The Cultural Holiday celebrated in Slovenia in February is the perfect occasion for the Vipava Valley to commemorate its own local luminaries who had left an indelible mark on Slovenian culture. Stationed in Podnanos, it was the local priest Matija Vertovec who taught the winemakers from Vipava the ropes of viticulture and winemaking back in the mid-19th century. One of his more obscure achievements is that it was his influence that gave France Prešeren – a giant of Slovenian poetry – the impetus to write an ode to the grapevine. Thus, the iconic poem Zdravljica (A Toast) was born. Much later, in a case of serendipity, the poem was set to music by Stanko Premrl, another local figure. Today, Zdravljica's seventh stanza is the official Slovenian national anthem, and Podnanos in the Vipava Valley proudly holds claim as its birthplace.

There is archaeological evidence to support the claim that winemaking goes back to the Roman colonization of the Vipava Valley. Ever since, grapevine has been a staple plant, and the knowledge of winemaking has been passed on through generations. In recent decades, local Vipava winemakers have been making efforts to preserve old indigenous varieties and revive traditional cultivation methods to produce premium wines. Natural wine is gaining traction around the world. It shouldn't come as a surprise then that the most popular local dish also incorporates grapes, going beyond a simple pairing of food and wine. The distinctive flavour of the Vipava jota, a local specialty, comes from the grape marc used in the fermentation process of the main ingredient of the dish – fermented turnip also called repa tropinka. Jota remains an ever-popular staple in the local diet. If you visit the Vipava Valley, you can get your serving in many farms, inns and restaurants.