{"id":204483,"date":"2026-08-17T16:55:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/the-slovenia.com\/?p=204483"},"modified":"2026-08-17T16:56:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:56:01","slug":"wine-cellar-of-the-week-cotar-with-the-signature-of-the-karst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-slovenia.com\/en\/gastronomy\/wine-cellar-of-the-week-cotar-with-the-signature-of-the-karst\/","title":{"rendered":"Wine Cellar of the Week: \u010cotar \u2013 With the Signature of the Karst"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 \u010cotar 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.<\/strong><\/p>

A Story That Grew from Stone<\/strong><\/h2>

Although viticulture has long been in the \u010cotar family\u2019s 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 \u2013 Teran and Karst White \u2013 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.<\/p>

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 \u010cotar, while their guiding principle remains unchanged: wine should speak of the place it comes from and of the person who made it.<\/p>

Vineyards Between Stone, the Bora Wind and the Sea<\/strong><\/h2>

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.<\/p>

The \u010cotar family farm is organic, and the vineyards are cultivated in an environmentally friendly way. Their seven vineyard sites \u2013 Pe\u010dina, Olarija, Dra\u017ena, Dusce, Polje, Kot and Ivanji grad \u2013 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, Refo\u0161k, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.<\/p>

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.<\/p>

\"\"