Page 71 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 71
The Culture of Wine Drinking
an idea of what he might do at the right moment. This is why there is a great difference
between wines made by individual winegrowers, even when they all have the same basic
conditions, i.e. the grape variety and location. A winemaker puts himself into his wine.
Around the world and in Slovenia there is a growing recognition of the fact that when we
are choosing a wine what is important is the name of the house and its owner. It is beneficial
if we meet the winemaker and talk to him. There are a number of possibilities of how to
get to know a winemaker and more will be said about this later.
A winemaker lives in a specific environment that is the product of tradition, i.e. customs,
worldviews, and so on. If we want to understand him correctly, we must also learn about
the cultural characteristics of where his lives and its past: customs, the way of life, the way
of thinking – everything that contributed to what he is. The past changes with education
and new wine producing technology, but a certain identity of the environment remains.
In spite of all the richness of wine, there is still in Slovenia a relatively low cultural level
of wine-drinking. The lowest level is when wine is drunk only for intoxication. We should
drink just enough to make us merry. Our ancestors were much better in this regard as they
enjoyed wine during meals and physical work, and wine was a predominantly social drink.
This is why oenologists wish to change attitudes to wine-drinking habits. We are striving
for people to:
• learn what wine is and about its natural richness;
• know how to differentiate wines by their origin (provenance), variety and quality;
• enjoy wine with food, choose wines according to their aroma and flavour;
• learn about winegrowing districts and the winemakers who live there.
I see in wine thousands of years of effort to create a wealth of completely different aromas
and flavours. Wine reflects the winemaker’s knowledge, his love for his profession and
the subtlety he invests in its production. The wealth of our wines lies in their diversity. In
Wine samples for an international
assessment in the cellar of
Ljubljana’s Gospodarsko
razstavišče exhibition centre in
1988. The Terčelj family archive.
67
an idea of what he might do at the right moment. This is why there is a great difference
between wines made by individual winegrowers, even when they all have the same basic
conditions, i.e. the grape variety and location. A winemaker puts himself into his wine.
Around the world and in Slovenia there is a growing recognition of the fact that when we
are choosing a wine what is important is the name of the house and its owner. It is beneficial
if we meet the winemaker and talk to him. There are a number of possibilities of how to
get to know a winemaker and more will be said about this later.
A winemaker lives in a specific environment that is the product of tradition, i.e. customs,
worldviews, and so on. If we want to understand him correctly, we must also learn about
the cultural characteristics of where his lives and its past: customs, the way of life, the way
of thinking – everything that contributed to what he is. The past changes with education
and new wine producing technology, but a certain identity of the environment remains.
In spite of all the richness of wine, there is still in Slovenia a relatively low cultural level
of wine-drinking. The lowest level is when wine is drunk only for intoxication. We should
drink just enough to make us merry. Our ancestors were much better in this regard as they
enjoyed wine during meals and physical work, and wine was a predominantly social drink.
This is why oenologists wish to change attitudes to wine-drinking habits. We are striving
for people to:
• learn what wine is and about its natural richness;
• know how to differentiate wines by their origin (provenance), variety and quality;
• enjoy wine with food, choose wines according to their aroma and flavour;
• learn about winegrowing districts and the winemakers who live there.
I see in wine thousands of years of effort to create a wealth of completely different aromas
and flavours. Wine reflects the winemaker’s knowledge, his love for his profession and
the subtlety he invests in its production. The wealth of our wines lies in their diversity. In
Wine samples for an international
assessment in the cellar of
Ljubljana’s Gospodarsko
razstavišče exhibition centre in
1988. The Terčelj family archive.
67
