Bizeljsko Repnice

The hills at Bizeljsko are built of fine quartz sand laid down by a Miocene sea, soft enough to dig by hand and firm enough to stand without support, and farmers cut chambers into it to store turnips through the winter, which is what repnica means. The sand holds a steady temperature and high humidity all year, which turned out to suit wine, and the surviving repnice are now cellars where growers keep and pour their bottles. Fossil shells sit in the walls.

What you actually see

• The sand chambers - rooms cut by hand into soft quartz sand without supports.
• The fossil shells - marine fossils visible in the cellar walls.
• The constant conditions - steady cool temperature and humidity all year.
• The tastings - local wines poured in the cellars by the growers.

When to go

April to October is the main season, though the cellars are the same temperature all year. Visits must be arranged with the individual growers. Autumn after harvest is the liveliest.

Honest expectations

Visits are by arrangement with individual families and cannot be dropped into. The cellars are cool and damp and a jacket is needed even in August. Getting between them needs a car and a driver who is not tasting.

Nearby

Brezice is south, and Podsreda is northwest.