Wine regions of Slovenia

Interactive map of Slovenian wine regions, web application.

For educational purposes, I created a map of the wine regions of Slovenia, as I could not find a map that would be adequate. From the beginning there were two versions: Static print version (image above) and dynamic, interactive web map (screenshots below), where it is possible to explore wine landscapes down to the smallest detail. Above image links to a brochure (in English) containing some basic information about the Slovenian wine growing landscapes. This article describes the development of the interactive web map and its potential.

Borders of the 9 distinct wine areas (sl. okoliši) were drawn on the basis of the official regulations for wine labeling (Slovene legislation: Uredba Sveta (ES) št. 1234/2007 z dne 22. oktobra 2007 o vzpostavitvi skupne ureditve kmetijskih trgov in o posebnih določbah za nekatere kmetijske proizvode (Uredba o enotni SUT).), where the borders are described in the text. A layer of vineyard parcels has been added from the official land use register published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food on 31. 10. 2017. This layer shows the spatial composition of viticulture. These structures show us the geographic and cultural patterns as well as the characteristics of individual areas and the region as a whole.

An additional database of winegrowers and winemakers has been designed, which can serve as their self-marketing tool. The average Slovenian winemaker tends to less than 1 ha of vineyards, the labels are usually small family businesses and the craft was traditionally more of a side business. Throughout history, there have also been large estates owned by feudal and church lords, in the 20th century similar things were done by state-run cooperatives, but today trends in winemaking and trade are looking for techniques and products based on quality, uniqueness and traceability. Here the Slovenian producer has the advantage, the problem arises when trying to access a wider market. The production potential of average winemaker is very limited due to the size of vineyard estates, there are also numerous neighbouring competitors. This interactive map enables the presentation of small wine-growers and winemakers in one product: one market and one marketing board for the whole of Slovenia. The user or the potential client can browse through the wine landscape of Slovenia and explore different labels and producers based on some basic information, links and contacts.