Žametovka (also known as Ametovka and Kavčina črna) is a red

Slovenian wine Slovenian wine is wine from Slovenia. Viticulture and winemaking has existed in this region since the time of the Celts and Illyrians tribes, long before the Romans would introduce winemaking to the lands of France, Spain and Germany. J. Robinson ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

. This is one of the oldest domesticated

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

in Slovenian. Formerly it was popular in Styrian vineyards, and even more so, even today, known in Dolenjska in southeast Slovenia - from the reddish wine cviček. It produces a wine of pure red color. A single vine of Žametovka growing in the

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Sloven ...

town of

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

is estimated by the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

to be the oldest living vine still producing fruit in the world at over 400 years of age.G. Harding ''"A Wine Miscellany"'' pg 19, Clarkson Potter Publishing, New York 2005 Anthony Gardner '
Maribor, Slovenia: a cultural city guide
'' ''The Daily Telegraph'' March 1st, 2012Nick Stephens '
The Oldest Grape Vine in the World – and The Oldest Wine etc!
'' Bordeaux Undiscovered. July 17th, 2008Slovenian Press Agency '
Maribor Harvests World's Oldest Vine
'' September 25th, 2011Patricia X. Savoie '
Slovenia, Little Country-Big Wines
'' ''Wine Business Monthly'' December 2002 issue. Accessed: November 3rd, 2012

Maribor vine

The vine growing in Maribor is part of the

frontage Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of ...

of Old Vine House (''Hiša stare trte'') located in the Lent neighborhood along the

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

river. Paintings of the house kept at the Štajerska Provincial Museum in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

show the vine growing at least as early as 1657. In 1972, the vine was tested by a Paris laboratory with its age confirmed to be over 400 years. During its life, the Maribor vine survived the

Ottoman–Habsburg wars The Ottoman–Habsburg wars were fought from the 16th through the 18th centuries between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy, which was at times supported by the Kingdom of Hungary, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Habsburg Spai ...

that affected the entire region,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's invasion and rule of the

Illyrian Provinces The Illyrian Provinces sl, Ilirske province hr, Ilirske provincije sr, Илирске провинције it, Province illirichegerman: Illyrische Provinzen, group=note were an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province of France d ...

, the

phylloxera epidemic The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid waste to the wine industry. It was caused by an aphid that originated in North America and was carried across the Atl ...

that devastated ''Vitis vinifera'' vines across the continent as well as

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Seth Sherwood '
Castles and high-tech culture in Slovenia
'' ''The Seattle Times'' August 7th, 2011 Maribor Zametovka vine and daughter

Each

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

the Maribor vine produces enough fruit to make around 25 liters of wine that gets bottled in small 250ml bottles and given by the city council of Maribor as ceremonial gifts to dignitaries with former United States president

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

being the recipient of one such bottle.Ksenija Samardzija '
An ancient grape vine in Slovenia is spreading good vibes across border...
'' Radio Prague. September 26th, 2003

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

, Emperor

Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bo ...

of Japan and former California governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

have also received bottles of Žametovka wine produced from the Maribor vine. Cuttings from the vine are also given as gifts with King

Abdullah II of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of t ...

being the recipient of one cutting and former Slovenian President

Milan Kučan Milan Kučan (; born 14 January 1941) is a Slovene politician who served as the first President of Slovenia from 23 December 1991 until 22 December 2002. Before being president of Slovenia, he was the 13th President of the Presidency of SR Slov ...

having another cutting growing at his home in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

Harvesting Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

of the vine and crushing of the grapes takes place in October as part of a 10-day

Bacchanalia The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rome ...

festival in Maribor.

Wine

Žametovka is a late variety (ripens in middle of October), moderate vigor, requires a better vineyard location. It is relatively resistant to winter frost, but less against the spring frost. Since the beginning of budding to full maturity of the grapes takes about 170 days. The cluster is large, medium compact and weighs an average of 250-400 g. Žametovka grapes tend to ripen to high

sugar levels Sugars in wine are at the heart of what makes winemaking possible. During the process of fermentation, sugars from wine grapes are broken down and converted by yeast into alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide. Grapes accumulate sugars as they grow ...

and to produce rich wines with noticeable sweetness and

residual sugars The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, wh ...

. The wine made from the Maribor vine, which is not available for public sale, has been described by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' as "virtually undrinkable".

Synonyms

Over the years Žametovka has been known under a variety of synonyms including Kavcina Crna, Kapcina Kavtchina, Koelner blau, Koelner Blauer, Zametasta Crnina, Zametna Crnina and Zametnina Crnina.

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...

(VIVC)
Žametovka
' Accessed: November 3rd, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zametovka Wine grapes of Slovenia Red wine grape varieties

Maribor vine

Wine

Synonyms

See also

References