Goriška Brda Wine Tours: Rebula, Orange Wine & Slovenia’s Hills

The short version: Goriška Brda, on Slovenia’s border with Italy, is a landscape of terraced hills, cherry orchards and medieval villages often called the Tuscany of Slovenia. Its signature is Rebula (Ribolla Gialla), made fresh, sparkling or as amber orange wine, a style Brda winemakers helped make famous. Across the border it continues as Italy’s Collio. Here is how to visit.

At a glance

Rebula and orange wine

Rebula is Brda’s own grape: crisp and citrusy when fresh, golden and textured when left on its skins for days or weeks. These orange wines, an ancient technique revived here and just across the border, are now poured around the world. Taste them in the fortified hilltop village of Šmartno, at Dobrovo castle, and with a view from the Gonjače tower over the vines to the Alps and the Adriatic.

When to go and what to combine

Come in early summer for the cherry season, when Brda holds its cherry festival, or in autumn for the harvest. Combine Brda with the Vipava Valley and the Karst for a full day of Slovenian wine, and read about all the regions in Slovenia’s wine regions from Ljubljana.

Our pick: the Goriška Brda: Winery Tour and Wine Tasting combines a vineyard walk and cellar visit with a guided tasting of estate wines and local cold cuts and cheese. For a full day from the capital, the WINExPEDITION: Vipava Valley and Goriška Brda visits three wineries.

Frequently asked questions

What wine is Goriška Brda known for?

Rebula (Ribolla Gialla), in fresh, sparkling and skin-macerated orange styles, plus Friulano and Merlot.

How far is Goriška Brda from Ljubljana?

About 1h30 to 1h45 by car; day tours from Ljubljana often combine Brda with Vipava or the Karst.

What is orange wine?

White wine made by fermenting the juice on its skins, like a red, giving an amber colour and more texture and tannin.

Book a Goriška Brda wine tour

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