Page 42 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 42
he Culture of Wine in Slovenia
brought the wine over from Portugal. We were showing off. And that is my second memory
of wine from my youth.
The third memory is from the time when I was in the army. In the autumn of 1942 the
Italian authorities called up all the eligible men in the Littoral or Primorska region – Italian
citizens – into their military working battalions. We had no weapons, just military uniforms.
And that is how I found myself in Pistoia in central Tuscany, in a military unit comprised
purely of Slovenes. Our squad consisted mainly of boys from farms in the Tolmin and Idrija
areas. After a certain time, when the commander realised that we “ribelli” were not “wild
animals”, we were allowed to go to the nearby village in the evenings. We went straight to
the bar. We ordered so much wine that the tavern ran out of it on our first evening, while
Pistoia in Tuscany – a short stop in the life of An archive photograph of the transport of the legendary Tuscan
Dušan Terčelj. wine Chianti on display in the Bruni wine shop in San Gimignano,
2005. Photo: Aleš Gačnik.
the Italian guests sat there all evening with a single glass. We sang Slovene folk songs and
went back to the barracks in very high spirits. We were punished for not being able to behave
in a suitable military manner and for singing in the street to boot. When we went out after
this we would meet in the tavern and talk while drinking wine. The Italians just could not
understand this. They were used to their soldiers trying to seduce girls rather than sitting
around drinking. In the company of Slovene boys I learnt that wine was a social drink.
In the barracks there was a canteen which sold wine, but there was not much demand for it.
In early May 1943, the canteen supervisor brought his Chianti. I tried it. It was so enjoyable
that I kept drinking it every evening in May, falling pleasantly asleep afterwards. When at
the end of the month he brought another wine, I did not enjoy it and I no longer bought it
or drank it. I am still wondering how I managed to drink about a litre of wine every night
throughout that month, as I have never done anything like that since.
38
brought the wine over from Portugal. We were showing off. And that is my second memory
of wine from my youth.
The third memory is from the time when I was in the army. In the autumn of 1942 the
Italian authorities called up all the eligible men in the Littoral or Primorska region – Italian
citizens – into their military working battalions. We had no weapons, just military uniforms.
And that is how I found myself in Pistoia in central Tuscany, in a military unit comprised
purely of Slovenes. Our squad consisted mainly of boys from farms in the Tolmin and Idrija
areas. After a certain time, when the commander realised that we “ribelli” were not “wild
animals”, we were allowed to go to the nearby village in the evenings. We went straight to
the bar. We ordered so much wine that the tavern ran out of it on our first evening, while
Pistoia in Tuscany – a short stop in the life of An archive photograph of the transport of the legendary Tuscan
Dušan Terčelj. wine Chianti on display in the Bruni wine shop in San Gimignano,
2005. Photo: Aleš Gačnik.
the Italian guests sat there all evening with a single glass. We sang Slovene folk songs and
went back to the barracks in very high spirits. We were punished for not being able to behave
in a suitable military manner and for singing in the street to boot. When we went out after
this we would meet in the tavern and talk while drinking wine. The Italians just could not
understand this. They were used to their soldiers trying to seduce girls rather than sitting
around drinking. In the company of Slovene boys I learnt that wine was a social drink.
In the barracks there was a canteen which sold wine, but there was not much demand for it.
In early May 1943, the canteen supervisor brought his Chianti. I tried it. It was so enjoyable
that I kept drinking it every evening in May, falling pleasantly asleep afterwards. When at
the end of the month he brought another wine, I did not enjoy it and I no longer bought it
or drank it. I am still wondering how I managed to drink about a litre of wine every night
throughout that month, as I have never done anything like that since.
38
