Day 7 of The Falstaff wine advent calendar.

Day 7 of The Falstaff wine advent calendar.
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The Falstaff wine advent calendar: Day 7

Where would you find the world’s oldest living vine?

Slovenia’s wines remain unfairly under the radar, but if you want a clue to the depth of this country’s wine culture – not to mention the national pride it engenders – then pay a visit to the town of Maribor. Here, in the north-east of the country, not far from the border with southern Austria, grows the world’s officially oldest grape vine.

Confirmed as being around 400 years old, this vine still produces grapes of the Žametovka variety. Despite long periods of neglect, it has survived Ottoman invasion, fire, phylloxera, Allied bombing during World War II, and the damming of the Drava river. Surely that’s worth a toast.

Gabriel Stone
Gabriel Stone
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