Movia leads the way for Slovenian wines

For an exotic and flashy start to our New Year's Eve countdown, we opened a Slovenian wine that I had heard about on Eric Asimov's blog. It's from the winemaker named Movia and he posted on it last May. While I was in New York I happened to find it at Martin Brothers on the Upper West Side. (Unfortunately I don't think it is available anywhere in Canada).

Finding any Slovenian bottle is a challenge in this country. Not a one is available in the entire province of Quebec. That's too bad but the situation is likely changing as type this.

Just this week two of my regular stops in the blogsphere feature flattering posts on Slovenian wine. Catherine Granger reviews the bottle pictured above which I tasted, and Jamie Goode talks about more white wines from Slovenia -- Simcic whites, which exhibit an interesting tannic quality.

While I didn't take notes, I can say that the Movia Gredic Tokaj (*Tokaj in Slovenia is Tocai Friuliano in Italy) is fresh and delicious, as Catherine mentions in tasting notes on her post. Wines like this aim to change the relative absence of Slovenia in the wine shop, no doubt. While I do recall finding it sweeter than I was expecting, it did remind me of my personal favourite Tocai expression -- actually a unique Tocai blend that I review here. Rather than the notable toast and brioche flavours I was looking for, this 100% Tocai varietal is very much fruit-driven.

All in all, it made for an interesting lunch on December 31, 2006, which was sushi. I wouldn't hesitate serving it again, or trying the next Slovenian wine from the Brda region that I can get my hands on.

In the meantime, here's some *required reading on the giant mix-up that is the Tokaj/Tocai / Tokay / Tokaji name.