Page 44 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 44
he Culture of Wine in Slovenia
Years ago I was given for my birthday the book The Little Prince by the French writer
Antoine de Saint-Exupery. It is a fairy tale for adults, written by a child (the little prince) as
he learns about the world and wonders why grown-ups act so illogically. The book contains
the thought that if you want to see in the right way, you have to look with your heart, as that
which is important is invisible to the eye. I would like to apply this to wine. Some people
see in wine just a market commodity, a source of income that might earn us, let us say, a
dollar, but if we add foreign provenance or some tannin powder, we can make two dollars.
If we approach wine with our heart, we see a different image. We see the beauty of our
hills, covered with vines, glowing with the colours of the individual seasons. In wine, we
see thousands of years of effort invested in the creation of a wealth of incredibly different
aromas and flavours. We feel and understand the worries, difficulties and the joy of vine
growers. We wish to talk to them, to learn about their character as it is expressed in their
wine. We learn to understand differences between wines, not just in terms of varieties,
but also with respect to each and every barrel by each and every winemaker. Wine reflects
their knowledge, character, the love of their calling and the subtle qualities they invest in
winemaking. Wine is goodness.
A wine barrel carved with an 18th century image of St.
George, 1976. Photo library of the Ptuj Regional Museum.
The poetic nature of Čotar’s wine cellar on the
Kras, 2006. Photo: Staša Cafuta.
The wealth of Slovene wines is in their diversity, which is the result of the natural conditions
as well as the love of winemakers who create this wealth. This is our cultural heritage, which
we must not abandon but pass on to our successors. This is why I see the winemaker as an
artist. Wine is a work of art. Artists do not allow themselves to be globalised. It is them that
we Slovenes must thank for being a European nation and for having our own country.
40
Years ago I was given for my birthday the book The Little Prince by the French writer
Antoine de Saint-Exupery. It is a fairy tale for adults, written by a child (the little prince) as
he learns about the world and wonders why grown-ups act so illogically. The book contains
the thought that if you want to see in the right way, you have to look with your heart, as that
which is important is invisible to the eye. I would like to apply this to wine. Some people
see in wine just a market commodity, a source of income that might earn us, let us say, a
dollar, but if we add foreign provenance or some tannin powder, we can make two dollars.
If we approach wine with our heart, we see a different image. We see the beauty of our
hills, covered with vines, glowing with the colours of the individual seasons. In wine, we
see thousands of years of effort invested in the creation of a wealth of incredibly different
aromas and flavours. We feel and understand the worries, difficulties and the joy of vine
growers. We wish to talk to them, to learn about their character as it is expressed in their
wine. We learn to understand differences between wines, not just in terms of varieties,
but also with respect to each and every barrel by each and every winemaker. Wine reflects
their knowledge, character, the love of their calling and the subtle qualities they invest in
winemaking. Wine is goodness.
A wine barrel carved with an 18th century image of St.
George, 1976. Photo library of the Ptuj Regional Museum.
The poetic nature of Čotar’s wine cellar on the
Kras, 2006. Photo: Staša Cafuta.
The wealth of Slovene wines is in their diversity, which is the result of the natural conditions
as well as the love of winemakers who create this wealth. This is our cultural heritage, which
we must not abandon but pass on to our successors. This is why I see the winemaker as an
artist. Wine is a work of art. Artists do not allow themselves to be globalised. It is them that
we Slovenes must thank for being a European nation and for having our own country.
40
