Slovenian wine
Encyclopedia
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
from the Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
an country of Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. Viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
and winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
has existed in this region since the time of the Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
s and Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
tribes, long before the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
would introduce winemaking to the lands of France, Spain
Spanish wine
Spanish wines are wines produced in the southwestern European country of Spain. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 2.9 million acres planted—making it the most widely planted wine producing nation but it is the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest...
and Germany
German wine
German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...
.
Today Slovenia has more than 28,000 wineries making between 80 and 90 million l annually from the country's 22,300 ha of vineyards. About 75% of the country's production is white wine. Almost all of the wine is consumed domestically
Domestic market
A domestic market is a financial market. Its trades are aimed toward a single market. A domestic market is also referred to as domestic trading...
with only 6.1 million l a year being exported—mostly to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, and lately the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. 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
Table wine is a wine term with two different meanings: a wine style; and a quality level within wine classification.In the United States, table wine primarily designates a wine style - ordinary wine which is neither fortified nor sparkling....
(namizno vino). Slovenia has three principal wine regions: the Drava Valley, Lower Sava Valley and Slovenian Littoral.
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 AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the Christian Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
controlled most of the region's wine production through the monasteries. Under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, privately owned wineries had some presence in the region but steady declined following the empire's fall and the beginning of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. By the end of the Second World War, co-operatives 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
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
to declare independence. While the wine industry, as did other sectors of the Slovenian economy
Economy of Slovenia
Slovenia today is a developed country that enjoys prosperity and stability, as well as a GDP per capita at 88% of the EU27 average.-History:Although it comprised only about one-thirteenth of Yugoslavia's total population, it was the most productive of the Yugoslav republics, accounting for...
, experienced some decline following the turmoil of the Yugoslav wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, the region's strong ties to the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
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 microclimates. It is bordered to the north by AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, separated by the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. To the west is Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
to the east and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
forms the southern border. The region has a continental climate 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
Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
, drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
during the growing season and summertime hail
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
. Many of Slovenia's vineyards are located in the foothills
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
of the Julian
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. They are named after Julius Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the foot of the mountains...
and Karavanke Alps and the Pannonian Plain. The Drava
Drava
Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...
and Sava River
Sava River
The Sava is a river in Southeast Europe, a right side tributary of the Danube river at Belgrade. Counting from Zelenci, the source of Sava Dolinka, it is long and drains of surface area. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia, along the northern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and through Serbia....
s are major influences in the Drava Valley and Lower Sava Valley, respectively.
Wine regions
Slovenia has three main wine regions: the Littoral, Lower Sava Valley, and Drava Valley. The Littoral is Slovenia's most internationally known region and, though predominately a white wine producer, the region is responsible for most of Slovenia's red wine production.The Littoral
The Slovenian LittoralSlovenian Littoral
The Slovenian Littoral is a historical region of Slovenia. Its name recalls the historical Habsburg crown land of the Austrian Littoral, of which the Slovenian Littoral was a part....
is Slovenia's most widely known and prominent wine region. It is subdivided into four districts. The Brda
Brda (Slovenia)
Brda is a municipality in western Slovenia. It is located in the Slovenian Littoral region, extending from the Italian border to the river Soča...
district borders the Italian wine
Italian wine
Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...
region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia with the Collio Goriziano
Collio Goriziano
Collio Goriziano or Collio is a Denominazione di origine controllata located in the Italian wine region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The DOC is located in the province of Gorizia near the border with Slovenia. Some Slovenian wine from the region of Goriška Brda also carry the designation of Collio...
Denominazione di origine controllata
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
Denominazione di origine controllata is a quality assurance label for food products, especially wines and various formaggi . It is modelled after the French AOC...
(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
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, Cabernet Sauvignon
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 Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
, Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
, Pinot gris
Pinot gris
Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...
(Sivi Pinot), and Pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
(Modri Pinot) as well as Rebula
Rebula
Rebula may refer to:* Ribolla Gialla, a white Italian wine grape* Alojz Rebula, a Slovene writer...
, Refosco
Refosco
Refosco is a very old Italian family of dark-skinned grape varieties native to the northern Italian areas of Friuli, Gavi, Trentino, Istria, and Karst Plateau. It is considered autochthonous in these regions....
(Refošk) and Friulano
Friulano
Friulano is the name of a firm cow's milk cheese made in Canada named after the Friuli region of Italy. It is rindless and interior-ripened with a yellow surface and interior. It is salty and tastes slightly of hazelnut...
. Brda is best known for its Rebula white wine and Merlot-Cabernet blends. The Koper district on the Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
n peninsula along the Adriatic coast is the warmest wine region in Slovenia. The Refosco and Malvazija grapes are the most widely planted in Koper. The Karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
plateau district, located near the Italian city of Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, is known for the wine style Teran which is a very dark, highly acidic red wine made from Refosco planted in the region's red iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
-rich soil. The Vipava Valley
Vipava Valley
The Vipava Valley is a valley located in the Slovenian Littoral, between the towns of Nova Gorica and Vipava.-Geography:It is a narrow valley, serving as the main passage between Friulian lowland and central Slovenia, and thus also an important corridor connecting Northern Italy to Central Europe...
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
Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy . It produces good yields and is known for deep color, low tannins and high levels of acid...
, Beli Pinot (Beli Burgundec), Cabernet franc
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 style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
, Cipro, Glera
Glera (grape)
Glera is a white variety of grape of Italian origin, which until 2009 was mostly referred to as Prosecco.Glera is a rather neutral grape variety which is mainly cultivated for use in sparkling Italian wine styles, frizzante or spumante, from the various Prosecco DOCG and DOC areas, although still...
, Klarnica, Laški Rizling, Maločrn, Rumeni Muškat, Syrah and Vitovska Grganja.
The Lower Sava Valley
The Lower Sava Valley 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 BizeljskoBizeljsko
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 Brežice. The area was traditionally part of Styria...
-Brežice
Brežice
Brežice is a city and municipality in eastern Slovenia in the Lower Sava Valley, near the Croatian border. The area was traditionally divided between Lower Styria and Lower Carniola...
district is known for its sparkling wine
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...
production and acidic white wines made from the Rumeni Plavec grape. The Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...
district is known for its production of Cviček
Cvicek
Cviček is a Slovenian wine from the Lower Carniola region of Slovenia, composed of various grapes: Modra Frankinja , Žametna Črnina and Kraljevina, and occasionally Laški Rizling is also added...
made from a blend of white and red wine grapes, most commonly Kraljevina and Žametovka. The White Carniola
White Carniola
White Carniola is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia and is the most southern part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola. Its major towns are Metlika, Črnomelj, and Semič, and the principal river is the Kolpa, which also forms part of the...
district is known for its red wine made from Modra Frankinja and Rumeni Muškat. Other grapes found planted throughout The Lower Sava Valley include Beli Pinot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gamay
Gamay
Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century...
, Modri Pinot, Neuburger
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.- Synonyms :...
, Ranina
Bouvier (grape)
Bouvier is a white wine grape and table grape planted primarily in Central Europe-most notably Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia where it is also known as Ranina....
, Rdeča Zlahtnina, Renski Rizling, Šentlovrenka, Šipon, Sivi Pinot, Traminec, and Zweigelt
Zweigelt
Zweigelt is a red wine grape variety developed in 1922, at the Federal Institute for Viticulture and Pomology at Klosterneuburg, Austria, by Fritz Zweigelt. It was a crossing of St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch. It is now the most widely-grown red grape variety in Austria, as well as having some...
. Currently the Lower Sava Valley region is dominated more by bulk wine, rather than premium wine, production.
The Drava Valley
The Drava Valley 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 in 1852. The LjutomerLjutomer
Ljutomer is a municipality in northeastern Slovenia, some 40 km east of Maribor. Traditionally it was part of the region of Styria. It is now included in the Pomurska statistical region....
-Ormož
Ormož
Ormož is a town and municipality in northeastern Slovenia. It lies on the left bank of the Drava River and borders with Croatia on the opposite bank of the river....
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
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
district, Ljutomer-Ormož produces some of the best examples of Drava Valley wine. While the Haloze
Haloze
Haloze is a geographical sub-region of Slovenia. It is in the northeast of the country, in the Lower Styria region.-General characteristics:Haloze is a hilly area, running roughly east-west bounded by the border with Croatia to the south and the Dravinja and Drava rivers to the north...
district is improving in quality, that district along with the Prekmurje
Prekmurje
Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
, Srednje Slovenske Gorice, 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
Chasselas or Chasselas Blanc is a wine grape variety grown in Switzerland, France, Germany, Portugal, Baja Norte, Mexico, Hungary and New Zealand.Theories of its origin vary. Pierre Galet believes it is a native Swiss variety....
, Gamay, Kerner
Kerner (grape)
The Kerner grape is an aromatic white grape variety. It was bred in 1929 by August Herold by crossing Trollinger and Riesling. Herold was working at a plant breeding station in Lauffen in the Württemberg region of Germany. This station belonged to a state breeding institute headquartered in...
, Kraljevina, Muškat Otonel, Portugalka, Ranfol, Rizvanec, Rumeni Muškat, Zeleni Silvanec, Zlahtnina and Zweigelt.
Viticulture and winemaking
Terrace (agriculture)
Terraces are used in farming to cultivate sloped land. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice...
rows. Historically vines were trained in a pergola
Pergola
A pergola, arbor or arbour is a garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained...
style that optimizes fruit yield
Yield (wine)
In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...
s. However the emphasis on higher quality wine production has encouraged more vineyards to switch to a Guyot style of vine training. The steep terrain of most vineyards encourages the using of manual harvest
Harvest (wine)
The harvesting of wine grapes is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to...
ing over mechanical.
Wines in Slovenia have traditionally follow the Austrian
Austrian wine
Austrian wines are mostly dry white wines with some luscious dessert wines made around the Neusiedler See. About 30% of the wines are red, made from Blaufränkisch , Pinot Noir and locally bred varieties such as Zweigelt...
preference of single varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
over blended wines but the production of blended wines are on the rise. While wines were historically aged in large Slovenian or Slavonian
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
wooden cask, the trend has been to use small and varying sizes of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Slovenian oak barrels. In the Littoral both red and white wines often go through Malolactic fermentation
Malolactic fermentation
Malolactic fermentation is a process in winemaking where tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation tends to create a rounder, fuller mouthfeel. It has been said that malic acid tastes of green apples...
with Podravje and Posavje typically using that technique only for red wine production. In the Littoral, dessert wine
Dessert wine
Dessert wines 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 meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines drunk after it...
s are made in a passito style with the Brda region specialize in wines made from Verduc and Pikolit. In the Drava Valley region, botrytized wines are produced from Laški Rizling, Renski Rizling and Šipon and classified in a system similar to the German wine classification
German wine classification
German wine classification consists of several quality categories and is often the source of some confusion, especially among non-German speaking wine consumers. The official classification is set down in the wine law of 1971, although some changes and amendments have been made since then...
based on sweetness
Sweetness of wine
The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine to be sure, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Briefly: sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness; acids and bitter tannins counteract it...
-ranging from pozna trgatev (Spätlese
Spätlese
Spätlese 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 category of the German wine classification and is the lowest level of Prädikatswein in Austria, where Kabinett is classified in...
), izbor (Auslese
Auslese
Auslese 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. The grapes are picked from selected very ripe bunches in the autumn , and have to be hand picked...
), jagodni izbor (Beerenauslese
Beerenauslese
Beerenauslese is a German language wine term for a dessert wine-style late harvest wine. Beerenauslese is a category in the Prädikatswein category of the Austrian and German wine classifications, and is a category above Auslese. Beerenauslese wines, often called "BA" for short, are usually made...
), ledeno vino (Eiswein) and suhi jagodni izbor (Trockenbeerenauslese
Trockenbeerenauslese
Trockenbeerenauslese is a German language wine term for an intensely sweet dessert wine-style wine....
).
Slovenian wine laws dictate 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 the Zaščiteno geoggrafsko poreklo (ZGP) which is similar to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's QWPSR system-Quality Wines Produced in Specified Regions
Quality Wines Produced in Specified Regions
Quality Wines Produced in Specified Regions is a quality indicator used within European Union wine regulations. The QWpsr category identifies wines with protected geographical indications...
. The quality ranges are as followed-
- Namizno vino - Table wine
- Deželno vino PGO - Country wineCountry wineFruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients ; they may also have additional flavours taken from fruits, flowers, and herbs. This definition is sometimes broadened to include any fermented alcoholic beverage except beer...
- Kakovostno ZGP - Quality wine
- Vrhunsko vino ZGP - Premium quality wine
Slovenia wine label
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...
s include the sweetness level of the wines ranging from suho (dry), polsuho (medium-dry), polsladko (medium-sweet) and sladko (sweet). The designation Posebno tradicionalno poimenovanje (PTP) is applied to a traditional Slovenia wine from a specific region. As of 2009, the PTP wines in Slovenia are the Kras wine Teran from Primorska and from the Lower Sava Valley the Lower Carniolan wine Cvicek, White Carniolan wines Belokranjec and Metliska Crnina and both the red and the white Bizeljcan from Bizeljsko-Sremic.