The Mlecnic family has been growing wine in Slovenia for over 200 years, making them one of the country's long-established winegrowing families. However, this alone was not enough for Valter Mlecnic, so he founded his own small winery in 1982. But he is not interested in quantity, only quality, and so his winery, with just 7 hectares of vineyards, is more what you would call a boutique winery. The winery is located in the Vipava Valley in the coastal region of Primorska, which provides ideal conditions for viticulture with its climate and barren soils. The start was anything but easy, as the socialist regime in Yugoslavia had confiscated his father's vineyards, so he had to buy them back bit by bit. However, he did not yet sell his first wines in bottles in 1989. From the outset, he focused on organic viticulture, inspired in particular by the Friulian organic pioneer Josko Gravner. This also led him to do without the so-called "Bordelaiser Brühe", a copper mixture used to combat mildew, which is the only chemical agent permitted in organic viticulture. The grape varieties cultivated are Rebula, Chardonnay, Friulano, which is also known elsewhere as Sauvignonasse, and Merlot. One jewel is a Friulano parcel dating back to 1947. Valter Mlecinic's vineyards, planted with around 6,000 to 8,000 vines per hectare, are all located in the foothills of the chain of hills that form the famous Vipava Valley. In 2015, he banned his pneumatic press from his cellar and replaced it with an old, traditional basket press, which gives him better results. His winemaking method is also inspired by Josko Gravner. White and red wine grapes are destemmed but fermented together with the skins, 3-7 days for white wines and 10-14 days for red wines. The wines then mature for 2 years in large barrels and a further 3 years in the bottle before leaving the winery. As little intervention as possible is made during production, which also applies to the vineyards. Just 12,000 bottles are produced each year, which is unfortunately very difficult to find due to the high demand.
