Santei
Sandra and Matej Bizjak were in the 'rat race' fifteen years ago, and then they decided to leave it. She was a corporate sales director and he a corporate finance director. They had a vision to make great wine and live in harmony with their work. They found the right terroir. They knew how they wanted to wanted to work and execute their wines. And they knew how long it would take and how much effort would be involved.
They named their winery Santei. (As in San / Tej, for Sandra and Matej ) Santei is located in Stanjel, Slovenia in the Upper Vipavska Valley, in a sub-region called Upper Branca. It is in a special micro valley called the Čipnje gorge. This overall area acts as the border between the Karst plateau and the Vipava Valley. This is important as their estate and vineyards were chosen specifically for this terroir. The Karst (aka Carso, Kras) is a plateau that blocks the Adriatic and it is known for its iron enriched soils- terra rosa. The Vipava is known for its wind- the bora. The Upper Branca sees the blending of these two excellent terroirs. The soils here are Eocene Flysch with a top soil that is known as 'soudan'. The soudan sees a mix of marlstone, sand siltstone, breccias, and conglomerate rock throughout (see the above photo). The dirt is almost unseen in soudan. But when you do see it it is a blend of the terra rosa along with brown and white clay. In addition to the mineral laden soils, the Upper Branca is also the coldest part of the Vipava Valley. It sees the brunt of the descending bora wind. All of this drives minerality an acidity in the grapes.
Matej and Sandra are adamant about working naturally. It's a way of life for them. For them, this start with farming. After starting their winery, they immediately started converting their holdings to organic farming- becoming certified by KonCert in 2014. When they started becoming fully biodynamic was the goal. They knew it would take a long time, and they are anticipating becoming certified in 2022.
Staying true to their vision, they have maintained this natural philosophy in the cellar. Here, only native yeasts are employed for fermentation and sulfur is used sparingly. The wines are not fined or filtered.
It's a running joke at Indie that when we ask our team what the market place is looking for, the chorus answer is: pet nat and orange wine- for a good price! So, yes, we are always looking for both. But, we have been slowly building our Italian and Slovenian/Croatian portfolio, and our thought is- let's get orange wines from the place where orange wine is a traditional conversation- Slovenia.
With Santei, the wine was excellent. Sandra and Matej have a clear and principled vision. And you all know we love a good upstart here at Indie.
