The fact that Michael and Maria Gross work in the steep terraces of Haloze (on the Slovenian border to Croatia) wasn’t exactly love at first site. It was in fact Michael’s father, Alois Gross, legendary winemaker from South Styria, that was looking for a retreat for his retirement and stumbled across this quaint but picturesque corner of Slovenia.
Haloze, the more precise name of the region isn’t exactly the first place Slovenians think about when talking about high quality parcels. Vineyards in the northern part of Stajerska (the Slovenian part of Styria) and the region of Brda and Karst towards Italy, have long been considered more fashionable. The Haloze region, with its diversity of varieties such as Welschriesling, Furmint and Sauvignon, was long overlooked due to its history of large cooperative winemaking. Nevertheless, Michael and Maria believed in the potential of these truly unique parcels, and decided to dedicate all of their energy here from the late 2000s...
