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

Slovenian wine Slovenia has more than 28,000 wineries making between 80 and 90 million litres annually from the country's 22,300 hectares of vineyards. About 75% of the country's production is white wine. Almost all of the wine is consumed domestically with o ...

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

. 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 ''V ...

in Slovenia. 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 town of

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

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 British reference book published annually, listi ...

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 (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

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

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

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 to the 18th centuries between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy, which was at times supported by the Kingdom of Hungary, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Holy Roman Empire, The ...

that affected the entire region,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's invasion and rule of the

Illyrian Provinces The Illyrian Provinces were an autonomous province of France during the First French Empire that existed under Napoleonic Rule from 1809 to 1814. The province encompassed large parts of modern Italy and Croatia, extending their reach further e ...

, 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 insect that originated in North America and was carried across the At ...

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Each

vintage In winemaking, vintage is the process of picking grapes to create wine. A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine ...

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 and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

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 BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

, Emperor

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

of Japan and former California governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

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 (Abdullah bin Hussein; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemites, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally reg ...

being the recipient of one cutting and former Slovenian President

Milan Kučan Milan Kučan (; born 14 January 1941) is a Slovenian former politician who served as the first President of Slovenia from 1991 to 2002. Before being president of Slovenia, he was the 13th President of Slovenia#Socialist Republic of Slovenia, Pres ...

having another cutting growing at his home in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Harvesting Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

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 R ...

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 and to produce rich wines with noticeable sweetness and residual sugars. 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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' 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 G ...

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

References

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

Maribor vine

Wine

Synonyms

See also

References