I know, I know, yet another travel story about wines and vineyards. You have read stories about the great wine regions of France, Italy, maybe Argentina or Australia, and without a doubt the Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots, Malbecs, Pinot Moirs, Sangioveses, or Rieslings, Sauvignon Blancs, and Chardonnays of these regions turn out, sometimes, superb wines. But do they grow Zelens, Terans or Rebulas?… well OK, Italy grows some Rebollas (same thing). Nope, but one country does, where these varietals are native: Slovenia, and lately, these varieties have been getting attention: platinum, gold and silver medals at international wine competitions. So let’s dive in.
The various Illyrian and Celtic tribes living in the area were making vino here from native varietals as early as the 5th century BC. Wine making in this region, all along the Adriatic Sea and inland, predates the introduction of viticulture to Spain, Germany and France by, who else, the Romans. Which society would have imagined for themselves a god such as Bacchus the drunkard, the deity that bestowed the gifts of inebriation and altered states on his ‘worshippers’ – could only have been the Romans – well OK, the Greeks too, except his name was Dionysus. But I digress.
As of today (roughly), this small country has 28,000 wineries and 22,000 hectares of vineyards from three wine-growing regions Primorska near the Adriatic, Posavje, and Podravje in the east, these are divided into 14 wine-growing regions and, of course, there are plenty of wine roads If perchance you may be on a taste quest on the Virstanjska wine road, near the town of Podcetrtek, visit the Olimje Franciscan Monastery which, supposedly, has one of the oldest pharmacies in the world. The monks here and elsewhere were tasked with not only the spiritual but the corporeal health of the body, so the monastery has extensive grounds to grow medicinal herbs. The Pharmacy chamber is gloriously adorned with frescoes.
Three-quarters of wine production in Slovenia is white. No less than 52 vine varieties are grown. The more recognizable varieties are all here: Sauvignon, Riesling, Tokaj, Merlot, Chardonnay… but you should search out these local varietals mentioned above: Teran, Zelen, Rebula, Zametovka and others. We’ll get to these later.
Slovenia has the oldest grapevine in the world!!, in the region of Maribor – “The Old Vine”. This ancient is over 400 years old and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest noble vine in the world still bringing grapes. It grows in front of and around the sides of the Old Vine House, which now is a museum dedicated The Old Vine. The grape is the Zametovka – an ancient Slovenian varietal. The resulting wine has a bright red color with a distinct raspberry nose.
The annual harvest of between 35 – 55 Kgs of grapes is made into wine: Black Velvet…bottled in 250 ml size only…and only a hundred are made each year – property of the federal government, which donates them as gifts to worthy individuals, dignitaries…
This old guy was probably planted around the end of the Middle Ages. It’s a small miracle that it is still around. It has survived several attacks against the city walls by the Ottoman invaders, when the House was part of the city walls, frequent fires, when, at that time, roofs were made of wood or straw/thatch. It survived the attack by vine lice (Pylloxera) that wiped out thousands of vineyards around Europe in the middle of the 19th century. Interestingly the Rieslings of the Mosel region of Germany was also unaffected by the pests because the parasite could not survive in the slate soils of the region. It survived Allied bombing in WWII when part of the Old Vine House was destroyed. Even more recently, it began dying when a nearby, newly-built dam raised the water table, drowning its roots. It was saved by some quick engineering. The offspring of the Old Vine are now grown on several continents and in several locations in Slovenia. This is one resilient plant (not unlike olive trees which can also be hundreds of years old). These several wine growing regions offer a wide range of tastes: powerful reds from the Karst region such as Teran
This vine belongs to the Karst region with its specific terroir. Like all wines, the terroir influences the final product, even if the grape varietal is the same. In fact, even vineyards growing the same grape on the same hillside will deliver differently structured wines, depending on the altitude of the vineyard. Factors such as soil, temperature, and moisture all influence the final product. In the Karst region, the defining feature is the red soil. I’m sure it is a coincidence, but this wine has an intense fiery red color; robust in structure, it is big and bold. The varietal belongs to the very old Refosco grape family known for its dark skin… the aroma of wild berries dominates. Meant to be drunk young, aging is typically not recommended. The description reminds me of Hungary’s Bull’s Blood – another dark red, pungent, aromatic wine, which can stand a bit of aging.
Another indigenous varietal is Zelen (means ‘green’ in Slovenian) and is grown mostly in the windy Vipava valley in western Slovenia. Native varietals appear to do better in these harsher conditions. It gives a light, herby and crisp white wine that can be made to have greater character by leaving the must on its lees when fermenting – gaining a more rounded texture. Bottled as is, or it is also used to add its acidity to other varietal wines such as Rebola or Malvasia.
Now for something truly unique: Rebola (Rebulla, Ribolla Gaia), another wine unique to the Vipava valley, first mentioned in writings from the 12th century (concerning some ecclesiastical disagreements). Throughout the ages, this wine has always been considered the choicest, priciest white wine variety. This is a really versatile wine, capable of expression as a dry, fruity light white wine; a bubbly sparkling wine; a sweet dessert wine; or most unusual of all: an orange-hued beauty.
Orange wines are a class by themselves - made by a very special process, and result in a complex of flavours. Its acidity has almost entirely vanished and been replaced by a pronounced body with hints of bitter orange, jackfruit, apricot, linseed oil, varnish(?) in place of the normal apple/citrus.
The grape is pressed but then left on their skins and fermented in oval amphorae made of clay or terra-cotta, even concrete for extended periods of time, sometimes months, before aging and bottling. It is this maceration which give the wine its darker orange hue and flavour. These wine varieties have been described as white wines with flavours more like red wines. It’s a white that behaves like a strange red. In Georgia, this process of fermentation and storing in clay pots is very old. Archaeologists have found these pots with wine reside dating back to 5000BC.
Like most of the great Chardonnays from Burgundy, these wines age very well with the best being more than ten years old.
I hope this has whetted your whistle for a quick stop at your favourite wine shop to pick up a bottle or two of Ribolla.
Finger-licking good !! – okay, I stole that one.
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