09.00 – 10.30
Presentation of sustainable viticulture in the vineyards
Thematic presentations this year will focus on crus / single vineyards and sustainable viticulture in Brda in light of climate change. Professor Denis Rusjan of the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana will present the Brda terroir, emphasizing the characteristics contributing to the uniqueness of Brda wines. Professor Rusjan will provide deeper insight into the meaning of different crus and how they affect the grapes and consequently wines, as well as the impact of climate change on crus, future developments of viticulture and of Rebula as a variety. The presentation will be held in the vineyards, offering you the possibility of experiencing these aspects of sustainability first hand.
10.30 – 11.00
Arrival at Vila Vipolže
11.00 – 13.30
MasterClass
Rebula wines, from vintage 2021 to 2018
After we return from the vineyard we will first focus on the history and development of crus in Brda including the 1785 Imperial classification of Rebula wines, when the County of Gorizia decided to classify the best wines of the then Princely County with regard to their quality. The historical facts will be presented by Uroš Peterc, the director of the Brda Wine Consortium
The central part of the event will be the grand vertical tasting Masterclass where winemakers unveil their best interpretations of our terroir. Two exceptional connoisseurs and prominent experts will be providing in-depth guidance throughout the lineup: Gašper Čarman, one of the most acclaimed wine experts in Slovenia, wine distributor and importer and Best Sommelier of Slovenia in 2013 and 2015, and Caroline Gilby, Master of Wine from the UK, acclaimed wine author specializing in wines of Central and Eastern Europe and head of the Balkans, Eurasia and Eastern Europe panel with London’s Decanter World Wine Awards, the most prestigious wine competition globally.
13.30 – 14.30
Light lunch by renowned restaurant Kruh in Vino in Vila Vipolže
14.30 – 16.00
Walking around tasting in Vila Vipolže
16.00 – 19.00
Break
19.00 – 23.00
Exclusive wine tasting with magnificent Luca Gardini, holder of the BWW 2022 Best Wine Critics of World award, of large bottles of vintage rebula and gala dinner by culinary virtuoz Uroš Fakuč, of Michelin starred restaurant DAM in the courtyard of the Dobrovo castle.
At this year’s Masterclass Luca Gardini will have a spectacular special mission: interpreting big bottle Rebulas and old vintages, including the oldest bottle of Rebula out there – vintage 1957! He will take us on an exciting journey of discovery, unveiling yet another dimension of Rebula’s immense potential hiding in the grandeur of old vintages.
This year’s culinary harmonies with various styles of Rebula will be marked by a star-studded gala dinner accompanied by grand vintages of Rebula wines – a masterpiece by chef Uroš Fakuč of Michelin starred restaurant DAM in Nova Gorica,
Caroline Gilby MW
Decanter Magazine, DWWA 2019 Regional Chair for North, Central & Eastern Europe
Caroline Gilby MW is a freelance writer and consultant, specialising in Central and Eastern Europe. Among others, she currently contributes to Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, The Oxford Companion to Wine, and the World Atlas of Wine, and has previously written for Dorling Kindersley’s Wines of the World, The Wine Opus, and Tom Stevenson’s Wine Report. Prior to her career as a writer, Gilby spent seven years as a senior wine buyer at Augustus Barnet off-licences, where she became the first major buyer to import Hungarian wines to the UK. She initially studied plant biology, in which she holds a doctorate, but abandoned life behind the microscope for a career in wine soon after winning the Decanter-Macallan Malt Whisky Taster of the Year Award while still a student. Gilby passed her MW in 1992 and has been visiting and tasting the wines of Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Romania for over 20 years.
Gašper Čarman
For the last fifteen years, Gašper Čarman has been living his dream by catering to the wishes of wine enthusiasts in Slovenia and Europe. In 2004, he established eVino, the first online wine shop in Slovenia, which in fifteen years became the largest fine wine distributor in Slovenia. Together with his sister Nina, Gašper runs “Danilo gostilna & vinoteka”, a family restaurant with 60 years of tradition. His very special project is a wine brand called Gasper, where he joined forces with Klet Brda and successfully selling his wines in Slovenia, UK, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Croatia, Canada, Brasilia and other countries. Wines have received several DWWA awards including two Platinum medals for Cabernet Franc Selekcija (2017, 2019) – that was the first Platinum Decanter medal for red wines.
As a sommelier, Gašper Čarman has won gold medals in every national competition he took part in. He was competing two times for Best European sommelier and two times for Best World sommelier. He regularly contributes articles on wine and wine-drinking culture to various magazines. He is the only Slovenian wine specialist who studied at the renowned MW institute in London. Gašper is known as a visonar and trendsetter in the Slovenian wine sector and still has a lot of ideas for the Slocenian wine sector.
Prof. Denis Rusjan, Ph.D., M.Sc., Agr. Eng.
Denis Rusjan, Ph.D., is a professor of viticulture at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, where he conducts scientific research in addition to giving lectures. In his recent work, he is mostly involved in assessing the value of local and domesticated wine grape varieties and describing their genotypes and phenotypes, including their response to various agrotechnical and ampelotechnical measures, climate change and the increasing number of new diseases appearing in vineyards. Putting forward new genotypes is inevitable to tackle the changing growing and environmental conditions and therefore Prof. Rusjan is also increasingly focusing on selecting local variety biotypes and introducing new ones. His bibliography is a staggering array of scientific and technical publications, not seldom in high-ranking journals.
Luca Gardini
Luca Gardini took his first steps into the world of sommellerie at an early age, showing such talent and determination that he was able to join the brigade of the prestigious restaurant Enoteca Pinchiorri (*** Michelin Stars), and then started a collaboration of almost eight years with the chef Carlo Cracco, at the restaurant Cracco (** Michelin Stars).
In 2011 he decided to devote himself exclusively to wine communication, establishing himself in a few years as one of the most influential palates on an international level.
He runs a weekly column entitled “Gazza Golosa” for the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport., he also published “Enciclopedia del Vino” (2012) and produced his “Top 100” (a selection of some of the best labels from all over the world), supervises a wine guide published by Corriere della Sera “I Migliori 100 Vini e Vignaioli d’Italia” with Luciano Ferraro and he is an editor of wine section at the magazine Forbes Italia. He is the owner and curator of gardininotes.com.
He participates as an expert opinion leader at several international wine events and is an owner of several prestigious wine titles such as: Best Sommelier of Italy 2004, Best Sommelier of Europe 2009, Best Sommelier of the World 2010, new best Italy Wine Critics in the Wold (bz BWW 2022) and many more.
Awards:
Best Sommelier of Italy 2004,
Best Sommelier of Europe 2009
Best Sommelier of the World 2010
He is a holder of the BWW 2022 Best Wine Critics of the World award.
