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Curin-Prapotnik Kog 15 2276 Kog phone: +386 62 716-064 fax: +386 62 717-037 |
Stanko Curin was among the first Slovene private vignerons to concentrate primarily on production in the high-quality range. Bottles of his rich and very aromatic wines were first offered in 1971, then sporting a humble brick-red label. In those days, the offer of high-quality wines from private winegrowers was still very limited, and Curin's wines of the 1970's are treasured delicacies to those connoisseurs who had the wit and means to collect them. Stanko Curin was also a pioneer among private winegrowers in the production of jagodni izbor, suhi jagodni izbor, ledeno vino, and slamno vino wines.
Stanko Curin and his son-in-law Slavko Prapotnik have ten hectares (24.7 acres) of vineyards on the beautiful sites of Kog in the southeastern part of the Ljutomer-Ormoz area near the Croatian border. Some of their grapes come from leased vineyards.
They grow a wide range of wines, and Curin is one of the few Podravje winegrowers who has been regularly producing Modri Pinot for decades. Still, the classic white varieties of Podravje are the winery's staple product: Laski Rizling, Sipon, and Sauvignon dominate the older vineyards, while Beli Pinot, Traminec, Renski Rizling, and Radgonska Ranina are the younger vines.
Curin cultivates a high respect for the grapevine and traditional methods of production. Vines are pruned and trained the "old" way, using the so-called "Spanish cut" which gives a yield of 1.5 to 2 kilograms (3.3 - 4.4 lb.) per vine. Vineyards are sprayed only in the evening or even at night, and the grapes are never harvested before St. Therese (October 15th). On these warm and sunny sites, all this guarantees highly aromatic and acid-rich grapes.
Curin is one of the few Slovene vignerons who does not go a year without at least a few awards. His first dates from 1973, and his best was for the legendary 1983 crop. Curin entered seven wines at the 1984 Ljubljana Wine Fair: all seven won gold, and two were awarded the title of Grand Champion. Successes have followed every year since, and in 1994 he surprised connoisseurs with an outstanding slamno vino.
Curin's wines are immaculately processed, with a powerful aroma and noble taste. The bouquet is rich and perfect for each specific variety, in fact, so eminently characteristic that they should be used for tests of wine identification. His slamno vino and wines of special quality - late harvest, jagodni izbor, suhi jagodni izbor, and ledeno vino - are almost excessively aromatic, with an overpowering bouquet. Most of Curin's wines age well.
The best Curin vintages are 1983, 1985, 1989, 1992, and 1993.
