Page 29 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 29
From the heritage of
winegrowing and
winemaking to the culture
of wine and wine tourism
in Slovenia
W ine is part of Slovenia’s identity. It symbolically unites Slovenes
in their national anthem, Zdravljica (A Toast), which honours
the vine and its fruit and sings the praises of the Slovene na-
tion. Thus the culture of wine is becoming an important element
of the Slovene cultural and economic heritage and an ever increas-
ingly important medium for our identity, international profile and
attractiveness. The unique nature of Slovenia as a country at the
crossroads of European civilisations, where the Mediterranean, Alpine
and Pannonian environments meet, is also apparent in the fact that
on such a small territory there co-exist so many different cultures
and preserved viticultural and winemaking traditions, wonderful
aromas and flavours which can otherwise be encountered only in
dispersed European winegrowing localities. This matters so much
more because these traditions are not just remnants from the history
of a nation, but a living economic activity and culture, in which
precious, centuries-old knowledge is combined with modern forms
of creativity. Wine or the culture of wine has been our companion
for thousands of years, through good times and bad, shaping the
life of various Slovene regions; it is the culture that we would find
hardest to give up precisely because it is so tightly interwoven into
every facet of everyday life and special occasions, so that Slovenia
is in fact a miniature viticultural Europe.
Slovenia is a winemaking country with superb winegrowing regions
and localities, where people know how to produce some of the best
wines in the world that are respected and established outside Europe.
This is why we are delighted by the increasing endeavours towards a
redefinition of the culture of wine and its strategic inclusion in the
country’s social, cultural and economic life. The constant improve-
ments in the knowledge about wine drinking, not just among wine
25
winegrowing and
winemaking to the culture
of wine and wine tourism
in Slovenia
W ine is part of Slovenia’s identity. It symbolically unites Slovenes
in their national anthem, Zdravljica (A Toast), which honours
the vine and its fruit and sings the praises of the Slovene na-
tion. Thus the culture of wine is becoming an important element
of the Slovene cultural and economic heritage and an ever increas-
ingly important medium for our identity, international profile and
attractiveness. The unique nature of Slovenia as a country at the
crossroads of European civilisations, where the Mediterranean, Alpine
and Pannonian environments meet, is also apparent in the fact that
on such a small territory there co-exist so many different cultures
and preserved viticultural and winemaking traditions, wonderful
aromas and flavours which can otherwise be encountered only in
dispersed European winegrowing localities. This matters so much
more because these traditions are not just remnants from the history
of a nation, but a living economic activity and culture, in which
precious, centuries-old knowledge is combined with modern forms
of creativity. Wine or the culture of wine has been our companion
for thousands of years, through good times and bad, shaping the
life of various Slovene regions; it is the culture that we would find
hardest to give up precisely because it is so tightly interwoven into
every facet of everyday life and special occasions, so that Slovenia
is in fact a miniature viticultural Europe.
Slovenia is a winemaking country with superb winegrowing regions
and localities, where people know how to produce some of the best
wines in the world that are respected and established outside Europe.
This is why we are delighted by the increasing endeavours towards a
redefinition of the culture of wine and its strategic inclusion in the
country’s social, cultural and economic life. The constant improve-
ments in the knowledge about wine drinking, not just among wine
25
