SLOVAŠKA IN VIPAVSKA VINA
Po telefonskem klicu, katerega rezultat je bila potrditev sestanka sva se s kolegom usedla v avtomobil in se kot že večkrat odpeljala na sestanek s potencialnim vinskim uvoznikom. Po dveh dnevih vinskega sejma v Bratislavi in bolj ali manj neuspešnih pogovorih ali neprepričljivih obljubah sva utrujeno rekla da stokilometrski poti v eno smer. Kot vedno optimistična. Srečali smo se na bencinski črpalki nekje med Bratislavo in Košicami. Bencinska črpalka seveda ni ne tipičen, ne idealen kraj za srečanje, ampak vseeno sva z navdušenjem in nekim tihim pričakovanjem izstopila iz avta, segla gospodu v roko in začela pogovor. Kar tam, na parkirišču. Možak srednjih let, tudi sam že več ur na poti, vidno utrujen in zveličan, si je kljub vsem zamudam vzel čas za pogovor z nama. »To je dobro«, pravi kolega Matija »mogoče imamo šanso!«. Z zanimanjem je poslušal najin entuziazem. Po nekaj besedah gospodu izročimo vzorce vina. Dvanajst steklenic Vipavskih izbrancev. Obljubiva opise in podatke, v pičlih petnajstih minutah natančno in karseda zanimivo opiševa Vipavsko, Primorsko in Slovenijo ter mu zaželiva srečno pot. Ko sva se vračala domov sva kot vedno razmišljala in debatirala o preteklih dneh. Izmed vseh pogovorov in sestankov na sejmu, sva največ potenciala stavila na gospoda iz bencinske črpalke. Seveda pa nisva niti slutila, da se nam obeta uspešna prodaja Vipavskih vin na Slovaško. Poslala sva tehnične in opisne podatke o vinih ter čakala na povratno informacijo gospoda Cuchrana. Gospod Cuchran prihaja iz Košic. Tam upravlja z enim največjih vinsko distributerskih podjetij na vzhodu Slovaške ter z vinoteko Villa Cassa v centru mesta. Košice so drugo največje mesto s slabimi tristotisoč prebivalci. Veliko mesto, veliko pivcev vina in zelo odprt trg. Slovaška je po proizvodnji vina približno tako velika kot Slovenija. Ker pa je prebivalcev okrog pet miljonov jim lastne proizvodnje primanjkuje je povpraševanje po tujih vinih posledično dovolj veliko, da se na policah vinotek (ne tako kot v večini Slovenskih), najde tudi veliko vin evropskih ali svetovnih vinskih dežel. Medtem, ko je slovaški pivec vina odprt in dojemljiv za novosti, nove pristope, eksotične dežele ter sorte je povprečen slovenski pivec večinski lokal patriot. Kar seveda vsi v vinski branži, da ne bo pomote, pozdravljamo. Takšna »zvestoba« je za slovenskega prozvajalca vin izredno hvaležna zadeva. Ker je vina v Sloveniji recimo ravno prav in ker smo zvesti pivci, je tako trg precej zaščiten. Zunanje konkurence ni, cene ostajajo približno enake. Žal pa na dolgi rok to v večini ne prinese napredka, podjetnosti, konkurenčnosti. O tej temi pa z veseljem kdaj drugič. Po nekaj dneh pričakovanja, dobim preko emaila prvi odziv na vipavska vina. Bil je navdušen! Vina ga očarajo in takoj želi našo ponudbo. Preveril in pripravil sem informacije, uredil logistiko in v naslednjem tednu že pripravil prvo naročilo. Šesto steklenic izbranih vipavskih vin je bilo na poti v Košice. Od takrat sta minili že dve leti, iz Ajdovščine smo od takrat odposlali že dva tisoč steklenic. Večkrat smo jih obiskali, predstavljali smo vina, dolino, stile, zgodovino. Počasi navdušujemo in izobražujemo Slovaške vinoljubce. Nekatere poleg tega tudi gostimo v Vipavski dolini, ki so jo obiskali po številnih pričevanjih in pokušinah Vipavskega vina. Trenutno na Slovaškem trgu najdemo sledeče vinarje: Tilia, Pasji Rep, Lepa Vida, Guerila, Benčina, Vidus in Svetlik. Vinarji, katere smo predstavljali na tujih trgih,predvsem pa njihova vina so bila izbrana lani na strokovnem izboru v Faladurju, ki ga je izvedla Master of Wine Caroline Gilby. Gilbyjeva je bila s svojim poznavanjem srednjeevropskih vinskih dežel pravi naslov. Poslane vzorce v London je najprej ocenila na podlagi kakovosti, potem pa skupaj z nami izbrala 20 vin, ki so dosegala vse parametre primernosti za prodajo na tujih trgih. Želeli smo namreč v ponudbo vključiti kvalitetna vina, s konkurenčno ceno, zanimivo zgodbo ter primerno količino. Zadnji projekt, ki smo ga izvedli z našimi slovaškimi partnerji pa se je odvil letos februarja. S podporo ajdovske občine in slovenske ambasade na Slovaškem smo organizirali vipavski vinsko – kulinarični večer v znani restavraciji, ki jo z vini oskrbuje distribucijsko podjetje gospoda Cuchrana. Restavracija Mama iz Ajševice je skupaj z izbranimi vini posestva Tilia iz Potoč pričarala čudovit večer, kjer so gostje ob razlagah in predstavitvi Vipavske doline spoznali tudi naše vipavske okuse. Sebastjan Harej je pripravil pet hodni degustacijski menu s tipično Vipavsko kulinariko, Matjaž Lemut pa navdušil s svojim kultnim sivim ter modrim pinotom. Skupaj z Vladimirjem sva gostom ob odličnih vinih in hrani vzbujala zanimanje za počitnikovanje na Vipavskem. To je bil naš prvi vinsko-kulinaričen dogodek na Slovaškem. Pridružila se nam je tudi Slovenska ambasadorka gospa Bernarda Gradišnik s svojimi gosti. Potrebno je poudariti, da nam ti že od samega začetka stojijo ob strani in pozitivno pozdravljajo naše poslovanje s Slovaško. Ravno prejšnji teden so nas presenitili z obiskom v Faladurju. S seboj so pripeljali vrsto zanimivih gostov, ki bodo nekaj dni preživeli v naših krajih. Delati v vinski trgovini je vedno zanimivo in dinamično. Slovenski trg s svojimi zahtevami ni kompleksen je kot prej rečeno patriotski in v večini vezan na navade in trende posameznega pivca in časa. Torej, če zmoreš in znaš nekoga ob nekem trenutku dovolj navdušiti ter temu dodati ščepec statusnega simbola bo postal pivec tvojih vin. V tujini se pojavi težava trženja identitete nekega območja, kot je v našem primeru Vipavska dolina ali celo država, katera še vedno ni dosegla prepoznavnosti Slovenije kot vinske dežele. Zavedanje, da smo v tujini neprepoznavni in da ljudje ne vedo da pridelujemo vina, kaj šele o Vipavski, vinarju, sorti, je prvi korak k razumevanju in načinu kako pristopiti k potencialnemu kupcu. Zato smo svojo ponudbo pripravili na podlagi kvalitete, cene in razpoložljivosti. Pomembno je zavedanje, da je dolin kot je naša na svetu ogromno. Vsaka po svoje, s svojimi pristopi, po svojih kanalih promovira, vabi in opeva čare svoje doline. Isto velja za vino ali katerikoli drugi produkt, ki temelji na poreklu. Tako tudi mi Vipavci, plavamo v mineštri. Mineštri tako raznoliki, da posamezne zelenjave niti ne prepoznamo na okusu. Kako bo naš košček tisti, ki ga bomo uspešno našli in prepoznali? Sestanek, ki je prinesel
Caroline Gilby (MW) selected 10 Vipavska wines for London Wine Fair
“It’s one small step for winemakers but one giant leap for Vipavska” Already from the beginning Faladur’s priority is connecting Vipavska winemakers. As a wineshop and tasting room with Vipavska products we quickly discovered that connectivity and collaboration between producers here is lacking professional approach. Listening to all the stories and experiences from winemakers and distributors outside Slovenia we’ve heard that it’s almost impossible to sell Vipavska wines outside it’s borders. Why is that we wondered? After scratching our heads, long talks and many questions we made a graph or even better a list of things which makes Vipavska unrecognisable. It’s was soon clear that the word “exciting” or “not exciting” was always used to describe any kind of wines. This basic description was done in a second and as we soon discovered a point of where the magic happens. So, we ask ourselves. What does “exciting” means? – Country of origin: Surely Italy, France, Spain and all the well known wine destination brands have that appeal which makes your decision as a consumer, or as a buyer to buy wine much easier. The country itself has that exciting appeal. Just imagine yourself buying wine in the wineshop. 10 wines, 9 from well known countries and 1 from Slovenia. Which one you choose? The answer is clear. Definitely not from Slovenia 🙂 – Pricing: Slovenia and especially Vipavska has small family owned estates. Majority of vineyards are located on slopes and extreme terrains. This surely brings the quality of the wines on a higher level, but the prices goes up. Bigger costs makes our wines quite expensive. Especially if you consider exporting them anywhere. And if we consider the fact that Slovenia is unknown as a wine country it’s easy to say that it’s going to be a challenge to sell a 20€ wine from unknown country in UK. – Branding and competition: Little or none recognisable brands on the shelf makes it difficult to convince buyer to pick the bottle from the shelf. Ideas, marketing strategies, no information makes it even harder. Competition is hard. There are literally thousands of labels available in the UK market. – Small quantities, expensive wines, shipping cost: Many of the producers here are small. Which means that the wines are not counted in millions of bottles, but instead in thousands. For large buyers small numbers doesn’t always seems to be a good choice, but for smaller buyers this can be interesting. Shipping cost of small quantities can be a problem, and many importers loose interest after they hear the price. You see. It’s difficult to say we are exciting. These are definitely factors which doesn’t help us. But what can help us? Where are we good at? Are we exciting somewhere else? We think we are! People who come here and try the wines, experience the valley and see the potential, are blown away. They can’t understand why is there no Vipavska wines in their country? In one year we have met many people. It’s crazy how many people decided to import the wines because they said that this is a wonderful opportunity and they just don’t understand why there is no Vipavska there. Let’s find out where are the “exciting” factors. – Boutique production and family ownership: 90% of all wineries in Vipavska are small and family owned. Everything is done by hand and with one clear purpose. Make good wine and have a sustainable winery. Wine which is done to support the family, with no mistakes and with care. Because the family survives from it. – Setting up the new trends in wine business: Orange wines, biodynamic production, organic winemaking. This are just a few things that are done here for a long time. Small estates means that people are more focused and they think long term with connection to nature. Orange wine trend was born in this place. This was a tradition. Style existed here for centuries. Old folks did the maceration of white skins in every vintage. It was done to preserve the wines. Nowadays it’s getting more and more recognition. – Local varieties: Can be a + or a -. But definitely a good opportunity for expending a portfolio of one distributor. One of the local varieties Zelen is considered a extremely interesting wine for many importers worldwide. – Trend of having a unknown or let’s say not found jewels in your portfolio: Many people are looking for something different, for something new and exciting. Many restaurants and wine shops want’s to have “exotic” wines. We are definitely that 🙂 So You see. There are some exciting factors which must be taken into consideration. After all of this “grand” brainstorming there came an idea. Idea which was stuck in our brains for more than a year and finally came to existence now. How to offer something exciting for YOU? Taken into consideration all the factors which we thought were important we decided to make a selection of wines. So this is it, you ask? Yes, it is. But WHAT kind of selection. 10 wines, 10 styles, best of Vipavska, all price ranges and all the support You need. We contacted CAROLINE GILBY – Master of Wine. She provides consultancy on wine quality; brand development; benchmarking against competitive products; range selection; technical specifications; copy writing for websites, back labels, shelf talkers and brochures. Clients range from major international PLCs to small boutique wineries. She judges regularly at international wine competitions including being appointed Panel Chair for Hungary at Decanter World Wine Awards in 2011 and have since added Slovenia, Romania and Czech Republic to her responsibilities. She has also judged recently at Pannon Bormustra in Hungary, Vinaria in Bulgaria, the biannual Georgian wine competition and the annual Cyprus wine competition and was appointed President of the Vinistra Wine competition in Croatia in 2014 and 2015. We can say that she is quite familiar with the style of our wines. After few emails we decided to ship her a palate of Vipavska wines. More than 50 of them! We asked her to evaluate the wines and make a