Page 122 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 122
he Culture of Wine in Slovenia
aroma. With regard to red varieties, the winegrower will usually wait with the harvest
until the grapes are fully ripened and pleasant polyphenols are produced, in particular if
he wants to age his wine or use the barrique method. All other procedures in winemaking
are down to the wine producer.
Vertovec, in his book on winemaking from 1844, mentioned two schools: the German
and the French. The German method strives for the immediate processing of white grape
varieties, without maceration, and the use of considerable quantities of sulphur. The
French-Mediterranean school, on the other hand, recommends that white grapes should
be macerated so that the wine has a fuller body, a better aroma and partly extracted tan-
nins that act as preservatives, giving wine a slightly bitter taste. For this reason, such wine
requires a smaller quantity of sulphur. The French method involving the maceration of
white grapes was until recently popular in Primorska, except in the Brda, and in Dolenjska
and Bela Krajina. Winegrowers, who are by nature traditionalists, find it difficult to adapt
to new procedures. Vertovec recommended to the Vipava winemakers that white grapes
should be macerated only overnight, or for 24 hours at the most, so that more marketable
wine would be obtained. In spite of their reluctance, after World War Two the market forced
winemakers to adopt more modern views and improve their wines. But we must understand
our forebears. Hygienic conditions in wine cellars were bad, due to the shortage of water
and of knowledge. Tannin, together with acid and alcohol, was a good preservative of wine
and it was the only way to prevent it from spoiling. When I was still working as the manager
of the winemaker’s cooperative in Vipava, I visited a winegrower one summer who invited
me to his cellar to try the wine and I was in for quite a surprise. Although the wine was
very tart, it was not spoilt, in spite of the fact that he was keeping it in an unsuitably warm
place and in a started barrel, from which he would daily take the required quantity.
Young winegrowers who have finished agricultural schools find it much easier to introduce
new methods if, of course, their parents let them do things their own way. Currently, there
are two main tendencies: the first sees wine as an agricultural product, emphasising its
naturalness, origin and tradition; the other, introduced by the New World, sees wine as an
industrial product and in industry anything goes, as long as it is not harmful to health.
This direction is producing new fashion trends.
Of course, there is no such thing as tradition in the New World. There, winegrowing only
began in earnest just over a hundred years ago. Immediately, they wanted to produce
wines of the same quality as those from France, which has always been the leading force
in winemaking. The New World chose the French varieties Chardonnay and Cabernet
Sauvignon, which in France produce wine of the highest quality. In order to obtain the same
reputation as the French, they started using the barrique method, i.e. the method used in
Bordeaux and the cellars of Burgundy. But this method is expensive and lengthy. In order
to accelerate the process and reduce the cost, they introduced “light barrique” wines by
mixing wines produced with the classical method and a certain percentage of a true barrique
wine. In order to take this even further, they created a new type of wine, which only has
the aroma and flavour of oak as shavings of oak wood, or even tannin powder, are added for
a few months to wine being produced using the classical method. This new fashion trend
introduces the flavour of wood, the wine gets a slight hint of bitternes and is full bodied,
but does not possess the finesse and aroma of a wine produced with the proper barrique
118
aroma. With regard to red varieties, the winegrower will usually wait with the harvest
until the grapes are fully ripened and pleasant polyphenols are produced, in particular if
he wants to age his wine or use the barrique method. All other procedures in winemaking
are down to the wine producer.
Vertovec, in his book on winemaking from 1844, mentioned two schools: the German
and the French. The German method strives for the immediate processing of white grape
varieties, without maceration, and the use of considerable quantities of sulphur. The
French-Mediterranean school, on the other hand, recommends that white grapes should
be macerated so that the wine has a fuller body, a better aroma and partly extracted tan-
nins that act as preservatives, giving wine a slightly bitter taste. For this reason, such wine
requires a smaller quantity of sulphur. The French method involving the maceration of
white grapes was until recently popular in Primorska, except in the Brda, and in Dolenjska
and Bela Krajina. Winegrowers, who are by nature traditionalists, find it difficult to adapt
to new procedures. Vertovec recommended to the Vipava winemakers that white grapes
should be macerated only overnight, or for 24 hours at the most, so that more marketable
wine would be obtained. In spite of their reluctance, after World War Two the market forced
winemakers to adopt more modern views and improve their wines. But we must understand
our forebears. Hygienic conditions in wine cellars were bad, due to the shortage of water
and of knowledge. Tannin, together with acid and alcohol, was a good preservative of wine
and it was the only way to prevent it from spoiling. When I was still working as the manager
of the winemaker’s cooperative in Vipava, I visited a winegrower one summer who invited
me to his cellar to try the wine and I was in for quite a surprise. Although the wine was
very tart, it was not spoilt, in spite of the fact that he was keeping it in an unsuitably warm
place and in a started barrel, from which he would daily take the required quantity.
Young winegrowers who have finished agricultural schools find it much easier to introduce
new methods if, of course, their parents let them do things their own way. Currently, there
are two main tendencies: the first sees wine as an agricultural product, emphasising its
naturalness, origin and tradition; the other, introduced by the New World, sees wine as an
industrial product and in industry anything goes, as long as it is not harmful to health.
This direction is producing new fashion trends.
Of course, there is no such thing as tradition in the New World. There, winegrowing only
began in earnest just over a hundred years ago. Immediately, they wanted to produce
wines of the same quality as those from France, which has always been the leading force
in winemaking. The New World chose the French varieties Chardonnay and Cabernet
Sauvignon, which in France produce wine of the highest quality. In order to obtain the same
reputation as the French, they started using the barrique method, i.e. the method used in
Bordeaux and the cellars of Burgundy. But this method is expensive and lengthy. In order
to accelerate the process and reduce the cost, they introduced “light barrique” wines by
mixing wines produced with the classical method and a certain percentage of a true barrique
wine. In order to take this even further, they created a new type of wine, which only has
the aroma and flavour of oak as shavings of oak wood, or even tannin powder, are added for
a few months to wine being produced using the classical method. This new fashion trend
introduces the flavour of wood, the wine gets a slight hint of bitternes and is full bodied,
but does not possess the finesse and aroma of a wine produced with the proper barrique
118
