Page 233 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 233
Appendixa
Sometimes, new things are adopted too arbitrarily. Even I, in my youthful enthusiasm,
tried to create a Štajerska wine out of a Vipava one. No more fermenting the pulp on the
skins. Would it not have been more beneficial to listen to Matija Vertovec, who advised
the winemakers of Vipava to leave the must on the skins overnight only, not a whole week
so that the wine does not develop an unpleasant taste? The people of Vipava should retain
at least some wine with a Vipava character. But that is youthful enthusiasm for you, even
though I am pleased that I was trying to improve the quality of Vipava wines. Now, however,
we are going to the other extreme, adding tannins to wine.
The grapevine has given me other pleasures, too. My old home in the Vipava area was sur-
rounded by vineyards on three sides, while towards the south, a meadow led to the valley.
When I used to get home in the evening, tired, from the Vipava wine cellar, I would sit on
the wall in front of the house, listening to the crickets. Autumnal evenings, when the cold
is starting to seep in, fill you with a feeling of mortality and melancholy, heightened by the
sad song of the crickets. It is like listening to Puccini’s Madam Butterfly when Cio-Cio
San is expecting her beloved, but in vain. At first the music overwhelms you, you can still
hear it, but then you become one with it and float away on your feelings. How many times
I enjoyed such a scene! Have you?
Let us enjoy nature, preserve it and benefit from the goodness it has to offer. Let us not
throw away the thousands of years of efforts by our predecessors, who created such wonder-
ful wines. Let us instead improve their quality and try to uncover the still-hidden secrets
the grapevine conceals in its fruit. Let us preserve the wealth we have inherited from our
forbears and pass it on to our children.
Globalisation, with its goal of uniformity, will pass; what will be left will be the global
struggle for survival. Man will always strive for goodness, beauty and diversity, even with
respect to wine. Therein lies our future. These are my thoughts at a time when we are
adopting new legislation. Let this also be a farewell and a testament to the fifty years I have
worked in this wonderful profession.
229
Sometimes, new things are adopted too arbitrarily. Even I, in my youthful enthusiasm,
tried to create a Štajerska wine out of a Vipava one. No more fermenting the pulp on the
skins. Would it not have been more beneficial to listen to Matija Vertovec, who advised
the winemakers of Vipava to leave the must on the skins overnight only, not a whole week
so that the wine does not develop an unpleasant taste? The people of Vipava should retain
at least some wine with a Vipava character. But that is youthful enthusiasm for you, even
though I am pleased that I was trying to improve the quality of Vipava wines. Now, however,
we are going to the other extreme, adding tannins to wine.
The grapevine has given me other pleasures, too. My old home in the Vipava area was sur-
rounded by vineyards on three sides, while towards the south, a meadow led to the valley.
When I used to get home in the evening, tired, from the Vipava wine cellar, I would sit on
the wall in front of the house, listening to the crickets. Autumnal evenings, when the cold
is starting to seep in, fill you with a feeling of mortality and melancholy, heightened by the
sad song of the crickets. It is like listening to Puccini’s Madam Butterfly when Cio-Cio
San is expecting her beloved, but in vain. At first the music overwhelms you, you can still
hear it, but then you become one with it and float away on your feelings. How many times
I enjoyed such a scene! Have you?
Let us enjoy nature, preserve it and benefit from the goodness it has to offer. Let us not
throw away the thousands of years of efforts by our predecessors, who created such wonder-
ful wines. Let us instead improve their quality and try to uncover the still-hidden secrets
the grapevine conceals in its fruit. Let us preserve the wealth we have inherited from our
forbears and pass it on to our children.
Globalisation, with its goal of uniformity, will pass; what will be left will be the global
struggle for survival. Man will always strive for goodness, beauty and diversity, even with
respect to wine. Therein lies our future. These are my thoughts at a time when we are
adopting new legislation. Let this also be a farewell and a testament to the fifty years I have
worked in this wonderful profession.
229
