Viticulture

The history of wine in Styria dates back before the Roman period, as the Celts were already cultivating wine in this region.

400 BC (Celts)
Archaeological excavations prove that the Celts were growing wine in the area of present-day Styria.

100 BC - 313 AD (Roman Era)
Numerous archaeological findings, especially around Ptuj, testify to the rich viticulture activity in Styria, including amphorae and containers for transporting and storing wine. Many Roman monuments feature reliefs of the grapevine. Large-bellied ceramic vessels and one-handled amphorae, typical of Ptuj, were produced here.

794 (Beginning of the Frankish Rule)
During the reign of the Franks, viticulture gained significant momentum. Shortly after 794, Charlemagne, within the Capitulare de Villis (a collection of decrees regulating various fields), gave special attention to wine, particularly in terms of its cultivation, vineyard management, wine supply, and handling of wine surplus.

890 (First Written Mention of Viticulture in Styria)
The first written document that mentions viticulture in Styria describes the purchase of a large estate with vineyards near Ptuj by the archdiocese of Salzburg.

991 (First Mention of Vineyards in Maribor)
The first mention of vineyards in Maribor, located on the left bank of the Drava River between Kamnica and Melje. Viticulture has been practiced continuously in Maribor for at least 1000 years.

1000 - 1500 (Time of Church Orders and Monasteries)
From the 11th century onward, most vineyards were owned by the Church. The development of viticulture was largely due to monasteries.

1074: The Admont monastery is founded, becoming the first and eventually the largest monastic landowner of vineyards in Slovenia, with estates around Maribor, Ptuj, and Jerusalem.

1091: A Benedictine monastery of St. Paul is founded in the Lavant Valley (modern-day Austria). By the end of the 11th century, the Benedictines owned vineyards on Kozjak.

1139: Benedictines from Admont monastery receive estates and vineyards in Jarenina from the Salzburg archdiocese as a reward for their services. In the 13th century, they acquire more vineyards in Ljutomer and Maribor, where viticulture continued until 1938.

1164: A Carthusian monastery is founded in Žiče under Mount Konjica, which did not own large vineyard estates. The first mention of a vineyard in Žiče appears in 1173, and in 1243, they are gifted two vineyards in Maribor.

1230: A Dominican monastery is established in Ptuj, which eventually becomes the owner of almost half of all vineyards in Haloze.

1239: The Franciscan Minorite Order establishes a monastery with a wine cellar in Ptuj. This year marks the beginning of winemaking in Ptuj.

1247: In Temnar, near Ormož, the Crusaders built a commandery with a wine cellar and press among the vineyards. The building, which has been renovated multiple times, still oversees the nearby vineyards.

1376 (Statute of the City of Ptuj)
The statute of the city of Ptuj dedicates seven articles to wine, wine trade, measurements, opening hours, etc.

14th - 17th Century (Wine War)
In the Middle Ages, Maribor, Ptuj, and Radgona were important trading centers. The wine trade and transport were restricted to specific transportation routes, called "wine roads." The importance of wine as a trade commodity is evident from the so-called "Wine War." This conflict, lasting over three hundred years, occurred between Maribor, Ptuj, Slovenska Bistrica, and Radgona due to the privileges Maribor had regarding wine sales.

1500 - 1600 (The Old Vine)
The Old Vine was planted in Maribor, which is officially the oldest vine in the world, around 440 years old. It survived fires, Turkish invasions, phylloxera, and both World Wars. The vine still bears fruit today.

1543 (Mountain Laws)
Since wine production was a very important economic sector at the time, the relationships between vineyard owners, tenants, and vineyard workers had to be regulated. This was done through a legal act called the "Mountain Laws," published in 1543 in German. In 1582, they were translated into Slovenian by the priest Andrej Recelj from Raka in Lower Carniola. These were the first legal documents written in the Slovenian language.

1789–1790 (Josephine Cadastre)
In the Josephine Cadastre, vineyard areas and yields were systematically documented for the first time.
Region: Styria Area (ha): 29,186 Yield (hl): 335,169 Yield per hectare (hl/ha): 11,5
(including Austria)

1822 (Archduke John)

In 1822, Archduke John bought the Meranovo estate on the outskirts of Pohorje, south of Maribor. He planted a vineyard where grape varieties were planted separately (at that time, grape varieties in vineyards were typically mixed), and the vines were planted in rows. He expanded the variety selection with all major varieties from the Rhine and France. He also planted local varieties such as Šipon and both white and red Žlahtnina.

1841 (Catalog of 282 Varieties in Styria - Remarkable Creation by Franz Xaver Trummer and the Kreuzer Brothers)
In 1841, chief gardener Franz Xaver Trummer thoroughly cataloged and described the grape varieties that thrived in Styria. The list includes 282 varieties. The book is a significant snapshot of the time as it recorded the rich variety of wine grapes in Styria. Many of the varieties, such as Bela Volovina, Bela Želodovina, Beli Ptičnjak, Gosjonog, Javor, Kozji Sesec, Modra Tičina, Ovčji Rep, Rivček, and Zelenika, have disappeared due to phylloxera. Trummer's records are considered pioneering work in the classification and sorting of grape varieties.
The book was enriched with 175 beautiful illustrations by the Kreuzer brothers, created in gouache technique. Of these, 126 have been preserved and are kept at the Agricultural Forestry Institute in Maribor.

1847 (Underground Cellar in Maribor)
Alojz Kriehuber built an underground wine cellar in the center of Maribor.

1852 (Birth of Sparkling Wine)
Alojz Klajnošek produced the first sparkling wine in Gornja Radgona using the classical method.

1871 (First Wine Cooperative in Maribor)
In 1871, the first wine cooperative was established in Maribor, followed shortly by cooperatives in Radgona, Ptuj, Ormož, Ljutomer, Brežice, and Cmurk.

1871 (Fruit and Wine School in Maribor)
In 1871, the Fruit and Wine School was established in Maribor. It opened its doors in 1872, simultaneously with the famous school in German Geisenheim, and just eleven years after the establishment of the wine school in Klosterneuburg, Austria (1860), which is considered the oldest in the world.

1881 (12 Wine Districts of Styria)
Herman Goethe divided Styria into 12 wine districts: Slovenske Gorice, Maribor, Radgona, Ptuj, Ormož-Ljutomer, Haloze, Pohorje, Celje, Savinja-Obsotelje, and three others in present-day Austria.

1886 (Phylloxera)
When phylloxera appeared in 1886, Styrian white varieties and Šipon dominated the vineyards. Phylloxera virtually devastated Styrian vineyards by the end of the century. The vineyards never regained the same size as before the arrival of phylloxera, and many other wine regions in Europe suffered a similar or even worse fate, with some disappearing forever.

1900 (Ptuj Wine Merchants)
At the turn of the 20th century, Ptuj was a flourishing commercial town with numerous wine merchants. Some of the most important merchants were Fürst, Ornig, Osterberger, and Kaiser, who traded throughout the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. When Kaiser went bankrupt in 1906, the capacity of his cellar was recorded to be 14 million liters—more than any winery in Slovenia produces today.

1905 (First Official Wine Districts)
In 1905, the first official wine districts in Lower Styria were designated. At the same time, the allowed grape varieties for the Drava Banovina were determined, which included the following varieties: Laski Rizling (Welschriesling), Šipon, Yellow Muscat, Rhine Riesling, Chardonnay, Green Silvaner, Red Traminer, and White and Red Žlahtnina.

1917 (Golden Vine)
This is the vintage of the oldest archived Slovenian wine kept in Slovenia. The wine, named "Zlata Trta" (Golden Vine), is stored in the Ptuj Wine Cellar.

1935 (Wine Districts of the Drava Banovina)
This year, a list of wine districts for the Drava Banovina was created, along with an appropriate list of recommended varieties for each district, which was published in the book Trsni izbor in vinske tipi za Dravsko banovino (Grape Selection and Wine Types for the Drava Banovina). The Drava Banovina covered most of present-day Slovenia, excluding Primorska, which was under Italian occupation at the time. Red varieties were referred to as "blue" varieties at that time. Yields ranged between 20 and 25 hectoliters of wine per hectare.

1945 - 1991 (Yugoslavia)
After World War II, many vineyards were state-owned. Commercial wines were produced only by large cellars organized as state estates or cooperatives, which were evenly distributed across the wine districts. Virtually all bottled wines at the time were produced in one of the following cellars: Jeruzalem-Ormož in Ormož, Vinag in Maribor, Ljutomerčan in Ljutomer, KK Haloze in Ptuj, Radgonske Gorice in Gornja Radgona, KZ Konjičan in Slovenske Konjice, KZ Bistrica in Slovenska Bistrica, KZ Plač in Svečina, and KZ Šmarje in Imenem. Bistrica and Kapela cellars ceased operations, but the others still operate today, mostly in private ownership.

1967 (Wine Society of Slovenia)
To protect the interests of vineyard owners and winemakers, define business opportunities in the wine industry, and organize its own professional services, the Business Association Styria was founded in Ljutomer. In 1975, it was renamed the Business Community for Viticulture and Winemaking, uniting the interests of grape and wine producers, merchants, vine growers, as well as scientific, promotional, and educational organizations in the industry. In 2006, it was renamed the Wine Society of Slovenia.

1967 (Wine Cellar in Ormož)
During this period, modern oval wine cellars were built in Kapela (1959), Ljutomer (1967), and Ormož (1967) according to plans by local professor Miran Veselič.

1969 (Protected Label for Slovenian Wines)
A regulation for the protected label of Slovenian wines was created, featuring three color marks: gold for premium wines, silver for quality wines, and red for table wines. The first 3,400 gold labels were awarded to Sauvignon Rimljan anno ‘69 from the 1968 vintage from the Zavrč area in Haloze. Other wines soon followed.

1974 (New Wine Law)
A new wine law was adopted. Based on modern European legislation, it defined three wine regions, 13 wine districts, allowed and recommended varieties for each district, maximum allowed yields, permitted viticulture and winemaking processes, standards for determining wine quality, labeling wines, and more.

1982 (Wine Tasting in Gornja Radgona)
As part of the agricultural fair in Gornja Radgona, wine tasting began, which had a significant impact on the development of viticulture. Stanko Čurin from Koga played a major role in the wine evaluations.

1991 (Independence)
With the wave of independence and the declaration of a new state, numerous smaller winemakers began emerging. Most of them had already been producing grapes for local cooperatives and selling bulk wines. Independence encouraged them to start bottling wines under their own brands. The culture of wine drinking also started to rise among enthusiasts, helped by education on proper glassware, food pairing, and other wine etiquette. This was further supported by sommelier courses, the establishment of a wine school, dinners with winemakers, and many public guided wine tastings.

1993 (OIV)
Slovenia became a member of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).

1998 (Šipon Club)
The Šipon Club was founded to set standards for producing quality Šipon wine and to promote the variety and winemakers who grow it. The Šipon Club was instrumental in founding the Association of Wine Regions of Slovenia.

2004 (EU)
On May 1, 2004, Slovenia became a full member of the European Union.

2006 (Styrian Slovenia)
In 2006, a new Wine Law was passed, which was fully harmonized with European legislation following Slovenia's entry into the EU. A new wine region, Štajerska Slovenija (Styrian Slovenia), was formed, which included previously separate districts: Radgona-Kapela, Ljutomer-Ormož, Maribor, Haloze, Srednje Slovenske Gorice, and Šmarje-Virštanj.

2022 (Wine Association of Styria)
The Wine Association of Styria was founded.