SOMETHING ORANGE IN THE AIR

Last April Friday in Izola. Encouraged with last year's positive responses the second Orange wine festival took place. http://www.zakladi-istre.si/images/stories/2013/OWF_mailing_A4_SLO.pdf 
Even bigger and better organized, better promoted. Even more (orange) wine lovers came. Beautiful Adriatic town Izola was over swelling with life. It was a chance to taste wines from 55 producers, all s.c. orange wines from 6 countries, even Georgia. There were also restaurants and other food producers offering their bits to taste. Not orange, none of them. 
People were in good mood tasting, asking about wines and talking to vignerons. Later on, questions became not so important, more some wine in glass. As it says in brochure issued for the occasion, "orange" wines are predominantly produced nature friendly, some even with bio dynamic method. Predominantly? What is than common criteria for "orange" wine? The color? Nobody was asking what hue of "orange" makes a wine "orange"? Is it important? Obviously not. 
There is one common point of this event; seems like everybody had fun and enjoyed it. 

note something orange in a bowl...

  
    

DEVIN

Again, for the 6th year in a row. Magnificent scenery for wine and food lovers dedicated to Vitovska and seafood. The castle in Devin-Duino and it's garden north of Trst-Trieste. Beautiful weather contributed to atmosphere. 25 Vitovska winemakers and 20 restaurants with predominantly fish appetizers from Italian and Slovene Kras-Karst made each stop in castle's garden to delight. Well, at a point not so much, because the stands were stormed by the crowd. On the other hand stands would look sad, empty, no people around. 
Prior to wine tasting a lecture by M. Crespan about origin of Vitovska was held. Not a world's important grape, Vitovska (or better viticulturists and winemakers) managed to attract attention even in the USA. http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/the-wines-of-vitovska-grapes/  
  
Paying attention to environment and using natural (climatic) resources of Kras, some of viticulturists turned to organic wine production. Vitovska will probably newer be mass produced grape, it is good so.

http://www.themorningclaret.com/2011/friuli-carso-kante-skerk-zidarich/