the must becomes wine, and Maribor’s Martinovanje is the biggest in Slovenia: seventy producers pouring on the main square, food stalls, music and a blessing of the new wine. Book accommodation early.
From Ljubljana
An hour and a half by motorway; day tours combine the Old Vine, a hill cellar and Ptuj. See Slovenia wine tours.
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.
FAQ about Maribor Wine Tours: The Old Vine & Štajerska
Frequently asked questions
Why Maribor for wine?
Because the east of Slovenia makes the whites the country drinks most, and Maribor is the only city in the world with a four-century-old vine on its main street.
What is the Old Vine in Maribor?
A Žametovka vine on the Lent riverfront, planted in the sixteenth century and still fruiting, listed by Guinness as the oldest vine in the world.
Can I taste wine from the Old Vine?
Almost never; its few dozen bottles a year are given as gifts. The Old Vine House pours the region’s wines instead.
What wine is Maribor known for?
Aromatic whites: Laški rizling, Šipon, Sauvignon, Renski rizling and Traminec, plus sparkling from the hills.
When is St Martin’s Day in Maribor?
Around 11 November, with the festival on the days beside it; it is Slovenia’s biggest new-wine celebration.
How far is Maribor from Ljubljana?
An hour and a half by motorway; day tours with the Old Vine, a cellar and Ptuj run year-round.