Franc Kačičnik 'Skinzy' 2022

The vibe: SKINZY. One of our favorite adjectives for a wine that has a kiss of texture and grip without going full bore into the tannic realm. This wine from a tiny vineyard in Slovenia gets its skinsy nature from a few weeks of skin contact (that’ll do it) and is representative of an ancestral style in Eastern Europe and the Balkans in general, being neither a white wine nor a proper amber-hued orange. This skinsy nature is exactly what makes it so irresistibly refreshing and aromatic, with fleeting whiffs of white flowers and nectarine skins followed by tongue-tickling acidity, peachy sweetness, savory umami and even a touch of herby brine. It’s as complex as its blend (every grape in the vineyard goes into the vat) but remains light on its feet and refreshing as hell.

The winemaker: Posestvo Bela gora (White hill estate) is a small family-owned vineyard and winery that is producing vibrant and authentic wines from Štajerska grape varieties. Radojko Pelengic and his wife Martina have a small 1-hectare vineyard planted on the hill in the region of Štajerska, northeastern Slovenia. The winery was planted in 1950 by Martina’s grandfather, Franc Kačičnik, whose name is on the wine bottles today. Franc was a local constable and prominent figure in the village whose portraits adorn the walls of the small cottage and estate and inspired the design you see on the labels. The oldest plants are more than 70 years old as the vineyard was never replanted, which is extremely rare in Slovenia.

The geeky details: Field Blend - unfixed %s of all indigenous varietals in Dramlje vineyards: the varieties are mixed, Chasselas both white and red, Traminer, Riesling, Javor, Welschriesling, Šipon, Kraljevina, Ranfol, Miška, etc. Manual harvest of totally clean, healthy grapes, de-stemmed, all co-fermented and macerated on the skins in small open vats for the entire fermentation (approx. 3 weeks) then pressed into inox and settled down for 4 months until bottling. Bottled with very little sulfur addition and without filtration.

Serve: With a chill.

Food pairing: If you’re feeling adventurous you could try your hand at Balkan grill, pizzas or dumplings! More internationally, this would pair great with teriyaki or curry glazed salmon. Sweet/savory desserts would also pair perfectly.

Album pairing: Tuamie - Repeated Sequence of Events