Meet Paolo Vodopivec
It only takes a few moments in Paolo’s company to instantly understand his incredible depth of knowledge, paired with an almost absurd love for perfection. The level of detail that he invests in the vineyards as well as the cellar is unique, and speaking to him about his philosophy is like speaking about quantum physics and Buddhism all at same time.
Paolo’s family already farmed a few hectares of vines organically back when they were mixed farmers on the Italian side of the Carso region. Long macerations on white wine grapes has been a tradition for many generations, and Vitovska, the perfect ‘terroir translator’ for the unforgiving rocky landscape, is the exclusive grape that Paolo cultivates. The vineyards are heavily influenced by the sea yet are situated on a plateau 260m above sea level. This gives the plots a lot of thermic influences, emphasized by the signature Burja winds and big drops of temperature during day and night in late summer. This ensures that despite its Mediterranean character Paolo’s wines show a wonderful delicate perspective rarely found in more moderate climates and regions.
Entering his cellar is like stepping into another universe where every vessel and every barrel has its purpose and vital role to catalyse the quality of his grapes. Yet again, the level of detail in how Paolo chooses his Qvevris is unheard of (even identifying the right bees wax coating for each Qvevri he picks from small makers in the mountain villages of Georgia) and his rigid, almost religious aging protocol results in singular wines that go far beyond the term of skin-contact or white wines. They are terroir wines in the best sense, from one of the greats of the world of wine.
