Wine region · Slovenia
Podravje
North-eastern Slovenia, continuous with Austrian Styria, and the country’s largest region for aromatic dry whites.
Dry, aromatic, high-acid whites — herbal Sauvignon Blanc, taut Riesling and crisp Welschriesling. Cool-climate throughout.
About Podravje
Podravje follows the Drava in north-eastern Slovenia and is the same landscape as Austrian Südsteiermark across the border.
It is cooler and more continental than Primorska, and it produces predominantly white wine — Laški Rizling (Welschriesling), Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Šipon (Furmint).
The world’s oldest known living grapevine, the Stara trta in Maribor, grows here and has been dated at over 400 years.
No authority delimits this name or attaches rules to it. A country’s major wine division, usually containing appellations or sub-regions beneath it. That does not make it less real or less useful — it means nothing legal follows from it, and you will not generally find it on a label as a controlled designation.
Grapes
Wines from here
What to eat, and how to serve it
Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.
Where to go next
Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.
- Primorska — Western Slovenia on the Italian border — the same hills as Collio under a different flag, and a birthplace of the modern orange-wine movement.
- Südsteiermark — Steep green hills on the Slovenian border, making Austria’s most distinctive Sauvignon Blanc.
- Balaton — The regions around central Europe’s largest lake, whose volcanic northern shore makes Hungary’s most distinctive dry whites.
Sources
Sources consulted