Koline - EN - Špacapanova hiša

Koline. On every farm, this traditional pig slaughter and processing festivity used to be a long-awaited family event that people were looking forward to. How couldn’t they, when abundant feasts and meat on the table were scarce, while today they are available to almost everybody.

The tradition is not extinct yet; this year it will be relived also at Špacapanova hiša. We will gather on December 6 at 5PM in Komen, where we will experience a genuine koline atmosphere alongside traditional food, wines by visiting Karst wine growers and music from dusty vinyl records.

We will taste prosciutto, aged for at least 36 months, cooked prosciutto with horseradish, prata (bread roll with smoked pork), pancetta, cracknels, brawn, Karst cheese, tongue with onions, pot barley mineštra (vegetable stew), brains with eggs, livers with polenta (cornmeal mush) and curd cheese, krodegine (pig skin sausages) in dough or embers, mulce (sweet pork sausages) and sausages with sour turnip. Of course, we won’t be short of Dutch-oven baked pork neck, with plenty of potatoes and masonry-oven baked sourdough. And for the final touch, Špacapan štruklji (curd cheese rolled dumplings).

We want to remake the atmosphere of the days when koline was a widespread event in Slovenia. We will therefore prepare good food and host Karst wine growers, who, in their philosophy, emphasise natural wines. This year we host:

Presentation of visiting wine growers

Špacapan house wines

Špacapan wines are based on a cultivation by hand with a low burdening of the vine, which results in a wine of better quality. Miro planted his first refosco vines in terra rossa in 1990. In the last few years, Ago started unique experimenting of different Karst wine varieties, mainly in connection with a late vintage and without added Sulphur.

Traditionally grown Teran is the king of Karst. It prides itself on a flowery aroma and hints of meadow flowers that are developed in the long aftertaste. The peculiarity of our Teran is shown also in a somewhat higher alcohol content, which makes it special. Cabernet Sauvignon, on the other hand, is a vivacious, full-body wine, with a ripe forest fruit aroma and flower hints. Both wines are a fruit of more than 30 years of Miro’s experience, inevitably intertwined with the tradition of the heart of Karst.

Ago’s creation is, contrarily, a biodynamic and natural Ribolla, which could also be called the queen of house wines. It is from this wine that come traditional procedures with a modern twist and a tad of experimenting.

Vasja Čotar (Vina Čotar)

The beginnings of family farm Čotar date more than 40 years ago, when the first part of the cellar was dug into a bedrock in Gorjansko in 1974. At first they only grew wines for their own use and in 1990 they bottled their first wine for sale.

Today they grow refosco, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malvasia, sauvignon and vitovska grganja vines on 7.5 hectares of land. They cultivate their vineyards in an ecological, nature-friendly way.

Their wines – from grapes to wine bottling – are being gradually moved deeper into the cellar. The length of maceration is adjusted to the year and the type of wine, according to the wine grower’s judgement. Fermentation occurs in 200- to 2000-litre barrels, without adding selected yeasts or Sulphur.
Wines are then aged for at least two years (white wines) or four to five years (red wines). Their wines are not filtered.

Matej Švara (Kmetija Brajda)

Matej Švara belongs to a younger generation of Komen wine growers. He bottled his first wines in 2012 and had started to cultivate his first vineyard two years before. Microproduction on 1.8 hectares of vineyard allows him to produce wine naturally, as he has never used pesticides and follows Maria Thun calendar. He brings experimentation without unnecessary unnatural intervention to his series of wines, which makes his Teran, Vitovska and Rumena Malvazija wines that can surprise with their simplicity and range of tastes.

Dejan Kukanja (Vina Kukanja)

Dejan Kukanja is a pioneer of free-range pig breeding in Karst, but he also left his mark in Karst viticulture. Kmetija Kukanja operates extensively, which means that it does not cultivate large areas of vineyards, but rather focuses on small quantities and quality of products. They do not cultivate their vineyards mechanically, but in a traditional and natural way, with great attention to the preservation of karstic landscape.

They transfer their vineyard philosophy to the wine that they produce without added yeasts or Sulphur. Such natural wines are not based on chemical or mechanical interventions, but on work that begins in vineyards, and on experience acquired throughout the decades.

Vina Štemberger

In the heart of Karst, in Šepulje, stands an old Karst farm with a more than 350-year-old wine tradition. They produce 7 varieties of wine on 8 hectares of vineyards. This includes Malvasia, Merlot, Vitovska, Zelen and some other wines, typical of the Karst region. In total, they produce between 25,000 and 30,000 litres, which would be impossible without contact with nature and hard work that begins when Karst is covered in snow, through a hot and droughty summer, to a fickle autumn.

Kmetija Štemberger is additionally interesting for its oldest vine in Karst, which is the ultimate proof that the Štemberger family knows how to exist side-by-side with nature and nurture it through centuries of generations.

The event, during which the guests will be standing for most of the time, begins at 5PM. Before we begin, Špacapanova hiša will gift to those interested souvenirs, such as bags with glasses, an apron, a board and a knife – mandatory equipment for koline. With an accompaniment of house DJ’s music from vinyl records, this will be a true koline party.

Menu price is €55.00/person. A glass of visiting wine growers’ wine is €4.00. There are still some rooms available for those who prefer not to drive. Price: €85.00 for 2 persons, a rich breakfast is included. Make a reservation now, as there are only 50 spaces!

Špacapanova hiša and visiting wine growers cordially invite you to join us.

Špacapan December

In the most festive month of the year, we have prepared for you a four-leaf clover of events. Dive into Špacapan December of gourmet flavours, topmost visiting wine growers and topmost visiting chef.