May 2025
Bike and Wine Tour in Vipava
We met our guide Jani from Wajdušna active tours in the village Slap in the Vipava valley. He was waiting for us with the e-bikes that would be our transport around the valley. After short introductions we were on our way. We were very lucky with the weather, it was sunny but not too hot, prefect for biking. The ride took us over some small local paved and gravel roads and up some nice hills, but with the e-bikes this was no problem at all. The scenery was amazing, we biked through vineyards, as Vipava is one of the major wine regions in Slovenia, with a ridge of mountains as a backdrop. Flowers were everywhere and we even got to pick some delicious cherries on the way.
Our first stop was at the Napoleon bridge, where Jani gave us a small history lesson about the valley. We were super interested to learn about the ice caves close to Mali Golak, the highest peak in the area. In the past, they harvested ice which was sold to Egypt for what would now be the price of a car for a few kilos. The ice was transported over the bridge towards Trieste.
After another few ups-and-downs, we got to the smallest town of Slovenia, Vipavski Križ. This is a beautiful, fortified town, that feels more like a little village, with small narrow streets, a pretty church and a monastery. We explored it on our bikes, admiring the little gardens with flowers and of course the amazing views. Again, Jani shared a lot of cool facts about the place with us.
Then we got ready for another stretch of biking, along the Vipava river and past the village of Planina. The way down from there was the most thrilling part, speeding down a gravel road past long rows of vines.
The bike tour ended at a winery called Petrič. The owner Urban, who is the 8th generation wine maker in the family, showed us their wine cellars, a mix of traditional and modern ones. Then we got to taste the different wines accompanied by some delicious food. He made frtalja for us, which is a local dish made with eggs, flower and local herbs. Urban spoke with passion about all his wines and explained how they were made. All their grapes are organically grown and ripe in oak barrels. We learned how to taste wine without getting drunk, which was helpful since we still had to drive home afterwards. We did, however, get some wine from the shop to take home with us. Cheers!
Anna and Kyra
Photos by: Anna & Kyra
