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expedition_retirementAlthough our tour was about cycling in Slovenia, our final accommodations were actually across the border in Italy. We found ourselves staying at the very nice Borgo Gradis'ciutta, a winery resort in the countryside just outside of the border town of Gorizia, just a 3km bike ride from the Slovenian border. After arriving from Piran, we had some time to settle into our rooms before we reconvened downstairs in the tasting room to try some of the local wine and learn more about the wines and history of this border region. This wine region was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until World War I, after which it became part of the Kingdom of Italy. However, after World War II, the region was partitioned between Italy and Yugoslavia, and a border established through the middle of the region, and even through the middle of Gorizia. Since Slovenia's independence and its entrance into the European Union, that border has become transparent, with no border controls and freedom of movement and commerce restored.
The wines of this region are predominantly white, and the ones we tasted were all quite nice. The resort has an honor bar policy, where the tasting room is left open, and we can help ourselves to the wine, paying for what we drink upon check-out. We would take advantage of that the next evening after finishing our last ride of the tour, celebrating the week and new friendships with good wine.
After our tasting, we ended up shuttling down into town by taxi to have dinner. We didn't see a great deal of Gorizia, since we taxied in, ate, and taxied back to the resort. But the area around the restaurant was lovely, especially at night. While our accommodations were quite nice, it was too bad they were so far out of town, as it did limit our ability to explore somewhat.
The wines of this region are predominantly white, and the ones we tasted were all quite nice. The resort has an honor bar policy, where the tasting room is left open, and we can help ourselves to the wine, paying for what we drink upon check-out. We would take advantage of that the next evening after finishing our last ride of the tour, celebrating the week and new friendships with good wine.
After our tasting, we ended up shuttling down into town by taxi to have dinner. We didn't see a great deal of Gorizia, since we taxied in, ate, and taxied back to the resort. But the area around the restaurant was lovely, especially at night. While our accommodations were quite nice, it was too bad they were so far out of town, as it did limit our ability to explore somewhat.