team
team
William Fontanot founded Regio X Wines in the Vipava Valley, Slovenia in February 2022. The inspiration however, was first imprinted on William from his childhood, and through the stories of his Istrian grandparents during the Yugoslav/Italian territorial disputes. The company was built upon the values of honest agriculture, fruit forward wines, and to pay homage to the wine identity of this world class region.
Upon completion of a bachelors degree in food marketing from Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, William embarked on an EU campaign to acquire extensive experience along the Slovenian-Italian border area. Over the next eight years, William honed his craft by mastering the technical details of native varieties, organic viticulture, traditional cellaring, and the importance of team building, integrity, humility, and endurance.
The culmination of these transformative life experiences along with a specialized masters degree in viticulture and enology from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Piacenza, Italy, provided William the foundation and expertise to orchestrate his vision. The company remains committed to its core values, and strives to produce the best value driven organic wines possible.
william fontanot
Winery operations, management
Co-founder/partner
Mitja turk
Agriculture, winemaking
Co-founder/partner
Mitja Turk, co-founder and Vipava Valley native has been paramount to cultivating the culture and identity of Regio X Wines since inception. Hailing from a generational family of diversified village farming, Mitja contributes a vast knowledge and expertise to the complexities of organic viticulture, vineyard management, cellar techniques, and the production of premium organic grapes, wines, and distillates.
Upon completion of a bachelors degree in viticulture and enology from the University of Nova Gorica, Slovenia, Mitja gained tutelage in rootstock grafting, nursery propagation, pruning techniques, and helped facilitate the growth and expansion of Vipava Valley’s Burja Estate into a renowned global presence.
Remaining committed to honest agriculture, Mitja serves as a foundational pillar within Regio X Wines’ core values and mission of wine identity, organic sustainability, and world class standards.
2014
william apprentices as a cellar hand at tenuta di poggio—a biodynamic winery in the province of pisa, italy.mitja begins writing his thesis diploma on canopy management and maturation of the refosco variety.
2015
william apprentices as a cellar hand at le corti principe corsini—an estate winery in the province of florence, italy.mitja completes his bachelors degree in viticulture and enology from the university of nova gorica, slovenia.William enrolls to study agriculture at Università cattolica in piacenza, italy.
2016
william apprentices as a cellar hand at the burja estate—an organic winery in the vipava valley.mitja applies and receives an eu grant for 'young farmers of europe' investing in machinery and cellar equipment.
2017
william completes his specialized masters degree in viticulture and enology—his thesis was in collaboration with the burja estate.mitja and william begin experimenting with the pied de cuve method and cold macerations in the vipava valley.
2018
mitja submits his application to convert the family farm from conventional to organic agriculture.william travels to puglia and central slovenia to expand his knowledge in sourdough bread production and stone milling.
2019
covid-19 halts the world as we know it.mitja and william begin discussing the idea of releasing a wine identity project—regio x wines.
william apprentices at iapetus wines of the champlain valley, vermont and expands his knowledge in cold hardy pruning techniques and pet-nat production.mitja and william begin to adapt the simonit and sirch pruning methods at the family farm, dora erzelj.
2020
2021
travel restrictions open up—william returns to the vipava valleydora erzelj becomes certified organic.
2022
Mitja and william formally launch regio x wines d.o.o. in the vipava valley.william begins facilitating export to usa—rexio x wines vintage debut.
2023
regio x wines establishes a brand presence and product receptiveness among the philadelphia hospitality circuit.regio x wines acquires permits to streamline production to usa.
2024
regio x wines opens a u.s. based headquarters in the greater philadelphia area.