The Luxury of Slowing Down

Between Italy's Collio, Slovenia's Vipava Valley and a glass of Malvasia Istriana that tells the story of a shared landscape.

There are places I return to whenever I feel the need to slow down.

For more than thirteen years, whenever work becomes overwhelming and my mind struggles to find silence, I find my way back to the rolling hills of Collio goriziano and Slovenia’s Vipava Valley. I don’t return simply because the landscape is beautiful. I return because time seems to move differently here.

The days begin with an open window overlooking the forest, continue with long walks through the vineyards and books read beneath the trees, and end with a glass of Malvasia Istriana as the evening light slowly settles over the hills. In an age when we are constantly connected and always available, disconnecting has become a luxury. Here, it is still possible.

La Subida is one of those places that seems to exist beyond time. More than a scattered countryside hotel surrounded by woodland, it represents a way of inhabiting the landscape. The houses are hidden among the trees, winding paths connect them to the forest, and all it takes is opening a window for the boundary between indoors and outdoors to almost disappear.

In the morning, the scent of wood blends with the fragrance of damp earth. Birdsong drifts through the windows together with filtered light, the smell of ferns and the quiet rhythm of the forest. There is no need to seek nature here. It gently finds its way into the room. Walking through these woods, I always have the feeling that the landscape asks nothing of you. It doesn’t encourage you to hurry, to reach a destination or to photograph every view. It simply invites you to observe, to breathe, and to let your pace slow until you discover a different rhythm.

Perhaps that is what I continue searching for every time I return.

Collio and the neighbouring Vipava Valley are among those rare places that remind us that borders may divide nations, but they cannot divide landscapes. The vineyards ignore political boundaries. They follow the gentle curves of the hills, cross different cultures and tell a shared story shaped by centuries of encounters, exchanges and winemaking traditions.

This is a profoundly Central European landscape, where Austro-Hungarian elegance meets the Mediterranean, and where wine has become the common language of two countries.

These hills are shaped by ponca, the ancient alternation of marl and sandstone that gradually breaks down into poor yet extraordinarily suitable soils for viticulture. It is from these vineyards that some of the finest white wines of this borderland are born, combining elegance, freshness and remarkable minerality.

It is within this landscape that Malvasia Istriana finds one of its purest expressions.

Here, among the ponca soils, under the influence of the Adriatic breezes and the Julian Alps, this ancient grape variety reveals its most refined personality. Unlike more intensely aromatic members of the Malvasia family, Malvasia Istriana is subtle, luminous and saline, offering delicate aromas of white flowers, Mediterranean herbs, citrus and fresh almond. It is a wine that captivates through balance rather than exuberance, through precision rather than power.

In these hills, wine is woven into everyday life and naturally finds its place at the table. It is impossible not to think of Ristorante Al Cacciatore, where Friulian culinary tradition meets refined contemporary cuisine, or the welcoming atmosphere of Osteria La Preda, where the flavours of Collio reflect the same identity as the surrounding vineyards.

Malvasia Istriana pairs beautifully with the region’s finest products: Cormons prosciutto, smoked cured meats, frico, spring asparagus, wild mushrooms, foraged herbs, freshwater trout and mountain cheeses that tell the story of the meeting between the Alpine world and the Mediterranean. It is a cuisine that is honest, seasonal and deeply respectful of its ingredients.

Every time I leave La Subida, I carry home much more than the memory of a journey.

I take with me the scent of the forest drifting through the open window at dawn, the silence of walks among the vineyards, the simple pleasure of reading without looking at the clock, and the taste of a glass of Malvasia Istriana enjoyed at sunset.

Perhaps this is the true luxury I have been searching for over the past thirteen years, a place where time slows down, where the landscape quietly becomes part of everyday life, and where wine is far more than something to taste. It becomes the most authentic expression of a borderland whose greatest richness has always been the meeting of cultures.

Between the Collio goriziano and the Vipava Valley.
Stay at La Subida, Cormòns.
la subida sirk

In tasting:

Malvasia
Malvasia Istriana 100%
IGT Venezia Giulia Bianco · 14% vol.
Azienda Simon di Brazzan
Cormons, Gorizia