A community vineyard cottage connects villagers in a special village community.

Soseska Zidanica Wine Bank

A community vineyard cottage connects villagers in a special village community. Such organizations date from the 17th century. In the region of Bela Krajina, community vineyard cottages were flourishing between 1880 and 1890, until the phylloxera epidemic. After that, they started to rapidly disappear. However, some community vineyard cottages remained active even after the World War II, and disappeared thereafter, except those in the villages of Drašiči and Božakovo, which are still active today. (Andrej Dular: Pij, kume moj dragi [“Drink, My Dear Godfather”]).

The members of the community vineyard cottage Drašiči are winemakers from Krmačina, two from Železniki and one from Pleščev Vrh. The home of the community cottage is on the ground floor of a former school, on the opposite side of the St. Peter’s Church from 1773. The cottage lies in the lowermost point between the two parts of the village of Drašiči–between the upper part of the village called Gorenci, which is a typical linear village, and the lower part called Dolenci, which is a typical nucleated village. A little bit lower lays the village Blaževa Vas, which is a dispersed settlement. From this perspective, the village of Drašiči is unique, as it consists of three different types of settlement patterns.

During the visit, you will get to know the history and the way of working of the community vineyard cottage Drašiči, the one-of-a-kind wine bank, registered as intangible cultural heritage of Slovenia.

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Gotovina

Simonič sparkling wines

Winemaking has been a family Simonič tradition for several generations. In the late nineties of the 20th century Ivan Simonič decided to concentrate his efforts on the production of sparkling wines, which made him the first independent producer of sparkling wines in Bela krajina. The year 2000 marked the advent of the Semiška penina – demi-sec. In 2001 this sparkling wine received a gold medal at the Gornja Radgona Fair and with the mark of 18.53 came in second among sparkling wines. This achievement spurred on further development and the production of bottles and the selection of sparkling wines grew with each year. The selection now includes Semiška penina – sec, Semiška penina – Blaufränkisch, Semiška penina – gold with added 23 karat gold leaves, Semiška jantarna penina, and Semiška penina – Barrique, which has to mature in barrique barrels for a year before bottling. Semiška penina POSEIDON matures in the depths of the Adriatic Sea, 30 meters deep, at a constant temperature of 12-13°C.

Bela krajina is known for its superb culinary offer and the tourist farm Šuklje is no exception, serving premium quality wines and dishes of the same quality.

Soseska Zidanica Wine Bank

Brewery Vizir is a pioneer in the field of craft brewing in Slovenia. We started brewing beer in 2008 after deciding to branch out from viticulture in order to offer something new to our customers. Being a driven young team brimming with innovative ideas and knowledge we devised an entirely original strategy. With the help of our family business Mithraeum, which produces brewing equipment, we set up our own brewery and started venturing into the world of brewing. Both owners, Maja and Denis, have bachelor’s degrees in food technology, which made them equipped to tackle any arising initial glitches and achieve their goals faster and more successfully.

The Šturm wines reign in the immediate vicinity of Vidošiči, on the slopes below the St Ana’s church, from where an amazing view on vineyards, hillsides and surrounding churches can be seen.

The wine reflects the particularities of local soil, climate, location, variety, vintage, and work invested by our winegrower and cellarman. The wines, though never identical, are always authentic and unique. The combination of tradition in the cellar and modern technology in the cultivation process ensures that champion titles will continue to grace our walls and awards will fill our showcases. These are a testament to the rich history and the progressive approaches to the production of wine in Bela krajina – and all this is embodied in the Wine Cellar Metlika.

What makes it special is certainly the hospitality because, to this day, its door has never been closed and no traveller has ever had to leave the Dolc place thirsty.

The Prus family home in Krmačina near Metlika emanates the cheerfulness of pleasant everyday life. The three generations living under the same roof symbolize the family winemaking tradition. Although the vineyard of their late grandfather was not as big as it is today, he was nevertheless a member of the The Drašiči Communal Vineyard Cottage (soseska zidanica Drašiči).

Pečarič Farm is located on the sunny side of the Gorjanci mountain range, in a village Čurile near Metlika. The farm has been associated with winegrowing for several centuries. Even though the records about the beginnings of grapevine cultivation in the area are scarce, the farm’s standing towards the end of the 19th century suggests that significant progress had already been made. At that time the farm had two hectares of vineyards which was an exceptionally large amount by Bela krajina’s standards of the time.

that Bela krajina’s “Belokranjska Pisanica” Easter egg is one of the most beautiful traditional Easter egg varieties in Slovenia. Another variety is the “Belokranjska Drsanka''

that the “Tri Fare” pilgrimage site in the village of Rosalnice features three churches side by side within the same churchyard wall.

that Bela krajina is home to five different ethnic groups and three religions. The only two Uniate churches in Slovenia are located in Bela krajina.

that the first ice wine to be produced in the territory of former Yugoslavia was produced in Bela krajina.

that the black olm, also known as black proteus is endemic to Bela krajina.

that 13 special protection areas of the Natura 2000 network are in Bela krajina and comprise 40% of its territory. As many as 300 natural values can be found in Bela krajina.