Natural wine making with a great family tradition
Miha Batic and his father Ivan Batic produce excellent biodynamic wines from a family tradition of more than 400 years. Founded in 1592, the roots of the Batic family's viticulture go very deep into Slovenian history. They create extraordinarily good wines not from modern trends or technical knowledge, but on the basis of experience within the family, the indispensable trust in nature and region and the focus on holistic work out of love for the subject of wine.
The region
The Vipava Valley is located in the wine-growing region of Primorje in western Slovenia right on the Italian border. The region enjoys both a Mediterranean and an Alpine microclimate, coupled with marl, clay, flysch and sandstone soils. In the Vipava Valley, the warm air stream that flows in from the Adriatic via Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the cool air from the Alps meet. They form a valuable microclimate that has a direct influence on the aromatic structure of the wines produced. Overall, the region of Slovenia is characterized by powerful, mineral red wines such as Refošk, international Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (as are also common in neighboring Friuli) and a variety of fascinating white wines such as Pinela, Sivi Pinot (Pinot Gris), Zelen, Vitovska, Rebula (Ribolla Gialla) and Klarnica.
The vineyards
The Batic family owns approximately 19 hectares of vineyards in three villages (Sempas, Vogrsko and Vitovlje) ranging from 60 to 1495 meters above sea level, all facing west. The average vine density is around 12,000 vines per hectare, which means that the roots of the vines have to dig up to 15 meters deep in order to get nutrients and water. These deep roots not only give the wines from the Batic winery a distinctive mineral character, but also ensure constant yields even in rainy and dry conditions. The vines are trained to mature at an average height of 0.5 metres. They are so close to the ground that ripening is due not only to direct sunlight, but to a large extent to indirect heat from the ground. Batic Winery is one of the first wineries in Europe to use the power of fire and air with PCS (Physics-based Cropping System). Instead of fighting vine diseases and pests with pesticides and herbicides, PCS blows air between the vines at 150 km/h and a temperature of 75 degrees. Pollination, natural fungi and a resilient canopy result in the vines gaining a boosted natural immunity. Instead of fighting nature, they mimic the very thing they already know nature does best.
In the wine cellar
The characteristic methodology in Miha Batic's winemaking is knowing when and how to do nothing and let nature take its course. To this end, extremely selective hand-picking, extensive maceration (especially for the native white grape varieties), fermentation in open Slovenian wooden barrels without temperature control and the exclusive use of the grape's own yeast are the most important means to this end. While the winery's popular rosé remains in steel tanks, all other wines only mature in Slovenian oak throughout all fermentation processes. All wines are bottled unfined, often unfiltered and often without added sulphur. Lunar cycles and seasons are the central pacesetters in winemaking. For example, bottling only takes place on clear days.
The wines of the exceptional winery in natural viticulture from Slovenia can be found Batic winery wines.
