Paragliders and skydivers from all over the world love to spread their wings above the green Vipava Valley, thanks to a unique combination of terrain and climate, with plenty of wind to provide lift. This pleasant region is home to excellent wine – autochthonous varieties such as Zelen, Pinela and Klarnica that form an excellent accompaniment to the delicious local cuisine. You can enjoy them in hospitable wine cellars, at osmice ("eight-day wine shops", a feature of the area) on farms, in traditional inns (gostilne) and restaurants, and also at local events designed to revive the customs and traditions of the past – those relating to holidays and special occasions and those from ordinary, everyday life. This is a land of Mediterranean vegetation, vines, fruit of all kinds, olive trees and fig trees, a landscape of huddled villages and old churches. And of the burja or Bora – a strong fresh wind because of which the tiles on the roofs are weighted with stones and the houses are protected by characteristic shutters. The burja also serves to dry and age the delicious ham of the Vipava area – an essential element at all local celebrations.
The biggest holiday in the Vipava area, like elsewhere in the Goriška region, is the grape harvest, which brings happiness and jollity among the vines, rounds off the year's work in the vineyard, and looks forward to St Martin's Day, when everyone comes together to taste and compare the young wines in the cellars. In Goriška the vine is a noble plant that links together the three wine districts comprising the Primorska wine region: Vipava, Karst and Brda. The enjoyment of wine, local cuisine and good company is something that knows no seasons...