Štoka "Izbrani" Kras Teran 2019

Kras, like Brda, is another wine region that includes both Italy and Slovenia. The Italian side is known as Karso, and the entire area was stripped of forests to build the city and maritime fleets of Venice. Without the trees around, the mighty 'Burja' winds created a kind of dust-bowl situation of massive erosion. It's full of sinkholes and poor soils, so not the most hospitable place on earth. And yet Primož Štoka and his son Tadej manage to make delicious wines on seven hectares of organic vines while raising pigs and cows.

Teran is the local name for Refošk, and Kras Teran had the reputation for the most medicinal properties of all Refošk because of the levels of iron oxide and aluminum found in the soil, which is very red in color. The iron is not hard to detect when you taste the wine, let me tell you. It's dark with cocoa notes and is quite tart, but unlike the Refošk from Istria, this is not highly tannic. It's edgy, with cleansing mineral notes on the finish, and has a lot of energy, which I imagine is the healing part of the wine. So maybe it will give your immune system a boost and help that winter cold, broken leg, or case of measles disappear in a matter of days. Drink two glasses and call me in the morning. Jonathan Kemp