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Franc Kačičnik 'Skinzy'
Franc Kačičnik 'Skinzy'
Grapes — Field blend of indigenous Štajerska varieties: Chasselas, Traminer, Riesling, Javor, Welschriesling, Šipon, Kraljevina, Ranfol, Miška (percentages unfixed, varying by vintage)
Region — Dramlje, Štajerska (Lower Styria), Slovenia
Tasting Notes — Pale gold with a luminous amber hue and a gentle glow. White flowers, citrus, lychee, orange blossom, and fresh herbs on the nose — aromatic, vivid, and distinctly Slovenian. The palate is dry and balanced, with refreshing acidity, a soft textural grip from three weeks of skin contact, and a long mineral finish that whispers of cool hillside soils and old vines. Bright and exotic at once — a wine of tremendous vivacity, as its makers intended.
The Wine — A skin-contact orange wine made from every indigenous variety planted on the family's single hectare of vines on the Bela Gora hillside in Dramlje — a cool, elevated site in northeastern Slovenia where continental climate conditions slow ripening and preserve natural acidity with remarkable precision. The vines were planted in 1950 and 1951 by Franc Kačičnik himself — Martina's grandfather — and have never been replanted. At over 70 years old, these are among the rarest surviving old vine plantings in all of Slovenia.
Farming — Organic in practice, following Slovenia's integrated farming guidelines — no pesticides, no herbicides, no synthetic inputs. Not formally certified, but farmed with deep care and consistency across every vintage.
Winemaking — Hand harvested, destemmed, then co-fermented and macerated on the skins in small open vats using native yeasts for the full fermentation — approximately three weeks. The slow, gentle fermentations are in part a product of the cellar itself: a tiny underground stone structure that maintains a constant cool ambient temperature year-round, naturally slowing fermentation and allowing the wine to develop complexity and elegance without intervention. After pressing, the wine settles in stainless steel for four months before bottling unfiltered with a minimal addition of sulfur.
The Producer — Posestvo Bela Gora — White Hill Estate — is a one-hectare family winery in Dramlje, run by Radojko Pelengić and his wife Martina, who is the granddaughter of the estate's founder. The winery was passed down through three generations entirely intact — the same vines, the same hillside, the same underground stone cellar — and Rado and Martina have honored that inheritance by transitioning to organic farming and minimal-intervention winemaking while keeping the spirit of the place completely unchanged. The wine is named for Franc Kačičnik himself — Martina's grandfather, a local constable and beloved figure in the village, whose portrait adorns the labels. It is one of the most genuinely human wine labels you will encounter: a toast to a man, a hillside, and a family that refused to let either be forgotten.
Drink It With — Grilled trout, herb-roasted pork, aged mountain cheese, mushroom dishes, or a long evening with good conversation and no particular agenda.
Franc Kačičnik 'Skinzy'
Grapes — Field blend of indigenous Štajerska varieties: Chasselas, Traminer, Riesling, Javor, Welschriesling, Šipon, Kraljevina, Ranfol, Miška (percentages unfixed, varying by vintage)
Region — Dramlje, Štajerska (Lower Styria), Slovenia
Tasting Notes — Pale gold with a luminous amber hue and a gentle glow. White flowers, citrus, lychee, orange blossom, and fresh herbs on the nose — aromatic, vivid, and distinctly Slovenian. The palate is dry and balanced, with refreshing acidity, a soft textural grip from three weeks of skin contact, and a long mineral finish that whispers of cool hillside soils and old vines. Bright and exotic at once — a wine of tremendous vivacity, as its makers intended.
The Wine — A skin-contact orange wine made from every indigenous variety planted on the family's single hectare of vines on the Bela Gora hillside in Dramlje — a cool, elevated site in northeastern Slovenia where continental climate conditions slow ripening and preserve natural acidity with remarkable precision. The vines were planted in 1950 and 1951 by Franc Kačičnik himself — Martina's grandfather — and have never been replanted. At over 70 years old, these are among the rarest surviving old vine plantings in all of Slovenia.
Farming — Organic in practice, following Slovenia's integrated farming guidelines — no pesticides, no herbicides, no synthetic inputs. Not formally certified, but farmed with deep care and consistency across every vintage.
Winemaking — Hand harvested, destemmed, then co-fermented and macerated on the skins in small open vats using native yeasts for the full fermentation — approximately three weeks. The slow, gentle fermentations are in part a product of the cellar itself: a tiny underground stone structure that maintains a constant cool ambient temperature year-round, naturally slowing fermentation and allowing the wine to develop complexity and elegance without intervention. After pressing, the wine settles in stainless steel for four months before bottling unfiltered with a minimal addition of sulfur.
The Producer — Posestvo Bela Gora — White Hill Estate — is a one-hectare family winery in Dramlje, run by Radojko Pelengić and his wife Martina, who is the granddaughter of the estate's founder. The winery was passed down through three generations entirely intact — the same vines, the same hillside, the same underground stone cellar — and Rado and Martina have honored that inheritance by transitioning to organic farming and minimal-intervention winemaking while keeping the spirit of the place completely unchanged. The wine is named for Franc Kačičnik himself — Martina's grandfather, a local constable and beloved figure in the village, whose portrait adorns the labels. It is one of the most genuinely human wine labels you will encounter: a toast to a man, a hillside, and a family that refused to let either be forgotten.
Drink It With — Grilled trout, herb-roasted pork, aged mountain cheese, mushroom dishes, or a long evening with good conversation and no particular agenda.