Wine Speak
Three thousand years after the Greeks brought the culture of making wine to Slovenia, Kyoko Nakayama discovers first hand why more people are falling for its wines
In a nod to sustainable consumption, we ponder the natural allure of Slovenian wines
We are in Slovenia, near the Italian border, and on our way to visit a couple of passionate winemakers. Driving us is Slovenian wine advocate Valter Kramar, who is also the sommelier at Hisa Franko, located in the lush Soca Valley. Slovenia, he explains, is one of the world’s most sustainable countries, meeting nearly every sustainability indicator, particularly when it comes to making wine. It’s also the kind of wines locals prefer to drink. “In our restaurant, 90 per cent of the wine (we serve) is Slovenian wine, and 90 to 95 per cent of these are natural wines,” he adds, before affirming that most of the country’s winemakers are farmers who only produce small amounts. And it’s not only about staying true to an ethos. The natural process of spontaneous fermentation affords each wine a unique character. Best of all, he cheekily muses, such wines also pair nicely with the restaurant’s ‘hyper-local’ dishes, prepared by chef Ana Ros, named 2017 World’s Best Female Chef, who is also Kramar’s wife. Ros adds: “In Slovenia, everything comes with invisible name tags.” It’s a shared ethos, whether you’re a farmer, chef or winemaker.
NATURAL CHOICE
Slovenia can be divided into the regions of Podravje, Posavje and Primorska, and we were visiting the municipality of Brda in Primorska. Located in the western part of the country, the region boasts mineral rich soil, good for growing riesling and sauvignon blanc. In fact, Kramar points out that 70 per cent of Slovenian wines are made with white grapes, mainly welschriesling, malvasia, rebula, riesling and sauvignon blanc. “Also, we’re the pioneer of making orange wine, and the long skin contact allows us to keep the wine natural; instead of (adding) sulphur, tannin from the skin works as an antioxidiser,” he shares, before highlighting a few unique facts about the wine’s compatibility with Southeast Asian flavours, such as coriander, lemongrass and chilli. “Two years ago, chef David Thompson came to our restaurant and showcased the authentic Thai flavours of Nahm, and I paired the dishes with orange wine, made with riesling and picolit, which goes beautifully with these aromatic, spicy dishes, Kramar shares in between sips of his cappuccino. He was, of course, referring to the aromatic nature of the wine, which is the result of the long maceration process, and its high acidity.
NATIVE PRIDE
The first winery we stopped at was Kmetija Stekar where Janko Stekar, its 10th generation winemaker and grape farmer, works. “Organic, natural wine is not just a trend, it’s how we’ve been making wine since a thousand years ago,” he adds. But he recalls a huge wave of modern winemaking in the 1970’s, when powdered (and not natural) yeast, pesticide and lots of sulphur were used. He started helping his father with the
“Natural wine is not just a trend, it’s how we’ve been making wine since a thousand years ago”
winemaking in 1980s, but felt they were making “the same character-less wine as the other countries” and began to reflect on the value of the land. “I’m proud of the quality of the grapes (we can grow), so (I thought) why not make the best flavour from it,” he posits, which meant returning to traditional, natural winemaking. He then highlighted a few native varieties of grapes, such as malvasia, rebula and jakot, and said that the best way to express as much of the grapes’ beautiful character is to use large acacia wood barrels, which gives lighter additional flavour compared to the oak barrels or barriques. “The wood is hard, strong, close-grained and more neutral then oak,” Stekar explains. “For us, barrels are containers that allow wine to develop, but we don’t want them to affect too much of the original flavour of grapes.” And it paid off. In 2015, for Decanter’s first orange wine category ratings, judges at a blind tasting gave their Rebula Prilo 2007 a 92-point score, which was highest in the category.
EXPRESSING NATURE
Over at Atelier Kramar, I spoke to owners Matjaž and Katja Kramar, the artist couple and winemakers who built their house and winery in 2001. They had started making small batches of wine, mostly for themselves, but it’s now their main job. “Our area Barbana (located only 300 metres from the border of Italy) is known as the best winemaking area since 18th century,” Matjaž proudly declares. He explained that its unique soil composition adds a “pleasant minerality” to the wines. “Our work is mainly done in the vineyard, and the wines are made using spontaneous fermentation without temperature control,” he continues, pointing out how such wines offer a true reflection of the vintage. Additionally, since last year, they’ve started following the moon calendar and making biodynamic wine. “As artists, we (aim) to express nature in the shape of wine,” Matjaž expresses.
GROWING FANS
While the biggest lovers of Slovenian wine lover are mostly locals, the growing breed of fans include a number of foreign pundits. Chris Boiling, wine editor of Canopy, the official online magazine of the International Wine Challenge, is one such fan. “My personal favourite grape variety in Slovenia is furmint—it produces worldclass dessert and dry wines,” he shares, adding that the dry wines are on-trend at the moment. “Many people associate it with Hungary, but I prefer the bonedry version from Slovenia, especially those made in the terraced hills around the pretty village of Jeruzalem. “Crusaders in the 13th century came across this village, probably got a bit waylaid by the wine, and thought they had reached the Promised Land. I think it is the Promised Land for wine lovers. That’s why I bought a small (0.5ha) vineyard there and make my own wine from a field blend (an old vineyard filled with a mixture of grape varieties).”