|
Družinska kmetija Črnko Jareninski vrh 5 2221 Jarenina phone: +386 62 640-735 |
If you ever travel from Maribor toward Gornja Radgona, take time to turn off into the Jarenina Valley and visit the estate of Srečko Črnko. It is quite probable that you will not be the only visitor: Črnko is one of those vignerons who rarely offer their bottles in wine shops as most of his wines are sold to connoisseurs who visit the estate regularly.
Črnko cultivates 5.5 hectares (13.6 acres) of vineyards on the sites of Jarenina and neighbouring Slatenik. The average annual yield is thirty tons of grapes, a wide variety of white wines only: Laški Rizling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Rumeni Muškat, Muškat Otonel, Sivi Pinot, Renski Rizling, and Rizvanec. Two hundred hectoliters (5284 gallons) of wines are produced every year, half in the quality range and half in the high-quality range.
Some of the Chardonnay, Laški Rizling, and Sauvignon is blended to produce fifty hectoliters (1321 gallons) of Jareninčan, a quality wine. Most of Črnko's wines are varietal.
Srečko Črnko believes in classical winegrowing, and his wines are fermented and matured in oak barrels. Although well known to connoisseurs, his wines have only recently been displayed at wine fairs.
Črnko's Rumeni Muškat is particularly appreciated as typical for this variety, moderately aromatic and not too sweet; the 1991 vintage won the gold medal at the Maribor Wine Exhibition. His 1992 Laški Rizling was awarded a gold medal at the Ljubljana Wine Fair. 1993 was a particularly good year for Črnko wines: his Sauvignon won gold and a dry Renski Rizling and a coppery late harvest Sivi Pinot each won silver in Ljubljana. Even the dismal 1994 was not all bad: his Sivi Pinot Jagodni Izbor with hand-painted custom labels won a gold medal, one of the few awarded to Podravje winegrowers at the 1995 Ljubljana Wine Fair.
The best Črnko vintages are 1992 and 1993.
