Slovenia is a country in Southern Central Europe that displays a culture influenced by the many countries it borders on: Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast and Croatia to the southeast. It sits between the Alps on the north and the Adriatic Sea to southwest. The Drava and Sava Rivers of Slovenia connect to the Danube River. It is at the crossroads of the main European cultural and trade routes. Once one of those former Communist countries in central Europe that suffered under 20th century political upheaval, Slovenia gained independence in 1991 (the first to declare independence) through the Ten Day War with Yugoslavia. Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004. With a population of 2 million plus people, it is about the size of New Jersey and just half the size of Switzerland at 7827 square miles. Slovenia may be small, but some people think it is one of the most beautiful countries in the world – after all what other country has “love” in its name? Onward to sLOVEnia. Show us the LOVE!!!
Winemaking in Slovenia
Wine has been made here since 500-400 BC. Sadly prestigious and historic fine wine producing vineyards were dismantled and used to produce bulk low-quality wines during Communist control, but like Hungary and Croatia, it has emerged and is now rededicated to making fine wine. In fact the wine industry here is the most developed of the former Yugoslav republics, and Slovenia now ranks 27th among wine producing countries world-wide. Slovenia has more than 28,000 wineries producing approximately 80 million litres (22 million gallons) annually from 22,300 hectares (55, 104 acres) of vineyards. Slovenia is the same latitude as Napa, Bordeaux, and Piedmont, so we should expect some excellent wines to be made here! With 20 wine routes to explore, it’s most likely you can find some wine that you really enjoy. You can find briny deep mineral reds and whites in the Kras region near the coast, very structured whites and reds in the foothills of the Alps Vipava Valley and Goriška Brda, and pure refreshing white wines in the northeast just south of Austria’s Styria.
Sometimes called the Green Treasure of Europe, Slovenia is known for its dense forests and over half the country is covered in trees. Grapevines grow best here on steep slopes above the river soils; many of the vineyards are along slopes or hillsides in terraced rows on the Julian and Kara Vanke Alps and the Pannonian Plain. Vines were historically trained in pergola style but are now moving towards Guyot or cane pruning vine training.
Slovenia wine is sourced from 52 grape varieties of which 37 are white and 15 red. More white than red is produced – about 75% of production – and most of it is consumed domestically. In fact Slovenians drink an average of 11 gal wine/per person/year. Slovenian wines have traditionally followed the Austrian preference of single varietal over blends but production of blends is on the rise. Wines were historically aged in large Slovenian or Slavonia wooden casks; the trend has been to use small and varying sizes of French and Slovenian oak barrels. No wonder Slovenian oak was used – after all half of the country is covered in trees!
All wine made in Slovenia must be submitted for testing and assigned a quality level according to a system similar to the EU’s Quality Wines Produced in Specified Regions (QWPSR):
Table wine – namizno vino
Country wine with certified geographic emblem PGO – delželno vino
Quality wine with protected geographic origin ZGP – kakovostno vino
Premium quality wine with protected geographic origin ZGP – vrhunsko vino
Most wine produced is classified as premium (vrhunsko) with less than 30% as basic table wine (namizno vino).
Special designation wines
There is also a “Special Traditional Name Designation” – tradicionalno poimenovanje (PTP) which is applied to traditional Slovenia wine from a specific region. These are PTPs as of 2009:
Kras (Karst) Teran wine from Primorska
Cviček wine from the Lower Carniolan area of Posavje
Bela Krajina White Carniolan wines Belokranjec and Metliska Crnina
Red and white Bizeljcan wines from Bizeljsko-Sremič
Grapes in Slovenia
Laski Rizling (Welschriesling/Italian Riesling) is a white grape and the most widely planted grape in Slovenia. It is often used in inexpensive blends. It is followed by the red Refošk (Refosco) known as Teran in the Kras district, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot. The red Žametovka (Blauer Kölner) is the sixth most common grape in Slovenia and grows on the oldest vine in the world. You can also find these grapes, but don’t expect to be familiar with many of them! Quite often the same grape has a different synonym in different countries and often even in different regions of the same country.
Whites – Beli Pinot (Pinot Blanc), Bela Žlahtnina (White Chasselas), Dišeči Traminec (Gewurztraminer), Glera, Kerner, Klarnica, Kraljevina, Malvazija, Muškat Ottonel, Neuberger, Pergolin, Pikolit, Pinela, Pokalca (Ribolla Nero), Poljšakica, Prosecco, Ranfol, Ranina (Bouvier), Rdeča Žlahtnina (Red Chasselas), Rebula (Ribolla Gialla), Renski Rizling (Rhine Riesling), Rizvanec (Mὒller-Thurgau), Rumeni Muškat (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains), Rumeni Plavec, Scheurebe, Šipon (Furmint), Traminec (Gewurztraminer), Verduc, Viognier, Vitovska Grganja, Zelen, Zeleni Sauvignon and Zeleni Silvanec (Sylvaner).
Reds – Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cipro, Gamay, Maločrn (Piccola Nera), Merlot, Modra Frankinja (Blaufränkish), Modri Pinot (Pinot Noir), Portugalka (Portugieser), Syrah Šentlovrenka (St. Laurent) and Zweigelt.
Many different grapes have been identified in this article, many with hard to pronounce names, and long lists for each region. If any of them cross your wine path in the future, or even better – you actually visit Slovenia – at least you will have some knowledge of them and make your wine friends jealous!
Some unique wine styles defined
Orange wine
You have probably seen articles about orange wine for the past few years, but just in case it passed you by, here are the “quick sips and tips”. Orange wine, aka amber wine, is actually a white wine – having absolutely nothing to do with oranges – made by leaving the juice in contact with the grape skins and seeds resulting in an orange-colored wine. Juice can be left in skin and seed contact from a few days to a year. Winemakers who use this method usually tend to be more artisanal as it is a more labor-intensive and riskier way of making wine.
This non-intervention style of wine tastes different from the traditional winemaking process – it may actually taste sour and nutty. While modern day orange winemaking has only been on the radar for 20 years, it could possibly date back as far as 8000 years ago in the Republic of Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains where wines were fermented in large subterranean vessels called Qvevri (Kev-ree) that were closed with stones and sealed with beeswax. Winemaking in Qvevri is so unique that in 2013 UNESCO granted the status of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) to the tradition. Even though the orange winemaking style is still not prevalent worldwide, it occurs frequently in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northeastern Italy; Slovenia and Georgia; some on several other continents and even a few US winemakers. The Batič Winery in the Vipava Valley of Slovenia makes some excellent examples of orange wine.
If you would like to learn more about orange wine, you can read all about it in great detail in a 250 page newly published book “Amber Revolution: How the World Learned to Love Orange Wine” by Simon J. Woolf, an award winning English wine and drinks writer. “Amber Revolution” was released by Amazon.com in early October 2018. I’ve got my copy!
Natural wine
Natural wine is a very subjective term but generally speaking refers to any kind of wine made with minimal intervention throughout the whole process of growing and winemaking. This includes hand picking from sustainable organic or biodynamic vineyards; no additives, little or no sulfites, and only native yeasts for fermentation. Any impurities in the wine will end up in the bottle. Also sulfite-free wines are much more unstable in the long term which means that if your natural wine wasn’t handled properly, it is far more likely to spoil. You can read up on best handling practices on the winefolly.com website. The majority of wines made “a la natural” are known for being gamier, funkier, yeastier, sour, and cloudier. Natural wines can be orange, white, rosé or red, and orange wine can be natural if made by the minimal intervention process, which dictates using little to no additives. Many producers of orange wine just happen to be natural wine producers as well. The Slovenian Batič Winery is a good example of a natural wine producer that also makes orange wines.
Amazingly enough, for a style of wines that doesn’t even have any legal definitions or standards, it continues to become more widespread and is creating quite a stir among wine producers of the world. For example in July 2018 a right-wing French politician filed a motion to launch an investigative committee to seek to legally define the term “natural wine” in France.
Some very credible winemakers are attempting to set some standards for natural wines. VinNatur is a wine association founded by Angiolino Maule, an Italian winemaker, in 2006. The association has grown from 65 founding members to 190 producers representing nine countries: Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. As recently as July 2016 VinNatur has not only defined “natural” but specified what is allowed and not allowed in the vineyard and in the cellar. To be a part of this association, all wines produced must be officially certified annually by outside labs verifying that no pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers have been used. Some very experienced people in the world of natural wine feel that wines made by members of this association have made tremendous strides in quality over the past few years.
You can find natural wine bars in all of the trendy hipper wine drinking areas of the world. For example, ny.eater.com website lists the TOP 22 places to drink natural wine in New York City where the “wine director is consistently making a choice for natural wines”.
If you are looking for some natural wine recommendations, you might start with an article in the May 2017 issue of Decanter magazine entitled “it’s only natural: the 31 wines you need to try”.
Pet Nat wine
Pétillant Naturel (Pet Nat) is a type of sparkling wine made by the oldest sparkling method “Méthode Ancestral”. Wine is bottled in this ancient technique before having completed its fermentation thus finishing the process in the bottle. Sugar is converted into alcohol which then produces the light bubbles of carbon dioxide. It is not disgorged like “Méthode Traditional” and may be cloudy. It is low in alcohol and may have a touch of sweetness. Štoka Teranova Peneče is an example of a Pet Nat sparkling.
Predicate wine
In addition to meeting a quality level, Slovenian wine labels must also include the sweetness level of wines ranging from Suho (dry), Polsuho (medium-dry), Polsladko (medium-sweet) and to Sladko (sweet). Prodravje, the northeastern wine region, is well known for producing late harvest sweet predicate wines.
Predicate wines are sweet natural quality wines which must meet some special requirements. In good years depending upon appropriate weather conditions for the ripening of grapes on the vine, and depending on the degree of overripe and time of harvesting and processing, achieve a special quality. The predicate style of wines was started by accident back in 1775 when a wine maker was unable to pick his grapes at the usual time of harvest and discovered they had been attacked by mold. Fortunately the result was an enriched wine. Late harvest wines were born! Botrytis, better known as “noble rot”, is a fungus that shrivels up the grapes and causes them to rot. In this case, rotting grapes is a very good thing! It adds sweetness to the wine and intensifies the flavors and the end result is usually a fairly costly rich, complex, honeyed wine. Slovenian botrytis wines are produced from Laški Rizling, Renski Rizling and Šipon and classified in a similar way to the German system based on sweetness ranging from: pozna trgatev (Spätlese), izbor (Auslese), jagodni izbor (Beerenauslese), ledeno vino(Eiswein) and suhi jagodni izbor (Trockenbeerenauslese). Slovenia’s neighbor to the south, Croatia, has five type of predicate wines labeled: late harvest, selected harvest, selected harvest of berries, selected harvest of dried berries and ice wine. I can understand these labels a little better!
Slovenia’s three wine- growing regions: Primorska, Posavje, Podravje
Primorska (Littoral)
Primorska can be found in the southwestern part of Slovenia on the Italian border, the Adriatic coastline, and Croatia’s Istria region, and is the most progressive of the three regions. It is renowned for making strong dry wines. Forty percent of Slovenian wine is made here. Primorska means “the one by the sea” and you will see vineyards spread from sea level to an altitude of 1180 plus feet. Limestone and flysch soils make different brown earth including Terra Rossa. The climate here is Mediterranean with hot summers and mild winters. Primorska is further divided into four districts: Goriška Brda, Vipava Valley, Kras and Slovenska Istra.
Vipava Valley is the corridor between Central Europe and Northern Italy and a one hour drive south from Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Wine has been made here since the Romans, and it is still one of Slovenia’s main wine regions. The Vipava tourist office houses a Vinoteca wine museum where you can taste 160 wines from 45 different wine makers. Mostly white wine is made in Vipava from the local varieties Pinela, Zelen and Klarnica.
Batič Winery:
Batič is a very important winery to know in Vipava. The Batič family owns 19 hectares of vineyards in three villages, use both indigenous and international grape varieties, and they make amazing wine including orange. They are biodynamic, Demeter-certified and produce about 70,000 bottles a year, a lot of which is exported making us happy here in the US! The winery is located in an old house that has been in the Batič family for over 400 years. The winemaking philosophy of Miha and his father Ivan is to emulate and get closer to nature. They do highly selective hand harvesting, extended maceration, ferment in open topped Slovenian wooden vats without temperature control and use indigenous yeast. Wines are unfined and often unfiltered.
The Batič Angel Grande Cuvee 2010, named after Miha’s son, is a blend of 9 grapes spanning 3 vintages. Wine Enthusiast Magazine described it as amber colored orange-style wine with aromas of canned peaches and apricots on the nose, fresh stone fruit on the full bodied palate and a long creamy finish. Here are those 9 grapes: Pinela, Rebula, Zelen, Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Klarnica, Fruilano and Vitovska. It was aged 34 months in Slovenia oak.
Slovenska Istra (Slovenian Istria): There is a 28 mile long stretch of Slovenia bordering on the Adriatic Coast between Italy and Croatia. It is the warmest area of Slovenia and is known for Mediterranean views and food on the coast but when you head inland, they make some excellent wines from red Refošk and white Malvazija. Refosk is the leading red grape of Slovenia and is known as Teran as you go further inland. Coastal Refosk is richer in color with slighter acids than its “continental” counterpart of Teran. Teran is heavier with more acids and a very distinctive character.
Kras (Karst): The Kras wine district is a limestone plateau across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. Also known as Classical Karst, the landscape was formed from the dissolution of soluble limestone, dolomite and gypsum rocks. Sinkholes, caves and underground drainage systems are in abundance here. Research into karst actually began right here in the Kras (Karst) district of Slovenia due to the high level of its development.
Teran is the wine here which is the denser, more tannic and acidic wine made from Refošk. Teran makers usually produce Slovenian prosciutto known as pršut; they hang it over a vat of fermenting Teran to get deep red color.
It is most interesting to point out that in 2017 Slovenia sued the European Union Commission over Croatia’s permit to use the Teran red wine brand. In Slovenia, Teran is the name of a wine made from the Refošk grape variety, but Croatia uses it as a red grape and wine. Slovenia considers Teran to be a national treasure! Slovenian Refošk is not the same as the Refosco dal peduncolo rosso cultivated in nearby Italy. Grapes can get very complicated!!! EU regulations stipulate that the Slovenian Refošk from Kras is allowed to be labeled as Teran. Many believe that Teran wine is rich in iron and biologically active anthocyanins derived from the earth it’s grown in and its tannin structure which in turn gives additional properties which contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular ailments and cellular aging.
Kras is home to very unique wine cellars called “hrami”, some of which are cut into stone and some carved into caves by nature. You can also find hams dry curing in these wine cellars.
Štoka Winery:
Kras is also home to Tadej and Primož Štoka’s farm where their family has worked with the native red Teran and white Vitovska iron rich “terra rossa” soil for over 200 years. They are located northeast of Trieste about 5 miles from the Adriatic Sea. People have to build stonewalls (griže) here to keep the topsoil from blowing away in the famously strong winds called “burja”. They also made small lakes to gather enough rain to keep crops alive. This terroir of sinkholes and underground caves is one of the most severe and unique in the world. The Štoka family also raises cattle and pigs. Slovenia is famous for pršut or air-dried ham. Primoz bottled his first wine in 1989 while still under Yugoslavian rule. The high content of aluminum and iron oxide in the soil gives the wine its characteristic red color and unusually high iron content. The Štokas farm about 25 hectares half of which is Teran. The rest is Vitovska, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot. They dry-farm, fertilize only when necessary (cow manure) and work by hand. In the cellar they use native yeast and macerate both white and red during fermentation. All Teran is aged in large used oak barrels so as not to disturb the delicate perfume of each variety. They do typically fine and filter the wines.
Štoka makes red, rosé and white Peneče or sparkling wine using the Pet-Nat (Pétillant Naturel) or méthode ancestral technique of bottling wine before completing its fermentation. Therefore, the process continues in the bottle. Since it is not disgorged like Champagne, it can be cloudy.
Štoka Teranova Peneče 2016 is 12.3% alcohol made from Teran, one of Slovenia’s only wines of protected origin. It is also bottled under a crown-cap – something we are definitely not used to seeing! We can expect it to be dry and quite tannic with inky color and dark berried fruit flavors. It should be a quite exciting wine to serve!
There are many beautiful sights and places to visit in Slovenia, but I must mention that Kras is home to the noble white Lipizzaner horses. Their original stud farm has been in Lipica in Kras since 1580. This oldest European stud farm, the Lipica Stud Farm, that has been breeding the same horses without interruption, is a cultural and historical monument. Tour the oldest barn and see all the classic Lipizzaner lines, visit the Lipizzaner and horse carriage museum and then go visit some Kras vineyards.
Goriška Brda (Brda) (Gorica Hills) is Slovenia’s most acclaimed wine region. It has been nicknamed the “the Tuscany of Slovenia” with all of its vineyards, rolling hills, cherry orchards, olive trees and medieval villages. Covering 72 km from the northeastern Italian border, Goriška Brda is basically an extension of Italy’s Collio DOC in Friuli-Venezia Giula. It runs from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. This region is best known for white wines made from Rebula and Cabernet-Merlot red blends.
Kabaj Winery:
Kabaj is among the best of Goriška Brda’s producers. Generations of Kabaj (Ka – bye) have tended vineyards but it was not until 1993 that the first vintage of Kabaj was released. Katja Kabaj met and married Jean-Michel Morel, a French enologist, in the late 1980s. Morel brought with him a desire to make world class wines and that is exactly what he does. Wine & Spirits Magazine has named Kabaj a Top 100 winery in 2013 and 2015. Three generations of family now maintain the business.
Morel’s motto is “Quality must go up” and he continually experiments for improvement. He utilizes the ancient practice of macerating white grapes in buried Qvevri to make Amfora, the flagship wine of Kabaj. His red wines are primarily from Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon made in the typical Bordeaux method.
Kabaj maintains 29 acres of mainly terraced marl soil vineyards, 70% planted in whites and all farmed sustainably. Between 60,000 and 70,000 bottles are produced annually. Their modern wine cellar has large oak barrels and some French “barrique-style” barrels but the most unique part of the cellar contains nine 3500 liter Qvevri (amphorae) vessels made of Georgian clay in the Georgian village of Imereti and buried in the ground. Completely ripe grapes are placed in the Qvevri, a cap pushed down through an opening on top of the vessel, and then the vessel is closed airtight to be untouched for nine months. The wine and the lees are poured into large oak barrels for one more year of aging. The Amfora wine (mostly Rebula) is filtered and placed in bottles for another year of aging. This means that a bottle of 2013 Amfora wasn’t released until at least 2016.
Fermentation takes place in a large oak tank with native yeast and macerated with the skins between 1 and 30 days. Malolactic fermentation takes place after that in barrique. White grapes are macerated for at least a day except for Rebula which gets its fruitiness, minerality and golden color from 30 days of maceration. Our bottle of 2013 Kabaj Rebula orange wine scored 93 points from Wine & Spirits Magazine and is distinctively spicy and orange hued with aromas more like a red wine. We expect it to have flavors of juicy pineapple and tangerine, scents of dried flowers and saffron, notes of chai tea, anise and truffle.
The grapes and wines of Primorska
Zelen and Pinela are two white varieties currently only known to be grown in the Vipava Valley district of Primorska. Zelen was written about in 1844 and Pinela was mentioned in 1324. They make fresh full-bodied wine that is straw yellow in color with a greenish hue and subtle floral fruity aromas, sometimes with a hint of Mediterranean herbs.
Vitovska Grganja (the Knight’s Grape) originated in Italy and is now grown in Slovenian Kras (Karst). There are only 66 hectares growing in Italy and Slovenia combined. Some believe the name dates back to when knights were paid in wine to defend Trieste. The wine is gold yellow in color, medium bodied with a honey aftertaste, a floral and fruity aroma like white blossoms, peaches and grapefruit.
Rebula (Ribolla Gialla), covers 25% of all wine-growing surface in Goriška Brda sub region of Primorska. Recent research shows Rebula originated in Greece; formerly many thought it to be indigenous to Slovenia. Rebula can make many different styles of wine. It makes wine that is fresh, full of minerality and has a high acidity level. The aroma is fruits with a hint of vanilla and an almond-like flavor. The color is straw yellow with a greenish hue.
Rebula is sometimes fermented and aged on skins in Kvevri (Qvevri) which are large amphorae sealed closed for many months and buried underground. The end product is an orange wine similar to Georgian orange wines produced in Qvevri. Kabaj Amphora wine is a great example which we previously highlighted.
Other grapes of Primorska are Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sivi Pinot (Pinot Gris), Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Modri Pinot (Pinot Noir) and Refosk. You can also find dessert wines that are made in the “passito” style. These grapes are partially dried for three to six months, then gently pressed and juice fermented until the desired sweetness and alcohol level is reached.
Posavje (Lower Sava Valley)
Posavje, located in south-eastern Slovenia sharing a border with Croatia, is the smallest winegrowing region and the only region that makes more red than white. It is not as hilly as Podravje but is a land full of narrow valleys and steep slopes. It has a very diverse terroir with no two vineyards alike. Grapes range from light red to white to high ranking predicate and sparkling wines. There is also a lot of inexpensive bulk wine made here.
Posavje is made up of three sub-regions: Bizeljsko-Brezice, Dolenjska and Bela Krajina.
Bizeljsko-Brežice is known for making sparkling wine and its acidic white wines made from the Rumeni Plavec grape. Bizeljsko is a small valley just a short drive north of Brežice on the way to Zagreb. Here you can find the unique “Repnice Wine Cellars of Bizeljsko”. Repnice wine cellars were dug in flint stone by locals to store produce – “repa” is Slovenian for turnips – and other goods from around the turn of the 18th century, but were only “discovered” about two decades ago. Since the early 1990s they have found a new use: wine storage. The Pannonian Sea existed for some 9 million years collecting deposits of flint sand. When the sea eventually retreated, the flint sand made flint stone. The cellars have a constant temperature of 5-10 degrees C and humidity that reaches up to 96%. There are only five official Repnice cellars meeting all of the government requirements. Vino Graben is probably the most professionally set up for receiving guests, but Repnica Najger has the most aesthetically impressive cellar.
Bela Krajina, previously known as White Carniola, is known for red wine made from Modra Frankinja and Rumeni Muskat. Carniola was a state in the Holy Roman Empire, later to be part of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. Officially Carniola no longer exists.
Dolenjska previously existed as Lower Carniola. It is here you will find Cviček made from a blend of white and red mostly Kraljevina and Zametovka.
The grapes and wines of Posavje
Rumeni Plavec is a strong grape native to Bizeljsko-Brezice that makes green yellow colored wine with full and fresh flavor. It is rarely bottled as a single varietal; it’s usually in a blend like Cviček.
Modra Frankinja: This area is also a hotspot for Modra Frankinja. This grape is grown across Central Europe and is known as Blaufränkish in Germany, Franconia in Italy, and Kékfrankos in Hungary just to name a few. It’s a dark-skinned grape used for red wine, usually late-ripening, and typically rich in tannin and a very spicy character. It has been called “the Pinot Noir of the East” because it is so widespread in Europe and has a good reputation.
Red Bizeljcan is a high quality dry red wine of Bizeljsko-Brezice, ruby red in color with a touch of purple, intense fruity aroma and full harmonious taste. This special designate wine is made from Modra Frankinja and Zametna Crnina as well as whites Riesling Blanc and Rumeni Plavec. It is low in alcohol and acidity and pairs well with cured meat and meat dishes, salamis, and roast veal. White Bizeljcan is a high quality dry white wine of light yellow color with greenish shade and pleasant fruity flavor. It is aromatic, fresh and fruity. White Bizeljcan is made from Riesling Blanc, Šipon, Sauvignon and Rumeni Plavec. It has a medium high alcohol content and refreshing acidity and goes really well with poultry risotto, sweet and sour cabbage and homemade sausage.
Belokranjec (White Carniolan) is a special designation wine of Bela Krajina. It is made from high-quality white grapes, the primary being Welschriesling and Kraljevina (Grau Portugieser). The rest are Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sylvaner, Rhine Riesling, Chasselas Blanc and Yellow Muscat. Belokranjec is known by its dry, rich and full flavor, making it a perfect pairing with meat, poultry and fish, cold appetizers, and can also be served as an aperitif.
Metliška Črnina, a red special designation wine from Bela Krajina, is made from 60% Modra Frankinja (Blaufränkish), which gives the wine its rich flavor. Zametna Crnina makes up at least 30% and gives it a pleasant aroma which reminds us of forest fruit. The rest consists of other red grapes such as Portugalka (Blauer Portugieser), St. Laurent and Gamay. Metliska Crnina is a medium wine with alcohol level between 10.3 and 11.5% and pleasant acidity. It goes well with grilled dishes, mushroom dishes, game meat and dried meat cold cuts.
Cviček: The area of Dolenjska was once known as Lower Carniola but is still known for its strange, light red, low-alcohol (8-9%), high-acid blend called Cviček. Cviček is made from at least four varieties. The mixing of red and white is what gives this special designation wine “recognized traditional denomination” (PTP) wine its reddish color and pleasant piquant flavor. Supposedly it helps preserve health if drunk moderately. It’s generally a blend of 70% red (such as Modra Frankinja and Zametna Crnina, the grape grown on Maribor’s old vine, and 30% whites (Kraljevina, Laški Rizling, Rumeni Plavec, Zeleni Silvanec, Ranfol, Lipna). These are all old varieties that survived phylloxerra! Frelih’s 2016 Cviček Od Fare won a 2017 Decanter World Wine Award “commended rating”, a first rating of any kind for this blend.
Prus Wine Cellar – a world class producer of sweet predicate wines
A good example of Slovenian predicate wines are those made by the Prus Wine Cellar in the Bela Krajina wine district of Posavje (Lower Sava Valley). The Prus Family has been producing wine for many years. Three generations currently work together to produce their renowned award-winning predicate wines such as late harvest wines, Auslese wines, Beerenauslese wines, icewine, Trockenbeerenauslese wines, and also their specialty – straw wines made from dried grapes. They make these wines from Yellow Muscat, Riesling, Welschriesling, Traminer, Sauvignon and a few others.
Podravje (Drava Valley)
Podravje covers the entire northeastern portion of Slovenia near the Austrian border and has rolling hills and a cooler climate with dry summers and cold winters. It’s the largest of the wine regions and is made up of two sub-regions, Prekmurje and Štajerska, and seven smaller districts which include Maribor, Radgona-Kapela, Srednje Slovenska Gorice, Haloze and Ljutomer-Ormoz. Prekmurje (literally across the Mura River) is in the far northeastern corner, and Štajerska Slovenija or Styria is everywhere else in Podravje. Podravje centers around the towns of Maribor and Ormoz. There are about 30,000 acres of vineyards which is twice as much land under vineyard than in Posavje. The grapevines of Podravje grow in calcareous and clay soil, perfect for the aromatic dry whites produced here. White wines account for over 95% of the output.
Podravje is also known for producing some world class dessert wines and Slovenia’s first sparkling wines. In Podravje you will find the country’s oldest sparkling wine producer, Radgonske Gorice, which has been making classic-method sparkling wine since 1852.
This region is also known for its predicate wines. If you are looking for a really ultimate experience, Palmieri dessert wines might do the trick! Palmieri is a small Slovenian dessert wine and olive oil producer who has been making fine virgin olive oil for 500 years, but now collaborates with renowned chefs to blend together some truly unique flavors with Refosk wine. You can choose from dessert wine with honey, dessert wine with vanilla and their most famous dessert wine with white truffle. A 375 ml bottle of the Refosk dessert wine adorned with a 5.25 carat diamond, white truffle bears and ornate design Idrija lace was sold to a wealthy Russian for more than half a million euros in 2015. I doubt that any Palmieri makes it to the US, but it would certainly be a good conversation maker at your next dinner party!!!!
Štajerska
Radgona-Kapela was the first Slovenian wine region to make sparkling (penina) wine using méthode champenoise in 1852. Radgonske Gorice sparkling wine is a classic for Slovenians. They make sparkling from a variety of fermentation methods and levels of sweetness.
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia and is home to the oldest living grapevine in the world as certified by Guinness World Records in 2004. The native red Žametna grapevine is more than 400 years old. It makes less than a gallon of wine a year and is bottled in 100 tiny bottles. After the celebratory grape harvest, city cellar workers produce the Žametna Črnina (Black Velvet) and bottle it into 250 ml bottles with a special design. Nurserymen also present an annual exhibition of lesser known grapes such as Poljšakica, Pokalca, Pergulin, Planinka, Maločrn and Cipro grapes.
You can visit wineries on the Maribor wine road by starting out at the Old Vine House along the Drava River then visiting the 200 year old Vinag Wine Cellar to tour some of the 4.9 acres in 3 km of tunnels and underground wine cellars under the city streets. Also known as the Maribor Wine Tabernacle, it has a capacity of 7 million liters or 1.85 million gallons of wine! This is one of the largest classic cellars in Europe. The Tabernacle archive stores almost all of the post-1945 Slovene vintages – over 450,000 bottles. Rumor has it that only the Master Cellarer knows the location of the fifty most precious bottles. Do you think he uses Cellar Tracker?
The Maribor area is famous for Rizling wines both Laski Rizling and Renski/Rhine Rizling, steely and minerally with herbal and citrus overtones. Also typical grapes grown along the Maribor wine road are Rhine Riesling, Chardonnay, Rulandec, Green Silvaner and Muscatel. Other successful grapes are Šipon, Sauvignon, and Traminec. The amount of red grapes produced has been steadily declining here, but Modri Pinot, Modra Frankinja and Zametna Crnina can be found.
Ptuj is a town in northeastern Slovenia and the oldest recorded city in Slovenia. Ptuj has been inhabited since the late Stone Age and developed from a Roman military fort. It is home to the Ptujska Klet (Ptuj) Wine Cellars that date back to 1239. The Ptuj cellars exist under the city streets of Ptuj and house the oldest Slovenian wine, Stara trta( the Old vine ) from 1917. You can find examples of all the good vintages from the twentieth century stored here between 1917 to 1945 and all of the after-war vintages. Ptuj now makes Pullus wines which have won awards all over the world.
The Ljutomer-Ormoz district along with Radgona-Kapela and Maribor produce some of the best examples of Podravje wines. Haloze, Prekmurje, Srednje Slovenske Gorice and Šmarje-Virštanj districts have small production consumed locally. The Šipon Wine Route runs between Ljutomer and Ormoz and features Šipon (Furmint) and all the great white grapes, but especially Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Traminer, and Chardonnay, plus Furmint in sparkling, still and sweet forms, and Laški Rizling as a top dessert wine. You will find the hilltop village of Jeruzalem while travelling this wine route. Legend has it that the crusaders stopped here on their way to the Holy Land, drank the local wines and decided never to leave. It is known for exceptional white wine made from Dišeči Traminec and Ranina.
Haloze is a 120 square mile wine district bordering on Croatia and one of the most rural places in Slovenia. Most of the wine made here, stays here.
Prekmurje
The Prekmurje, Lendava and Goričko Wine Routes can all be found in the Prekmurje wine district in the extreme east of Slovenia. Whites are produced here mainly Welschriesling, then Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Rhine Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Traminer and Muscatel. All the wine cellars make one or more types of blended wines, known as cuvées. Prekmurje is well known for Prekmurje ham and koline sausages. Koline pork sausages are prepared at slaughtering time known as “koline”.
The grapes and wines of Podravje
Podravje is best known for its aromatic dry whites of which grapes like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Renski/Rhine Rizling, Laški Rizling (Welschriesling), Traminec (Gewürztraminer), Rizvanec (Mὒller-Thurgau)and its flagship white – Šipon or Furmint – are common varieties. Laški Rizling is the most common grape in Podravje and takes up about one-third of all vines growing in Podravje. Reds take up only 3%. Pinot Noir is the most common red wine grape. You can also find good examples of Austrian reds Blaufränkish (Modra Frankinja) and Zweigelt. There is definitely a Germanic influence here as this land was once part of the Duchy of Styria, a crown land of Austria-Hungary. Other grape varieties found in the Drava Valley include Chasselas, Gamay, Kerner, Kraljevina, Muškat Ottonel, Portugalka Rizvanec, Rumeni Muškat, Zeleni Silvanec and Žlahtnina. Predicate wines from the Prodravje region are gaining in acknowledgment at international events. The quality comes from a late harvest, berry selection and ice wine. Botyrtized wines are produced from Laški Rizling.
Ranfol is a white grape typical of the Haloze district in a remote area in eastern Štajerska. It makes medium to light bodied wines that can be drunk as a single varietal wine in the summer or used for blending.
Blauer Kölner is known locally as Žametna Črnina or Black Velvet. The wine is high in acidity, has a bright red color and is mainly used in blends.
Top 10 Winemakers – As selected by “The Slovenia Book”
“The Slovenia Book” was written by a group of foreign writers who live in Slovenia and are passionate about sharing their knowledge of Slovenia. They have included their top 100 destinations in the country. Here are their picks for top 10 winemakers. These are by no means the only good winemakers in Slovenia! I’ve already mentioned some of them in this article.
- Bjana: in the village of Biljana in Goriška Brda district; known for award-winning sparkling wines made according to traditional methods using Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Ribolla Gialla grapes.
- Burja: Priomož Lavrenčič makes award-winning Burja wines in the Vipava Valley.
- Dveri Pax: Decanter and other international award winning winery with full range of whites – including Riesling, Traminec and Šipon.
- Edi Simčič: Run for 3 generations.
- Istenič: Largest wine producer in Bizeljsko winegrowing district and one of largest sparkling wine producers in Slovenia. They were the first private company in Slovenia to produce sparkling wine using traditional methods. Some of their wines feature Rumeni Plavec, a variety peculiar to Bizeljsko.
- Movia: Dating back more than three centuries; one of oldest in the country; located in Goriška Brda. Aleš Kristančič is frequently credited with helping to establish Slovene wine internationally. Movia has been biodynamic for 20 years and Aleš says he is the 8th generation to farm organically on the estate. His wines include a Sauvignon Blanc aged for 2 years in French oak barrels, a red blend featuring Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir and two sparkling wines that come with instructions on how to disgorge them underwater yourself (Puro and Puro Rosé).
- Prus: Winemaker Jožef Prus known for his specialty – sweet white predicate wines, namely Yellow Muscat and even sweeter late harvest and ice wines.
- Pra-Vino: In the village of Kog among the hills of Ljutomer Ormož; the Čurin-Prapotnik family has received many Decanter awards and is most noted for their Šipon (Furmint) white wines.
- Ščurek: Makes some of the best wines in Slovenia and located in Medana, a village in Goriška Brda.
- Simčič Marjan: One of the most widely known and respected vineyards in not only Goriška Brda or Slovenia, but the entire region. The estate is 16 hectares with about half on either side of the Slovene-Italian border. It’s organic and Marjan makes wine for drinking after 10-20 years. His most famous wine, Leonardo, is made from dried Rebula grapes.
Let’s share some LOVE!
Whenever I begin to learn about a wine region unfamiliar to me, I become completely immersed in every aspect of the region, the country, the culture, the wine, the food and of course the wine! Slovenia was no exception. I have never been to Slovenia and don’t foresee that I will be so lucky as to travel there. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time spent learning about this country and her wines and cannot wait to get the opportunity to taste some of them. Lucky for me that should happen in the next few months. There are a few representative bottles of Slovenian wine in our collection which prompted me to do the research. Of course the wines will have to be paired with my version of Slovenian cooking! I’ll tell you all about the wine and food in an upcoming forkandcorkdivine.com article.
I hope you found some LOVE while reading about Slovenian wine and may even have the desire to buy some Slovenian wine of your own. As with all of the more “exotic” wine regions, that may be difficult but not impossible. Several sources that I do know of are:
- bluedanubewine.com has been in business in the San Francisco area since 2002. I have bought wine from this company a number of times and they are very reputable to deal with. They import from Austria, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey.
- thewineandmore.com is a fairly new company now shipping to the US from Zagreb, Croatia. I have not purchased from them yet, but they have a good list of wines from this part of the wine world – Croatia, Slovenia and a few from Serbia.
All of the information that I used to prepare this article is available on the internet, “The Wine Bible” by Karen MacNeil and winefolly.com. I was also inspired by the internet published articles, YouTube videos, and social media postings of Dr. Matthew Horkey and Charine Tan of “Exotic Wine Travel” as they traveled and tasted their way across Slovenia. Please accept my apologies if there is any incorrect data or information; I try to verify from several sources. So let’s go and share the sLOVEnia………wine, that is. Cheers………or as they say in Slovenia – Na Zdravje!
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10.18.18 updated
