Slovenia is a small European country with a Long history of wine production. This is not surprising given its Mediterranean location between the Northern latitudes of 45 and 47 degrees, latitudes shared by Bordeaux, Burgundy and the northern Rhône. The country is also bordered by four of Europe's Oldest wine producing countries: Croatia to the South, Hungary to the east, Austria to the north and Italy to the west.
Despite the cultural and political turmoil that has besieged the Balkan states over the past century, Slovenia has maintained its wine industry, which has flourished particularly since the country gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
Slovenia is largely landlocked, with only a few kilometers of coastline at the top of the Istrian peninsula, just south of Trieste and the Venezia-giulia/friuli">Friuli-venezia-giulia/carso">Carso DOC of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Slovenia's Climate has some maritime tendency to the west, drawn from the northern Adriatic, while there are strong continental influences to the north and east, created by the Alps and the Pannonian basin. The topographical variation makes it difficult to classify Slovenia into a climatic category, and its climate is often described as "sub-Mediterranean".
This variation also gives wine producers a wide choice as to where to locate their vineyards.
While general climatic patterns play out across the country, within these macroclimates there are a series of more subtle variations that contribute to local terroirs.
Slovenia has three main wine regions: Podravje in the east, Primorska in the west and Posavje just south of the centre.
Podravje is the engine room of the Slovenian wine industry, producing about half of the country's national output. Its densest vineyards are located around the eastern city of Maribor, in the valleys of the Pesnica, Drava and Mura rivers.
Pinot Blanc is a grape variety that originated in Burgundy, mutated from Pinot Gris. Today, it is grown in Alsace where it is called klevner when blended with auxerrois. The continental climate, with its cold winters and hot summers, is particularly suited to pinot blanc. It is resistant to frost in winter and in summer, the roots draw the minerals it needs from the warm soil. Its bunches are made up of small berries with thick skins and melting pulp that produce fruity, spicy wines, balanced between acidity and alcohol. pinot blanc is also used for crémants and sparkling wines. Pinot Blanc is also used for Crémant and sparkling wines. It is widely grown in Italy, where it covers almost 7,000 hectares, and is also found in Germany, Austria, Canada and South Africa.
white wines from the region of Slovenia go well with generally quite well with dishes of rich fish (salmon, tuna etc), shellfish or vegetarian such as recipes of sun wheat, yellow risotto with mussels or vegan leek and tofu quiche.
On the nose in the region of Slovenia often reveals types of flavors of tree fruit, microbio or citrus fruit and sometimes also flavors of tropical fruit, earth or oak.
I first contributed to Decanter back in November 1988; the hundreds of columns and articles I’ve written since constitute a journey of discovery. I squirm, though, if I’m described as a ‘wine expert’. Whatever wine knowledge we acquire quickly cools, congeals and crusts over, like custard or gravy, as the years pass. The wine world expands at a clip. Every vintage rewrites history. It’s the chance to share discoveries – not just about wines, but about people, places and the act of drinking itsel ...
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