Author(s):
Conrad M. Goodwin, Ph.D.* - Independent Scholar
Abstract:
People having been growing grapes and making wine in what is now Slovenia for about 2400 years. Today, there are about 24,000 hectares under vine cultivation and cover about 1.2% of Slovenia's total land area. About 100 million liters of wine are produced annually. Slovenians consume most of the wine, and only about 5% is exported.
The country has 3 wine producing regions. Posavje in the south and southeast is best known for Cvicek, a light, fresh red wine that normally finds its way to the table along with homemade cheeses and sausages when you visit friends or family. Podravje is in the northeast and is best known for white wines, especially Laski Rizling and late harvest wines. Primorska is in the west, bordering the Adriatic and Italy, and produces some outstanding wines, both whites and reds.
Slovene wines, several of which have won medals in international competitions, are not well known in the United States due to limited production and local consumption, hence little for export. EU membership has presented further challenges to Slovene winemakers by limiting wine production areas and by opening the Slovene domestic market to increased foreign competition. In response, some winemakers formed cooperatives to better enable export of their wines. Other wineries concentrate on improving and producing high quality wines, while many still focus on production for personal consumption.
