Naboso

About Naboso

The word naboso means “barefoot” in Slovak, and it captures their approach perfectly: a direct, honest connection to the earth, to the work in the vineyard, and to the wines that come out of it.

The story

Andrej was born and raised in Slovakia and has been making wine for over ten years. Nadja is originally from Germany and discovered her love of wine while working in a vineyard in Austria, and later in a wine bar in Copenhagen. That’s where she met Andrej, and together they started their new wine project in Svätý Jur. They run Naboso from a 17th-century house on the village’s main street; the cellars sit beneath both wings of the building. Alongside the wine, Nadja also makes ceramics under the name earthea. The family is completed by Ryba — their vineyard terrier and self-appointed “security manager”, and the soul of the estate.

Vineyard and philosophy

With around 5 hectares of vines on the western foothills of the Carpathians, Nadja and Andrej work on granite soils covered in rich, sandy earth. All parcels face south to south-east. The grapes are farmed organically and hand-picked.

Their philosophy is simple: they make natural wine, but the wine has to be good above all. Stable, clean, easy to drink, enjoyable — and most of all, they have to like it themselves; otherwise, it doesn’t leave the cellar.

In the cellar

All cellar work happens by gravity. The grapes ferment in open vats of 500 to 1000 litres, after which the wines age for at least a year in used oak and acacia barrels (225 to 600 litres). The only addition is a tiny amount of sulphur just before bottling, and only if the wine asks for it. The wines are bottled unfiltered and usually rest for two to three years before release.

The wines

From lively pet-nats and bright whites to deep orange wines and Blaufränkisch-based reds — every Naboso bottle carries the story of the season, of the Carpathian terroir, and of the patient, careful hands that made it.