On a trip to Europe, we decided to spend a night in Bratislava because my husband’s family immigrated to the US from the smaller villages outside of Bratislava around 1900. We don’t know much about his family, but records that we have show they were wine growers. We found out about the wine tour and thought we would try it to check out the area and learn some of the history of wine making in the region. When we arrived, Martin had set a wonderful table with treats prepared by his mother, and we tasted several wonderful wines at the table and also from the barrels in the wine cellar. We learned a lot about the area and the history of wine making. We also found out that Martin went to school with someone who had the same family name as ours. We are from northern Michigan, which is home to a growing wine industry. This tour reminded us a lot of the smaller wineries on the Leelanau Peninsula but with a much more personal touch and the depth of centuries of wine making.

I was just in Bratislava on my own for a weekend between a business trip. I really wanted to go wine tasting in Modra. I found Vino Fiala on TripAdvisor, and much to my surprise, when my hotel called, they agreed to a wine tasting at the very last minute for a very cheap price. I took an Uber (~25 euro) from Old Town in Bratislava to the winery, and proceeded to have the BEST evening with Martin Fiala, son of the original winery owner himself. Not only did I hear the history of the quaint winery & sample home made snacks and very generous portions of wine, Martin took me on a walk around the tour & gave me a tour. We had such great conversation about our cultures, my travels, his winery visitors etc., and I loved how kind, open & genuine he was. I couldn’t believe he was taking all this time out of his schedule for a solo traveler like myself. This was the first time I sampled wines right out of the barrels since they were ready. What a fantastic evening! Don’t miss this winery on your trip to Slovakia.