While the valley stretches only some two dozen kilometres, from the imposing Mt Nanos in the east to the city of Nova Gorica in the west, its unique location at the confluence of several different climate zones gives rise to no less than five distinct micro-regions: the Lower Vipava, Middle Vipava, Upper Vipava, Vipava Hills and Branica Valley.

While the effects of this varied geography is clear even to first-time visitors, with plants like figs and palm trees growing at one end of the valley but not the other, the region’s most notable feature is the Bora (or Burja in Slovene) wind, which gusts down from Mt Nanos at speeds exceeding 200 km/h. The wind is strongest during the wintertime, and is the reason why the buildings in villages are built so close together and roofs are piles with stones - it also often leads to the closure of the motorway. However, far from being an inconvenience, the valley’s 20,000 plus inhabitants seem to revel in their constant battle with the forces of nature, and have been rewarded with some of the finest wine making conditions in the world.