Andrej Cep

The Path

Estate work at Gordia has been continuous since 2007, with Andrej Cep as owner and winemaker. The structure of the work is annual and practical: one vintage, one set of weather, one crop, and one chance to carry the material from vine to bottle without overcorrecting it. That responsibility shows in wines that are treated as vintage work rather than cellar exercises. At Gordia, Cep’s decisions run from vineyard to cellar in service of texture, clarity, and the natural course of fermentation, with restraint applied as a method.

The Work Today

Natural wines at Gordia include pét-nats and wines aged in qvevri amphorae. At Agriturismo Gordia, orange wines are paired with fish and seafood cuisine, placing skin-contact whites and coastal cooking in the same working frame. The grape roster includes Refošk, Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon, Syrah, Muscat blanc, Pinot Gris, Malvasia, Chardonnay, dried Malvasia and yellow Muscat, and Muscat. Farming follows organic principles, using only copper and sulfur preparations and excluding mineral fertilizers, systemic sprays, herbicides, and insecticides. The vineyard work is mainly preventive, and all wines ferment with natural yeast. The cellar method stays spare. Grapes are hand-picked; fermentation is spontaneous; the wines are not filtered or stabilized; vessels include clay amphorae, stainless-steel tanks, and some old wooden barrels. Fruit, skins, time, and vessel remain the primary tools. Amfora white, 2016 blends Malvasia, Pinot Gris, and Muscat, with four months of maceration in qvevri followed by another 12 months in used barrels. Bio amfora, 2018 is a white amphora wine made from roughly half Malvasia, mostly Pinot Gris for the remainder, and 10% White Muscat; it macerates and ferments in amphorae for about ten months, then returns to amphorae for 18 months after pressing, and is bottled with minimal sulfur. The through-line is aromatic lift, structure from skins, and depth built through long contact and low intervention.

Signature

Andrej's signature dishes include Gordia, 2018, Gordia - Amfora white, 2016, 2010 Gordia Belo, and GORDIA sparkling wine “Natural bubbles.

In Their Words “I’m just a self-learned winemaker, who has only one opportunity in the year to make it or ruin it all.” “Clearly. Our vineyards are sunlit from morning to evening.”

Acclaim

Organic certification for the vineyards has been in place since 2012. In Andrej Cep’s work at Gordia, that certification aligns with preventive farming, natural yeast fermentation, and a cellar approach that avoids filtration, stabilization, and unnecessary intervention, allowing place and vintage to remain legible in the finished wines.