Dr Caroline Gilby MW: What Slovenian Penina needs for international success

Dr Caroline Gilby MW Photo by David JW Bailey

Dr Caroline Gilby MW specialises in the wines of Central and Eastern Europe. Her first book, The Wines of Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova, won the Prix de l'OIV in 2020, and she contributes to The Oxford Companion to Wine, Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book and Sotheby's Wine Encyclopaedia, and writes for a variety of wine publications worldwide. Prior to her career as a writer, Caroline spent seven years as a senior wine buyer at Augustus Barnett off-licences and the Bass Group. Caroline holds a doctorate in plant biology and has been a Master of Wine since 1992.

PeninaSlovenia.com writes about Slovenian sparkling wines in English, with a focus on traditional method production, and aims to provide informational support for Slovenian traditional method sparkling wines in export markets. We had an honor to talk to Dr Gilby about Slovenian sparkling wines.

First of all, thank you very much for your professional support of not just Slovenia, but all the emerging wine-producing regions of Central and Eastern Europe. It is impossible to overstate your contribution.

When was the first time you tasted Slovenian sparkling wine - penina? What was your initial impression?

If I recall correctly, it would have been a trip to Istenič in the mid 2000s. I admired the ambition, vision and dedication of the family, and started to understand the potential of a cooler corner of Slovenia to have the right acidity for good penina. And actually their Gourmet rosé was a favourite from early on. 

Since that time, how have you seen the quality of Slovenian sparkling wines evolve?

I’ve seen huge positive progress as producers understand the dedication to detail that’s required for fine sparkling wine, and that it can’t just be a by-product or afterthought when grapes don’t get ripe enough. It has to be a labour of love and total commitment all the way from the vineyard, through harvesting, super-careful pressing, blending, and then the right bottle ageing of course. There are now some great wines made from the classic grapes (especially Chardonnay & Pinot Noir) – shown by regular gold medals at global competitions like Decanter, but it’s also been exciting to see the journey of more local grapes. Grapes like Rebula and Furmint (aka Šipon) have now shown that they can produce great fizz as well as still wines, whereas the journey for Žametna Črnina (aka Žametovka) has been a bit different, going from very ordinary still wine to showing that it can be truly special in traditional method sparkling. Rumeni Plavec is another ordinary grape as still wine that is showing its potential in sparkling wine to add freshness, vibrancy and a sense of place. It’s also been good to see how producers in under-appreciated areas like Dolenjska and Bizeljsko-Sremič are putting themselves on the wine map through sparkling wines and building the terroir story through finer details of selecting the right places to grow grapes for fizz specifically. 

What unique characteristics do Slovenian sparkling wines have that set them apart from others? What could be the key competitive strength of Slovenian sparkling wine as a category in export markets?

Certainly grapes like Žametna Črnina, Rumeni Plavec and Rebula set Slovenian sparkling wines apart and increasingly consumers are looking for authenticity and connection to place. Then the other key message has to be about sheer quality, and great value at the price point (which I know will never be cheap but can still offer a lot compared to top wines from established regions).  

What are the main obstacles for Slovenian sparkling wines in export markets?

There are now a lot of places producing great sparkling wine, so selling Slovenian penina is always going to be niche, small quantities, and about handselling. The challenge then is to get the people selling the wine to connect and fall in love with it, so they can share their passion to customers. We showcased a couple of Slovenian sparklers (Istenič Cuvee Natura 2020 and Dveri Pax Brut 2014) in a recent masterclass in London at the Ultimate CEE Wine Fair, and the audience was impressed. But it needs much more ongoing effort to get the wines in front of the right people, and that requires money and co-operation to organise high quality tastings, masterclasses, buyer and press visits, etc. This is harder when Slovenia lacks a single wine promotion body.

Based on producers' feedback (especially from those working with traditional method sparkling wines) the lack of legal classification by production method makes it harder to explain quality tiers and pricing, since all styles of sparkling wine are currently labelled "penina." Do you think a clear separation of production methods, with distinct terminology, would contribute to penina's success in export markets? Should the word "penina" be reserved exclusively for the traditional method? What are your thoughts on this discussion, which has recently been ongoing among Slovenian wine professionals?

I do think it is quite confusing that all Slovenian sparkling is penina, and personally I would prefer to see the word reserved for traditional method – in a similar way to crémant in France. It’s also becoming a problem in the UK where cheaper charmat sparklers are appearing and I believe they are undermining the high-quality offerings from producers using traditional method. At the same time, I’m sure the larger producers won’t want to give up using penina, so it won’t be an easy fight. Worth an eye on Spain where quite a few, quality, former Cava producers broke away to join Corpinnat rather than be associated with the poor reputation of Cava. But finding a new name for traditional method products and establishing it would also be a major challenge. 

Do you have any final thoughts or insights you would like to share about the future of Slovenian sparkling wines?

Send more samples to me ☺  But seriously, because Slovenian traditional method sparkling will never be cheap, the message has to be about quality above all.

Last but not least: we wonder if you have found any inspiration and time for writing a new book dedicated to Slovenian wines? ☺

Would love to, but I have to find time and a publisher …. watch this space for the future.