The fascinating Kras is a plateau between the Vipava Valley and the Bay of Trieste, the origin of the Karst landscape denomination used across the world. It is a land filled with passion – rocky and wild, yet to us locals cultured and familiar.
The Čotar family estate with its vineyards and wine cellar lies in the western part of the Kras, in the village Gorjansko just 5 km from the sea. Extensive family tradition aside, our current farm grew from the foundations up. Some 40 years ago, in 1974 to be exact, we dug our cellar’s first chamber into living rock, making wines for the family restaurant, Teran and Kraško Belo, a white blend typical of Kras. Our first wholesale bottle, the vintage 1988, was bottled in 1990. A year prior, we had built the cellar’s second space, upgrading with a third in 2002.
Vines
We are an organic farm committed to nature friendly winegrowing on our sites Pečina, Olarija, Dražna, Dusce, Polje, Kot, and Ivanji grad, totaling 7.5 ha in surface. Here, vineyard planting entails clearing the forest, airing the bedrock and depositing the soil.
Varieties
Refosco, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malvasia Istriana, Sauvignon Blanc, Vitovska.
- 50 % red, 50 % white varieties
- 6000 vines per hectare
- Single guyot vine training system
- Low yields (3500 to 4000 kg/ha)
- Late autumn picking – aiming for phenolic ripeness
