Wine in Biljana, Brda

Bjana ★ 4.6

Biljana house that makes only traditional-method sparkling wine, from Cuvée Prestige and Brut Zero through Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs to the long-aged Status.

Tip: Guided cellar visits with a tasting run on Saturdays at 11:00 and 15:00 and take in two cellars; weekday tastings need arranging first.

Vina Marko Sirk ★ 4.1

Biljana family cellar keeping whites in stainless steel and reds a year in wood, plus a traditional-method sparkling called Marcus made from Chardonnay.

Tip: The tasting room seats sixty indoors and thirty outside, and the cellar also runs a shop for buying by the bottle.

Bjana cellar room ★ 4.5

Miran and Petra Sirk show two cellars and pour their traditional-method sparkling range, from Brut Zero and Blanc de Blancs through to the long-aged Status.

Tip: Saturday visits leave at 11:00 and 15:00; any other day has to be arranged in advance.

Vina Marko Sirk ★ 4.1

Kontrabánt traces the family to 1888, when Ignac Sirk moved from Višnjevik to Biljana. Marko Sirk now works thirteen hectares of vineyard and orchard with his wife Nataša and their son Miha.

Why locals love it: A thirteen hectare farm at Biljana whose sparkling wine carries a different name from the house, so the bottles and the cellar are easy to miss as the same place.

Tip: The traditional method sparkling is labelled Marcus and made from Chardonnay. The tasting room seats sixty indoors and thirty out, and there is a shop for buying by the bottle.

Bjana ★ 4.6

A Biljana house that makes nothing but traditional method sparkling. Guided visits with a tasting run Saturdays at 11:00 and 15:00 and take in two cellars.

The list: Traditional method sparkling wine only, from Cuvée Prestige and Brut Zero through Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs to the long-aged Status.

Tip: Weekday tastings have to be arranged in advance. The Saturday slots are the only fixed ones.