Hedona

1st May (Labor Day) is a huge bank holiday here. The whole of former-Yugoslavia comes to a stand still for two days - they don’t just take the 1st, they take the 2nd too and then normally the rest of the week! The whole city empties out as every disappears off to their vikendices, to the coast or off to see family.

It is very strange; it is much much quieter than at Christmas. Roads are empty and even the promenading along the Ferhadija comes to a stop.

Anyway, we only had the 1st May as a bank holiday, which fell on a Wednesday this year. A mid-week bank holiday is always a funny one, as it doesn’t leave you with much scope to do much or go very far.

So, I decided to organise lunch in a wonderful private restaurant / wine club overlooking the city. Hedona was recommended to me by a friend. It is quite an exclusive affair, run by a gentleman who simply loves food and wine. He has built a massive house up in the hills above the golf club and once or twice a week he cooks for people. It is not a restaurant, you have to book in advance so they can prepare a menu for your group.

Hedona describes itself as a 'winery and a fine dining wine club'. There were eight of us and had the place to ourselves. When arranging our booking with Arman, I was advised that we would need to allow at least four hours. Four hours of eating and drinking... amazing!

We had eight courses in total, each one was absolutely delicious. Every course was paired with a wine and more importantly a wine from the ex-Yugoslavia region. This really was slow-food at its best. After our various starters, we were taken on a short amble up to his vineyards; we could enjoy our pair and champagne sorbet with an even better view whilst Arman explained the intricacies of wine production. He is still in the early stages, this year is his second crop and he advised that you can disregard the first four crops before anything can be made with the grapes.

Our eight food course included:

• Italian bruschetta with cheese and mushrooms
• Shrimp soup with salted whipped cream
• Terrine of smoked salmon and hake
• Ravioli filled with pistachios and cream cheese
• Venison ragout with spinach polenta
• Sirloin steak with mashed celery and mashed chestnuts and beans
• Fruit pocketYogurt cream with apple in cinnamon

The wine which was served included:

• PURO Rose sparkling , Movia ; Goriska brda, Slovenia
• BOGDANJUSA white, Caric, Hvar Croatia
• CHARDONNAY white, Ščurek, Goriska brda, Slovenia
• PINOT GRIGIO white, Santa Margharita, Veneto, Italy
• BURJA white, Sutor,Vipvska dolina, Slovenia
• MJESECAR white, Brkic, Citluk, BiH
• CHARDONNAY Reserve white, Simcic, Goriska Brda, Slovenia
• MERLOT red, Popov, Tikveš, Macedonia
• COTE D OR red, Rojac , Kopar, Slovenia
• BJELI MUSCAT white, sweet, Zigante , Istra, Croatia

The experience really was worth every penny. 150KM for food and wine is by no means a cheap afternoon, however it is well worth it for the whole experience, wonderful food and mouthwatering wine!

For more information, visit: www.hedona.weebly.com