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The wine growing district
Goriška Brda is part of the northern Mediterranean wine-growing area, which is only slightly influenced by the alpine world and placed by the International Climate Classification scheme among its CII types.
The vicinity of the Adriatic coast, about twenty kilometres to the south, accounts for only minor temperature variations and a mild micro-climate throughout the year. The proximity of the sea plays an important role in creating special conditions, because the reflection of sunrays from the surface of the sea acts as a second insolation. The movement of air masses varies; while warm air from the Adriatic Sea moves in from the south, cold air masses from the north are generally blocked by the southern mountains of the Julian Alps and hardly penetrate the area. Summer nights are chilled by breezes from the Alps and favourably impact the formation of acids and aromatic substances in grapes. Summers are hot but not too dry with average temperatures during the warmest month, July, reaching 24° Celsius.
The annual amount of rainfall comes to about 1,500 mm, most of it occurs in late autumn and spring. Winters are mild with very rare and short periods of snow. The predominantly sub-Mediterranean climate largely contributes to the specific character of Brda wines.
The landscape of Goriška Brda is varied and picturesque with hills rising about 160 meters above sea level and slopes shaped into terraces for viticulture. The striking contours of Brda continue on the Italian side, which is called Collio.
The soils of the Brda region are composed of marl layers, sandstone, and clay from the Eocene period of about 50 million years ago, when the entire area was covered by the sea. A collision of the African and European continents caused sediments to rise and petrify in the course of time, thus leading to the formation of the hilly Brda landscape. Today this petrified mud is being transformed into terraces and planted with vines. Under the influence of atmospheric factors and when ploughed in springtime, this fragile rock formation disintegrates easily into soil rich in minerals. The latter contain fossilised remains of sea organisms like sea protozoa, named Nummulite, corals and oysters. The ancient and authentic richness of the earth and the uniqueness of the climate constitute the two essential elements of this singular terroir . Altogether, conditions are ideal for a high-quality product.
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