Slovenian Wines
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Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
has more than 28,000 wineries making between 80 and 90 million
litres The litre ( Commonwealth spelling) or liter (American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A cubic ...
annually from the country's 22,300 hectares of vineyards. About 75% of the country's production is white wine. Almost all of the wine is consumed domestically with only 6.1 million L a year being exported—mostly to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
,
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, and lately the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. Most of the country's wine production falls under the classification of premium ''(vrhunsko)'' wine with less than 30% classified as basic
table wine Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fort ...
''(namizno vino)''. Slovenia has three principal wine regions: the
Drava Wine-Growing Region The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.
, the Lower Sava Wine-Growing Region, and the
Littoral Wine-Growing Region The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inun ...
.
Viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
and
winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...
has existed in this region since the time of the
Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
s and
Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...
tribes, long before the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
would introduce winemaking to the lands of
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pp. 632–633 Oxford University Press 2006 In 2016, a research study based on
DNA profiling DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting and genetic fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is cal ...
and historical
ampelographic Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of th ...
sources showed that two
international varieties An international variety is a grape variety that is widely planted in most of the major wine producing regions and has widespread appeal and consumer recognition. These are grapes that are highly likely to appear on wine labels as varietal wines ...
of
red grape This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimportant to agriculture, see ''V ...
, the
Blaufränkisch Blaufränkisch (; German language, German for ''blue Frankish grapes, Frankish'') is a dark-skinned list of grape varieties, variety of grape used for red wine. and California wine, California, DNA profiling has shown that Blaufränkisch is a c ...
and the
Blauer Portugieser Blauer Portugieser is a red Austrian, Slovenian wine, Croatian wine, Moravian and German wine grapeJ. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 542 Oxford University Press 2006 found primarily in the Rheinhessen, Pf ...
, likely originate from the Styria region of modern Slovenia.


History

Unlike many of the major European wine regions, Slovenia's viticultural history predates Roman influences and can be traced back to the early Celtic and Illyrian tribes who began cultivating vines for wine production sometime between the 5th and 4th centuries BC. By the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, the
Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...
controlled most of the region's wine production through the
monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...
. Under the rule of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
, privately owned wineries had some presence in the region but steadily declined following the empire's fall and the beginning of
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
. By the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
co-operatives A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...
controlled nearly all of the region's wine production and quality was very low as the emphasis was on the bulk wine production. The exception was the few small private wineries in the Drava Valley region that were able to continue operation. In 1967, the government established the PSVVS (Business Association for Viticulture and Wine Production) which established testing practices for quality assurance and issued seals of approval for wines that met the organization's standards. In 1991, Slovenia was the first Yugoslav republic to declare independence. While the wine industry, as did other sectors of the Slovenian economy, experienced some decline following the turmoil of the
Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...
, the region's strong ties to
the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NAT ...
allowed the industry to quickly rebound. Today the Slovenian wine industry the most advanced and well developed of the former Yugoslav republics and is starting to gain interest in the world's wine market.


Climate and geography

Slovenia has a diverse geography which provides a wide variety of
microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...
s. It is bordered to the north by
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, separated by the
Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...
. To the west is
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
to the east and
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
forms the southern border. The region has a
continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...
with cold, dry winters and hot summer. The far western regions of the Littoral have some Mediterranean influence. Some common viticultural hazards in the region include spring
frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
,
drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...
during the growing season and summertime
hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...
. Many of Slovenia's vineyards are located in the
foothills Foothills or piedmont are geography, geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an highland, upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low terrain, relief hill ...
of the
Julian Alps The Julian Alps (, , , , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. A large part of the Julian Alps is inclu ...
and
Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks (; , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia to the south and Austria to the north. With a total length of in an east–west direction, the Karawanks chain is o ...
and the
Pannonian Plain The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...
. The
Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.
and
Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...
Rivers are major influences in the Drava Valley and Lower Sava Valley, respectively. H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 253 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005


Wine-growing regions

Slovenia has three main wine-growing regions () : the Littoral Region, encompassing the area of the traditional region of
Slovene Littoral The Slovene Littoral, or simply Littoral (, ; ; ), is one of the traditional regions of Slovenia. The littoral in its name – for a coastal-adjacent area – recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg possess ...
, the Lower Sava Region, which includes the
Lower Sava Valley The Lower Sava Valley (, also ''Spodnje Posavje'' and ''Posavska regija'') is a region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. It has three major urban centres: Brežice, Krško, and Sevnica. Its borders are almost identical wit ...
, the
White Carniola White Carniola (; ; or ''Weiße Mark'') is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. Due to its smallness, it is often considered a subunit of the broader Lower Carniola region, although with distinctive cultural, l ...
, and the
Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region in Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south an ...
, and the Drava Region, which includes the
Drava Valley The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.
. The Littoral Region is Slovenia's most internationally known region. Though predominately a white wine producer, it is responsible for most of Slovenia's red wine production.


Littoral Region

The
Littoral Wine-Growing Region The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inun ...
() has two of Slovenia's most widely known and prominent wine districts, the Gorizia Hills (''Goriška brda'') and Koper districts. It is subdivided into four districts. The Brda district borders the
Italian wine Italian wine () is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, as well as the List of wine-producing regions#Countries, world's ...
region of
Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...
with the
Gorizia Hills The Gorizia Hills ( or ''Collio''; or ''Brda''; ) is a hilly microregion in western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies on the right bank of the Soča (''Isonzo'') River, north of the Italian town of Gorizia, after which it is named. The r ...
''
Denominazione di origine controllata The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...
'' (DOC). This region was one of the first in Slovenia to make a concentrated attempt at establishing an international reputation for quality. The area is planted with international varieties of
Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...
,
Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...
,
Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...
,
Sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...
,
Pinot gris Pinot gris, pinot grigio (, ), or ''Grauburgunder'' is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but th ...
(''Sivi Pinot''), and
Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...
(''Modri Pinot'') as well as
Ribolla Gialla Ribolla Gialla (also known as Ribolla, in Slovenian: Rumena rebula, in Croatian: Jarbola) is a white wine grape grown most prominently in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is also found in Slovenia, where it is kn ...
(''Rebula''),
Refosco Refosco is a very old family of dark-skinned grape varieties native to the Venetian zone and neighbouring areas of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Gavi, Trentino, Istria, and Karst Plateau.
(''Refošk'') and Friulano. Brda is best known for its Rebula white wine and Merlot-Cabernet blends. The
Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...
district on the
Istrian Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; Italian and Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at the top of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Kvarner Gulf, the peninsula is share ...
peninsula along the Adriatic coast is the warmest wine region in Slovenia. The Refosco and
Malvazija Malvasia (), also known as Malvazia, is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, ...
grapes are the most widely planted in Koper. The
Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
plateau district, located near the Italian city of
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
, is known for the wine style Teran which is a very dark, highly
acidic An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid. The first category of acids are the ...
red wine made from Refosco planted in the region's red
iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
-rich soil. Other varieties grown in the region include
Piccola nera Piccola nera is a red Italian and Slovenian wine grape variety that is grown in the province of Trieste within the Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine region and across the border in neighboring Slovenia where ampelographers believe that the grape originate ...
.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' p. 797 Allen Lane 2012 The
Vipava Valley The Vipava Valley (; , , ) is a valley in the Slovenian Littoral, roughly between the village of Podnanos to the east and the border with Italy to the west. The main towns are Ajdovščina and Vipava. Geography The narrow valley of the Vipav ...
district specializes in light, crisp white wines made from the local Pinela and Zelen grapes. Other grapes found throughout the Littoral region include
Barbera Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy (after Sangiovese and Montepulciano). It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high levels ...
,
Pinot blanc Pinot blanc () or Pinot bianco is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane wh ...
(''Beli Burgundec''),
Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...
,
Cipro Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic used to treat a number of bacterial infections. This includes bone and joint infections, intra-abdominal infections, certain types of infectious diarrhea, respiratory tract infections, skin ...
, Glera, Klarnica,
Laški Rizling Welschriesling is a white wine grape variety, unrelated to the Rhine Riesling, that is grown throughout Central Europe. Origin The descendance of Welschriesling is uncertain. The German name ''Welschriesling'' literally means ' Romanic Riesling' ...
, Maločrn,
Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...
,
Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...
, and
Vitovska Grganja Vitovska or Vitouska, also known in Slovene language, Slovene as Vitovska Grganja or Garganja, is an Italian wine, Italian and Slovene wine grape predominantly planted in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia (wine), Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and the Karst ...
.


Lower Sava Region

The Lower Sava Wine-Growing Region () is the only Slovenian wine region that produces more red wine than white, though not by a large margin. The area is subdivided into three districts. The
Bizeljsko Bizeljsko (; ) is a settlement in the Municipality of Brežice in eastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. It lies on the right bank of the Sotla River and in terms of its territory is the largest settlement in the Municipality of Bre ...
-
Brežice Brežice (; ) is a town in eastern Slovenia in the Lower Sava Valley, near the Croatian border. It is the seat of the Municipality of Brežice. It lies in the center of the Brežice Plain (), which is part of the larger Krka Flat (). The area w ...
district is known for its
sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne ( ...
production and acidic white wines made from the Rumeni Plavec grape. The
Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region in Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south an ...
district is known for its production of Cviček made from a blend of white and red wine grapes, most commonly Kraljevina and
Žametovka Žametovka (also known as Ametovka and Kavčina črna) is a red Slovenian wine grape variety. This is one of the oldest domesticated grape varieties in Slovenia. Formerly it was popular in Styrian vineyards, and even more so, even today, known in ...
. The
White Carniola White Carniola (; ; or ''Weiße Mark'') is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. Due to its smallness, it is often considered a subunit of the broader Lower Carniola region, although with distinctive cultural, l ...
district is known for its red wine made from
Blaufränkisch Blaufränkisch (; German language, German for ''blue Frankish grapes, Frankish'') is a dark-skinned list of grape varieties, variety of grape used for red wine. and California wine, California, DNA profiling has shown that Blaufränkisch is a c ...
and
Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...
. Other grapes found planted throughout The Lower Sava Valley include Pinot blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay,
Gamay Gamay () is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire_Valley_(wine), Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as lon ...
, Pinot noir,
Neuburger Neuburger is a white Austrian wine grape. The grape is a crossing of Roter Veltliner and Sylvaner. As varietal, it generally produces full bodied wines. J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition pg 117 Abbeville Press 2003 ...
,
Ranina ''Ranina'' is a genus of crabs belonging to the family Raninidae. It has two extant species. Distribution Fossils of these crabs have been found in the sediments of United States, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Turkey and Australia from the Paleogene ...
, Rdeča Zlahtnina,
Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...
, Šentlovrenka, Šipon, Sivi Pinot, Traminec, and
Zweigelt The Zweigelt (), also known as Rotburger, is an Austrian hybrid grape variety created in 1922 by Friedrich Zweigelt (1888–1964), who later became Director of the Federal Institute and Experimental Station of Viticulture, Fruit Production and ...
. Currently the Lower Sava Valley region is dominated more by bulk wine, rather than premium wine, production.


Drava Region

The
Drava Wine-Growing Region The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.
() is the largest wine region in Slovenia and is subdivided into 7 districts. The Radgona-Kapela district was the first Slovenia wine region to produce sparkling (''penina'') wine using the ''
méthode champenoise The traditional method for producing sparkling wine is the process used in the Champagne region of France to produce Champagne. It is also the method used in various French regions to produce sparkling wines (not called "Champagne"), in Spain t ...
'' in 1852. The
Ljutomer Ljutomer (; ) is a town in northeastern Slovenia, east of Maribor. It is the seat of the Municipality of Ljutomer. Traditionally it was part of the region of Styria. It is now included in the Mura Statistical Region. The economy of Ljutomer is la ...
-
Ormož Ormož (; in older sources , , , Prekmurje Slovene: ''Ormošd'') is a town in the traditional region of Prlekija, part of Styria (Slovenia), Styria, in northeastern Slovenia. It lies on the left bank of the Drava, Drava River and borders with Croa ...
district includes the village of Jeruzalem which is known for white wine made from Dišeči Traminec and Ranina. Along with Radgona-Kapela and the
Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...
district, Ljutomer-Ormož produces some of the best examples of Drava Valley wine. While the
Haloze Haloze () is a geographical sub-region of Slovenia. It is in the northeast of the country, in the Styria region. General characteristics Haloze is a hilly area, running roughly east–west bounded by the border with Croatia to the south and the ...
district is improving in quality, that district along with the
Prekmurje Prekmurje (; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; ) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally, and ethnically defined region of Slovenia, settled by Slovenes and a Hungarians in Slovenia, Hungarian minority, lying betwee ...
,
Central Slovene Hills Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
, and Šmarje-Virštanj districts have small production that is consumed locally. Nearly 97% of the wine made in the Drava Valley region is white wine. Other grape varieties found in the Drava Valley include
Chasselas Chasselas () or Chasselas blanc () is a wine grape variety grown mainly in Switzerland, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Croatia and Chile. Chasselas is mostly vinified to be a full, dry and fruity white wine. It is ...
, Gamay, Kerner, Kraljevina,
Muscat Ottonel Muscat Ottonel or Muskat-Ottonel (in Germany) is a white wine grape variety that is a member of the Muscat family of ''Vitis vinifera''.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including ...
,
Blauer Portugieser Blauer Portugieser is a red Austrian, Slovenian wine, Croatian wine, Moravian and German wine grapeJ. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 542 Oxford University Press 2006 found primarily in the Rheinhessen, Pf ...
, Ranfol, Rizvanec, Muscat, Zeleni Silvanec,
Zlahtnina Chasselas () or Chasselas blanc () is a wine grape variety grown mainly in Switzerland, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Croatia and Chile. Chasselas is mostly vinified to be a full, dry and fruity white wine. It is ...
, and Zweigelt.


Viticulture and winemaking

In Slovenia, many vineyards are located along slopes or hillsides in
terraced A terrace in agriculture is a flat surface that has been cut into hills or mountains to provide areas for the cultivation for crops, as a method of more effective farming. Terrace agriculture or cultivation is when these platforms are created s ...
rows. Historically vines were trained in a
pergola A pergola is most commonly used as an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support crossbeams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are t ...
style that optimizes fruit yields. However the emphasis on higher quality wine production has encouraged more vineyards to switch to a
Guyot In marine geology, a guyot (), also called a tablemount, is an isolated underwater volcanic mountain (seamount) with a flat top more than below the surface of the sea. The diameters of these flat summits can exceed . Guyots are most commonly fo ...
style of
vine training The use of vine training systems in viticulture is aimed primarily to assist in canopy management with finding the balance in enough foliage to facilitate photosynthesis without excessive shading that could impede grape ripening or promote grap ...
. The steep terrain of most vineyards encourages the using of manual
harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...
ing over mechanical. Wines in Slovenia have traditionally followed the
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...
preference of single
varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...
over blended wines but the production of blended wines are on the rise. While wines were historically aged in large Slovenian or Slavonian wooden cask, the trend has been to use small and varying sizes of
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
and Slovenian
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...
s. In the Littoral both red and white wines often go through
Malolactic fermentation Malolactic conversion (also known as malolactic fermentation or MLF) is a process in winemaking in which Tart (flavor), tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation ...
with the Drava Valley and the Sava Valley typically using that technique only for red wine production. In the Littoral,
dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a mea ...
s are made in a ''
passito Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried off the vine to concentrate their juice. Under the classic method, after a careful hand harvest, selected bunches of ripe grapes will be laid out on mats in full sun. ( ...
'' style with the Brda region specialize in wines made from Verduc and
Pikolit Picolit (also known as Piccolit and Piccolito) is a white Italian wine grape grown in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is allowed in the ''Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Colli Orie ...
. In the Drava Valley region,
botrytized ''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" or ...
wines are produced from Welschriesling, Riesling, and Šipon and classified in a system similar to the
German wine classification The German wine classification system puts a strong emphasis on standardization and factual completeness, and was first implemented by the German Wine Law of 1971. Nearly all of Germany's vineyards are delineated and registered as one of approxi ...
based on
sweetness Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...
-ranging from ''pozna trgatev'' (
Spätlese (literal meaning: "late harvest"; plural form is ''Spätlesen'') is a German wine term for a wine from fully ripe grapes, the lightest of the late harvest wines. ''Spätlese'' is a riper category than Kabinett in the '' Prädikatswein'' categ ...
), ''izbor'' (
Auslese ''Auslese'' (, ; plural form is ''Auslesen'') is a German language wine term for a late harvest wine and is a riper category than Spätlese in the '' Prädikatswein'' category of the Austrian and German wine classification. Harvest The gr ...
), ''jagodni izbor'' (
Beerenauslese ''Beerenauslese'' () is a German language wine term for a late harvest wine with noble rot. Beerenauslese is a category in the '' Prädikatswein'' category of the Austrian and German wine classifications, and is a category above Auslese. Beere ...
), ''ledeno vino'' (
Eiswein Icewine (or ice wine; ) is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been Freezing, frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing for a more concentrated grape juice ...
) and ''suhi jagodni izbor'' (
Trockenbeerenauslese ''Trockenbeerenauslese'' (, ), or TBA, is a German or Austrian botrytized wine made entirely from the individually selected grapes fully "dried" from Botrytis cinerea ("noble rot"), hence the name. ''Trockenbeerenauslese'' is a very sweet wine, ...
). Slovenian wine acts stipulate that all wines must be submitted to chemical analysis and tastings prior to being released on the market. After testing the wines are assigned a quality level according to a system similar to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
's QWPSR system-
Quality Wines Produced in Specified Regions Quality wines produced in specified regions (often abbreviated to quality wines psr, QWpsr or simply "quality wines") is a quality indicator used within European Union wine regulations. The QWpsr category identifies wines with protected geogra ...
. The quality categories are the following: *Table wine () * Country wine with a certified geographic emblem (, ) *Quality wine with protected geographic origin (, ) *Premium quality wine with protected geographic origin (, ) Slovenia
wine label Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it. Certain information is ordinarily inclu ...
s include the sweetness level of the wines ranging from ''suho'' (dry), ''polsuho'' (medium-dry), ''polsladko'' (medium-sweet) and ''sladko'' (sweet). The ''special traditional name'' (; PTP) designation is applied to a traditional Slovenia wine from a specific region. As of 2009, the PTP wines in Slovenia are the
Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
wine ''Teran'' from the Slovenian Littoral, the Lower Carniolan wine ''Cviček'', the White Carniolan wines ''Belokranjec'' and ''Metliška Črnina'', and both the red and the white ''Bizeljčan'' from Bizeljsko-Sremič.


See also

*
Winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...
* Agriculture in Slovenia


References


External links

*
Slovenian Wine PortalThe story of viticulture in Slovenia
{{Slovenia topics Slovenian drinks Agriculture in Slovenia Wine by country