Wine & Food

The cuisine of Brda rarely puts meat center stage. It lives off what the hills themselves provide: wine, olives, wild herbs from the field edges, and cherries. Even back in the days of the Republic of Venice, these cherries were prized as a delicacy in Venetian markets. The wine that goes with it all stays light.

For centuries, the staple food here was bela polenta, white polenta made from a local corn variety found almost nowhere else but here and in neighboring Friuli. It's served with Pršut, air-dried ham, and sheep's cheese. The acidity of classic Rebula cuts right through the fat of the ham. Its bitter-almond note also makes the mild cheese alongside it far more interesting than it would be on its own.

In spring, Frtalja makes it to the table, a hearty egg dish with whatever happens to be growing at the edge of the fields: wild asparagus, dandelion, young nettles. Of all things, the orange wine from Rebula pairs better with it than any classic white wine, because its own herbal notes and tannins support the Frtalja rather than fading away beside it.

Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon call for heartier fare. Braised game from the forests around Korada is a good match, its fat and long cooking time standing up to the wine's tannin, since otherwise the wine alone at the table would come across as too austere and edgy.

To finish, the cherries: cooked down into compote, distilled into schnapps, or simply enjoyed fresh alongside a glass of Pikolit. The sweet wine has enough acidity of its own to hold its ground against the fruit's sweetness. A dry wine next to the compote would taste thin and sour, since a dessert wine always needs more sweetness than whatever it's accompanying.