Bench 3/7

Our bench points east, but faces west; in front of you the small church of Podsabotin seems so close and distant at the same time.

In the recent past, the small church of Podsabotin carried with it the symbolism of the East, unattainable by the West. At the bottom of the valley is the stream, the Piumiza which marks the state border between Italy and Slovenia and which in the past marked the Berlin wall which extended to the Adriatic Sea and divided our land into two parts. Looking up to the left, an imposing oak marks the altitude of 166, sadly known during the conflicts of the Great War for the many battles in Oslavia; a share that reminds us of the young lives lost in a terrible conflict to climb and conquer that mountain, which today we see on our right, Mount Sabotino. This is the place where you immerse yourself in these thoughts and savor today's freedom, remembering how precious it is.

At our feet, a few steps in front of us, instead, we are surrounded by a lot of life and joy of the Klin vineyard: a vineyard that tells the story of the Collio, the Oslavia hill, the ponca, but also of long aging wines. A story that draws its shape in the name Klin; in our local Slovenian language, “klin” means wedge, triangle, and it is like a triangle stuck in the hill that reaches 166 under the oak. Klin wine expresses a blend of excellence in our cellar, a wine of immense potential and great complexity, just as the history that surrounds us is complex, palpable by our own eyes.

Immediately above the Klin, we find the Ribolla Gialla vineyard which tells the story of Oslavia, its village, and of the local tradition. We want you, by sitting on this bench, to feel alive and not forget the terrible past of this place; but also of how much life, desire and tenacity was used by the men inhabitants of Oslavia to recultivate the land, sewing up the wounds of which it was victim. And this tenacity is still present in all the Oslavian hearts that work to keep the hill so green, uncontaminated, presenting it as a place of meditation and especially as a place of great wines.