Kabaj Sivi Pinot 2019

Country: Slovenia

Region: Goriska Brda

Type: Orange Wine

Grape: Pinot Gris

Kabaj (pronounced kah-BYE) has been producing some of Slovenia’s most prized wines since the early 1990s. The winery is owned by Paris-born Jean Michel Morel, who arrived in Goriška Brda after perfecting his craft at prestigious wine estates in Perpignan, Bordeaux and nearby Friuli, and met Katja Kabaj, whose family has been in the region for generations. After they married, they decided to begin bottling wine from the Kabaj estate instead of selling the grapes.

The Kabaj family cultivates 12 hectares of local vineyards. Farming is organic, with an emphasis on soil biodiversity to create an environment for the vines that is in harmony with the natural flora and fauna. 

Wines are fermented with native yeast and moved according to lunar cycles. Kabaj champions the old ways of winemaking. The whites make up 2/3 of total production. They are unique and balanced. All have some level of skin-contact and are aged in French oak barrels for at least one year. The reds are earthy, bold yet elegant. Kabaj’s wines have become highly sought-after globally, and they have played a pivotal role in putting Slovenia on the wine map.

Grapes were hand harvested from the vineyards of Belo, Cujevca, and Jez, de-stemmed, fermented for 2 weeks on the skins in oak vats with wild yeast. Malolactic fermentation took place in used French barriques, the wine spent 12 months total on the lees, and was bottled unfiltered. The creamy texture and strawberry color of the Sivi Pinot is on the opposite side of the spectrum from most Italian Pinot Grigios. Complex, mineral-tinged floral aromas, and flavors of custard, peach, apricot and brioche.