Čotar Malvazija Orange Wine
$33.00
Out of stock
Vintage: 2018
Region: Kras, Slovenia
Viticulture: Organic
Varieties: 100% Malvasia
Čotar Malvazija Orange Wine, made from Malvasia that left on the skins for 10 days. The wine then ages for two years on the lees.
Song: Holy Ghost Fire by Paul Cauthen
Out of stock
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About Čotar Malvazija Orange Wine
Čotar Malvazija Orange Wine, made from Malvasia that left on the skins for 10 days. The wine then ages for two years on the lees.
About the Čotar Winery
Čotar (pronounced Cho-tar) is a father and son-owned winery. Travel five minutes over the Italian border from the Carso district and you are there. In fact, this area is an extension of the Carso into Slovenia. Here it goes by Kras and, while standing in their vineyards, one can see out over the Gulf of Trieste. The winery started over 25 years ago. Branko Čotar’s two trattoria restaurants were the best in the region. He fell in love with the idea of growing vines and making wine. Branko became so good at it he gave up the restaurant business. He then devoted himself full time to grape growing and winemaking. His son Vajsa quickly joined him.
On their seven hectares, they grow native varieties that have been grown in this soil for centuries. Teran (the local name for Refosco), Vitovska, and Malvasija (Malvasia Istriana). They also grow some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The soils in the Kras/Carso area are specific. There is a thin layer of topsoil of “Red Earth” a derivative of limestone with a lot of iron. Under this is solid limestone formations derived from fossilized sea-life. Planting in this region is difficult. A tractor breaks up the bedrock. The topsoil (of which there is never enough) comes trucked in and spread over the rock. The Čotar work in simple guyot method and plant at 7300 plants per hectare. They do not use herbicides or pesticides. Their method of pruning aims for one bottle of wine per plant.
About the Winemaking
The Teran grapes go through destemming. Fermentations start with indigenous yeast. This continues for 10-20 days in open wooden vats. Malolactic fermentation occurs in older barrique. There is no temperature control in their glacial cellars.
The whites see extended skin contact for 4-10 days, then pressed by hand on an old wooden press. They vinify with the natural yeasts in small open wooden vats of 15hl. The wines then go into barrels for malolactic and aging on fine lees with a little bit of bâttonage. Aging usually lasts 18 months. No clarification or filtering happens to any of the wines. In the vast majority of cases bottle them without the addition of S02.
