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Druzinska kmetija Protner Dragucova 65 2231 Pernica phone: +386 62 512-276 |
The family estate of Franc Protner is well known for its excellent restaurant offering traditional Stajerska dishes accompanied by wines from his cellars. Protner cultivates 6.5 hectares (16.1 acres) of vineyards on Celestrina. He is one of the rare winegrowers of the Maribor area who grows at least some red grapes, particularly Modra Frankinja, although white wines dominate his production: Laski Rizling, Renski Rizling, Sipon, Muskat Otonel, and Chardonnay. His specialty is Samling, a grape quite popular in Germany and neighbouring Austria but very rare in Slovenia where it has yet to be officially registered for production as a Slovene wine.
Protner makes his wines in two cellars. The older one is devoted to the traditional production of richer wines fermented and matured in aged oak barrels. The new cellar is equipped with stainless steel vats for the production of fresh wines which should be consumed within two to three years after fermentation.
Protner does not bottle all of his wine, and some is sold straight from the barrel - but only at his own inn. He does not want to risk his reputation on the chance that some innkeepers might want to blend his wine with inferior products. He has been bottling his own wines since the legendary 1983 vintage.
Connoisseurs are particularly fond of Protner's classic Laski Rizling, always a wine of rich bouquet and full taste; even in bad years when the sugar content of his grapes only allows fermentation into a dry wine, Protner's Laski Rizling is still balanced with none of the rough acids so characteristic of poor vintages of this type of wine. Renski Rizling is another of Protner's excellent wines, very smooth and particularly suitable for archiving. That the winery maintains good and constant quality with their Sipon and Muskat Otonel is frequently confirmed by awards at wine fairs in Slovenia.
The best vintages of Franc Protner are 1983, 1986, 1991, and 1993.
