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Barbara International Cizejeva 4 1001 Ljubljana-Šentvid phone: +386 61 59-449 fax: +386 61 59-449 |
Janez Istenič first made his name as goalkeeper for Ljubljana's Olimpija soccer team. In 1968 he bought an old estate with two hectares of vineyards near Stara vas in Bizeljsko and then went to France to study the demanding Methode Champenoise.
The vineyards of Barbara International yield fifteen to seventeen tons of grapes annually - Laški Rizling, Sauvignon, Modra Frankinja, and Chardonnay - and the company buys a further 120 tons from growers around Bizeljsko. This suffices for an annual production of 800 to 850 hectoliters of red and white wines. Istenič offers some eight thousand bottles of high-quality varietal Chardonnay and Sauvignon annually, but most of the wine goes into the production of excellent sparkling wines.
Janez Istenič started out the classical way: bottles were shaken and turned on wooden pulpitres; however, in keeping with contemporary trends he soon installed mechanized "remuageurs". Istenič welcomes visitors and will gladly explain the production process; if you travel around Bizeljsko, take the time to visit this winery.
Barbara International produces a wide variety of red and white sparkling wines. The white wines are based on Laški Rizling, Chardonnay, and Rumeni Plavec; the red wines are made from Modra Frankinja and Žametna Črnina. Bottles with added liqueur de tirage are left to ferment at low temperatures, and depending on the type of wine, the bottles are aged from one to three years. After mechanized remuage, the bottle necks are soaked in cooled brine to freeze the lees, the frozen mush is removed, bottles refilled, and new corks tied on.
Istenič names his wines after members of his family. No. 1 (a reminder of his goalkeeping days) is a classic brut white, Barbara is a semi-dry white, and Princesa is a sweet white sparkling wine. Michelle is a semi-dry rosé; Miha is a dry red. Wines from selected grapes are used for the exclusive white sparkling wines Zlati Karantan and No. 1 Cuv\' ee Speciale Prestige.
His outstanding wines have won Janez Istenič ten gold and seven silver medals at wine exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad. Probably the most valuable are the two Prix d'excellence awarded to No. 1 Cuv\' ee Speciale Prestige and Barbara at the 1995 Paris fair - if the French (who are quite reluctant to give credit to foreign vignerons) award the quality of Istenič's sparking wines, they must truly be excellent.
The best Barbara vintages are 1983, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994.
