In the rolling green hills of Štajerska, the northernmost of Slovenia's wine regions, Matija Žerjav goes by a single name: Matic. At just 24 years old he took over the family estate from his grandfather and made it his own, channelling the old man's feel for the land into something contemporary, curious, and completely uncompromising.
Backstory
Matic is the third generation of winemakers in his family, following in the footsteps of a grandfather who taught him to read vines before he could read books. He took on the management of the estate as a young man and began reshaping it around the principles of organic farming and minimal intervention. His first commercial wine, Mea, a pétillant naturel made from Šipon, was a statement of intent: this was a grower who believed in his varieties and his land, and who was not interested in making wine any other way.
The Region
Štajerska, or Lower Styria, stretches across northeastern Slovenia to the borders of Austria and Hungary. The region's continental climate delivers warm summers and cold winters, with pronounced seasonal variation that builds structure and aromatic complexity in the grapes. The village of Malečnik sits among the characteristic gentle slopes of the Drava Valley, with forests close by and a landscape that feels worlds away from the tourist-facing wine regions of the coast.
Vineyards and Farming
Matic farms 9 hectares exclusively with organic and biodynamic methods, using no synthetic chemicals, no irrigation, and no chemical fertilisers. The soils are lapor, a carbonate rock and clay mixture typical of Štajerska, mineral-rich and with limited water retention that keeps the vines working hard. Varieties include Šipon (the local name for Furmint), Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Yellow Muscat, and Blaufränkisch. Šipon is Matic's passion variety, and the grape he has explored across the widest range of formats.
Winemaking
The cellar approach is minimal intervention throughout. Stainless steel is the primary vessel for whites and skin-contact wines, preserving freshness and precision. Amphora (underground Qvevri) are used for longer maceration orange wines, allowing slow oxidative development without wood influence. Pétillant naturel wines are bottled mid-fermentation and sealed under crown cap. Sulfur is used sparingly and only when the wine demands it.
The Wines
The portfolio centres on Šipon in several expressions: a clean skin-contact version, an amphora-aged orange wine, and the Mea pétillant naturel. Pinot Gris is made as a skin-contact wine, picking up colour and texture from extended maceration. Blaufränkisch appears in both still red and pétillant rosé formats. Yellow Muscat and Riesling round out a range that prizes freshness, aromatic precision, and the honest expression of a region most wine drinkers have yet to discover.
