Vina Krapež
Martin Krapež
Vina Krapež wine estate is located in the beautiful village of Vrhpolje in the Vipava Valley, at the foothills of Nanos and Kovk. In the past, sea deposited rich layers of flysch and marl which make good grounds for vines.
The sub-Mediterranean climate of the Vipava Valley is strongly affected by constant alternation of warm, wet southwest wind called mornik and cold northeast wind called burja – bora. The valley usually has mild winters, warm summers and approximately 1500 mm of annual precipitation with climaxes in late spring and autumn. Mixing of continental and Mediterranean climate characteristics has influence on the character of Vipava wines.
In 1928 Grandpa Jožef Krapež buys The “Pr’potokovo” farm (meaning: Near the stream farm) in Vrhpolje and moves from Gora (nearby hill) to the valley, starting the beginning of the viticulture and winemaking family. Hard work, hardy hands, sweaty face, day after day, for the family to survive, for the farm to develop and advance. His son Jožef was developing and building the name of the Krapež farm since his young age. His first and last thought was always the cellar, in the morning opening and in the evening closing its door.
In 1971 Jožef Jr. decides to sign a document not to give the grapes to the Vipava Wine Cooperative anymore. Since then, Krapež has been an independent viticulturer and winegrower.
In 1987, Jožef’s son Martin assumed the responsibility of the cellar and wine.
Burja Estate
Primož Lavrenčič
Burja Estate was born in 2009 when some old vineyards were given to Primož Lavrenčič as a family inheritance. The idea of the new estate was to connect a traditional Vipava winegrowing culture with modern understanding of wine.
Vipava is having one of the oldest documented traditions of extended skin maceration – local priest Matija Vertovec wrote Vinoreja za Slovence (Winemaking for Slovenians) in 1844, talks about “the old Vipava method” of using a week’s skin contact for white grapes.
The farm is over 9 hectares of densely planted vineyards now, with almost all the vineyards exposed to the east. Only the local grape varieties are grown: Rebula, Malvazija, Laški Rizling, Zelen, Refošk, Pokalca, Frankinja. In addition, they grow 1.20 ha of Pinot Noir.
The wine cellar is deep underground and the wine barrels are full, so in that way the temperature and oxidation are controlled. All wines are spontaneously fermented with no additives or unnecessary interventions made during the process – only with a small addition of sulfites added before the bottling (20 – 30 mg/l).
All of the work in the vineyards is done biodynamically.
The main goal of the winery is to enhance the terroir, especially the soil. All of the soil in the vineyards is developed on flysch, however, it differs slightly according to lithologic varieties of the bedrock below the soil. Luckily, this adds diversity to the wines.
Šumenjak
Šumenjak farm is a family estate in Jakobski dol, 17 km from Maribor. We process 14 ha of land, in addition to viticulture, which is our main activity, we also deal with beekeeping, spirits, and breeding of suckler cows.
Today, our products are present throughout Slovenia and abroad, since in recent years we have worked hard on the quality and visibility of our brand.
Nando
Andrej Kristančič
Andrej Kristančič, owner of Nando Winery, has been making wines on his family’s farm for nearly 25 years. He studied winemaking in high-school, allowing him to expand on his personal style while continuing the family tradition started by his grandfather, Nando.
Andrej has a low interventionist style, combined with a true farmer’s knowledge, humility, and dedication to tradition marked with his own personal expression of winemaking.
NANDO farm is located in Plesivo, Brda in the Primorska region, bordering with the Friuli-Collio region of Italy. Of the 5.5 hectares, 60% are located in Italian Collio and 40% in Brda. The favorable Mediterranean micro-climate is mixed with warm sea air arriving from the Adriatic Sea in the south, and cooler temperatures from the Julian Alps located north of the farm. This unique climate is very well suited for white wines. The vineyards are terraced at an altitude of 100m to 200m, and planted with local (indigenous) Rebula, Tokaj, and Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The vines range from 9 to 40 years, with yields of 4000 to 6000 kg. per hectare. The vineyards are planted in a poor soil of marl or “ponka” as it’s known in the local Slovenian dialect.
To protect against disease, copper and sulfur treatments are used sparingly. Chemical agents are not used. The soil is planted with grass, and the harvest is manual with grapes harvested in full maturity from September to October. Spontaneous fermentation without the addition of selected yeasts, sulfur and other chemicals. Minimal amount of S02 are added only at bottling.
Keltis
