Wine Cellar of the Week: Čotar – With the Signature of the Karst

Gorjansko, on the western edge of the Karst, just a few kilometres from the sea, wines are made that make no attempt to hide where they come from. The Čotar family winery gives them time to develop their distinctive character in an underground Karst cellar, then symbolically signs each bottle with a fingerprint. These are not wines made with shortcuts, but wines shaped by stone, red earth, patience and a distinctive winemaking philosophy.

A Story That Grew from Stone

Although viticulture has long been in the Čotar family’s blood, the present-day farm was practically built from scratch. In 1974, the family carved the first part of the cellar into solid rock and produced their first two wines – Teran and Karst White – for their own restaurant. What began as wine for the family table and their guests gradually grew into one of the most distinctive wine stories of the Karst.

The first wines intended for sale, from the 1988 vintage, were bottled in 1990. Over the years, the cellar was expanded; the second section was built in 1989, while the winery took its final form in 2002. Today, the family story is carried forward by Branko and Vasja Čotar, while their guiding principle remains unchanged: wine should speak of the place it comes from and of the person who made it.

Vineyards Between Stone, the Bora Wind and the Sea

The family farm, vineyards, house and cellar are located in Gorjansko, approximately five kilometres from the sea. Here, the Karst reveals both sides of its character: the landscape is rocky, wild and exposed to the Bora wind, while at the same time it is influenced by the nearby Mediterranean and its distinctive red Karst soil.

The Čotar family farm is organic, and the vineyards are cultivated in an environmentally friendly way. Their seven vineyard sites – Pečina, Olarija, Dražna, Dusce, Polje, Kot and Ivanji grad – cover a total of 7.5 hectares. Around 6,000 vines grow per hectare, with a low yield of only 3,500 to 4,000 kilograms of grapes per hectare. Half of the plantings consist of white varieties and half of red varieties: Vitovska, Malvasia, Sauvignon, Refošk, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Harvesting takes place in late autumn, when the grapes reach phenolic maturity. This approach requires patience and a thorough understanding of each vintage, but allows the character of the grape variety and the Karst terroir to express itself without embellishment.

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Deeper and Deeper into the Cellar

The special character of the Čotar cellar lies not only in the fact that it is carved into solid rock, but also in the way the wine is made there. From the grapes to bottling, the wine gradually moves from one level to another, deeper and deeper beneath the surface. The length of maceration is determined according to the vintage and the winemaker’s judgement, so the process is not based on a predetermined recipe but responds to the grapes produced by each individual season.

Alcoholic fermentation takes place spontaneously, without the addition of selected yeasts, in barrels ranging from 200 to 2,000 litres. Until the first racking, the wine remains on its lees without added sulphur. It then matures in seasoned oak barrels. White wines age for at least two years, while red wines mature for four to five years.

The wines are not filtered, which means that sediment may appear in the bottle. At Čotar, this is not considered a flaw, but rather a natural consequence of minimal intervention and the wine’s slow development.

The Fingerprint as a Symbol of Individuality

Čotar wine labels are instantly recognisable by their fingerprints. They express confidence in the wine, its uniqueness and the differences between individual bottles, while also serving as the winemaker’s symbolic signature. The image perfectly reflects their philosophy: every wine is the result of the Karst soil, the vintage and the decisions made by the people working in the vineyard and cellar.

Among the white wines, they produce Vitovska, Malvasia and Sauvignon, while the red selection includes Teran, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Terra Rossa – a blend of Teran, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The range is complemented by white and black sparkling wines, as well as the special wine Sladkominka.

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An Invitation to the Authentic Karst

Visiting the Čotar winery is not simply a wine tasting, but an encounter with the Karst in its most authentic form. In the underground cellar, surrounded by wines that have been ageing for years and stories passed down through the family, it becomes clear why their wines are not defined by trends or haste. They are defined by place, time and the belief that good wine should preserve its origin.

For information and to arrange a visit, please contact the winery in advance.

Contact

Vina Čotar

Gorjansko 4a
6223 Komen, Slovenia

Phone: +386 41 870 274 (Vasja), +386 41 667 126 (Branko), +386 40 363 685 (Andreja)

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.cotar.si