The history
The Cotar winery is located in the southern part of the Kras plateau in Gorjansko in Slovenia. In 1974, Branco Cotar began to press the first wine for its own restaurant from two family-owned vineyards. Of course, how could it be otherwise in the Kras, a Teran. Over time, the wines he produced himself became so popular that he gave up the restaurant and became a full-time winemaker in 1990. The new three-story wine cellar with two underground floors has been in operation since 2003. It was built completely into the rock.
The vineyards
At the Cotar family, everything is geared towards producing the highest possible quality. All wines are produced using biodynamic farming methods. The vineyards extend over 7.5 hectares and are extremely densely planted with 7,300 vines using the Guoyt method. Only a single bottle of wine is produced per vine. With this small but high quality quantity, the effort in the Kras is gigantic. In order to plant a new vineyard, the red earth, the terra rossa, has to be brought from a sinkhole in hundreds of truckloads.
The wine making
The harvest takes place very late. From grapes to bottling, the wines are gradually brought deeper into the wine cellar from floor to floor without the use of pumps. The maceration depends on the vintage and the respective decision of Vasja and Branco Cotar. The alcoholic fermentation takes place spontaneously in the underground wine cellar in 200 to 2000 liter barrels, without the addition of pure yeasts. Without adding sulfur, the wine is left on its lees until the first racking.
The wines
The Cotar winery produces wine from the indigenous grape varieties Vitovska, Malvasia and Teran, as well as from the international grape varieties Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Karst Teran is Slovenia's most typical red wine specialty. At first the deep dark red surprises with its striking acidity, but in the next moment it amazes with its power and melting. The wines of Cotar impress with their unique liveliness, power and depth. All wines have a relatively low alcohol content and cannot be compared with anything in terms of their individual, uncompromising aromas.
You can find our wine selection from Vina Cotar here.
