Old Vine
The oldest in the world
Old Vine is the oldest living specimen on our planet of a noble grape vine that still bears grapes! With an age of over 400 years it is registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest vine in the world.
You don't believe it? Belive it, it has been proven by genetic tests in Paris. It was planted here in 16th century. Ever since then it survived floods and wars and one of the hardest bombarding in second world war.
Old Vine is the central symbol of rich wine culture of Maribor, Štajerska and Slovenia. Each year a part of it is planted in other towns in the world. So the descendants of old vine now grow in almost all continents of the world.
And because of it strength the embankment of Drava river is now lively and renewed. If you look around you can see that Mariborian's put a lot of effort into keeping this part of the town interesting. Due to it's sunny position it is very popular place to go for a drink or a walk. Narrow streets that lead down from the town centre offer a touch of past centuries and life in old Maribor.
Wine facts
Old Vine's grape, the sort Žametovka or Modra kavčina, is one of the oldest domesticated noble wine sorts in Slovenia. The 35 to 55 kg symbolic annual grape harvest is bottled in 2,5 dcl glass bottles designed by the famous artist Oskar Kogoj that represent a precious protocol gift. Annually more than 100 bottles are filled.
Besides this, a large region east of Maribor is called "Slovenian wineyards" and produces some of the best wines in the world. Importance of wine in the region is represented as well with one of the largest in-town wine cellars in Europe which you can visit later if you have not already.
Each year pruning of the Old Vine, a ceremonious event with the bestowal of scions to selected cities is taking place on St Martin's Day. It is the biggest one-day St Martin’s Day celebrations in Slovenia. Important part is ceremonial grape harvest of the Old Vine, the highlight of the Old Vine Festival that shows the rich wine, as well as fruit, culinary and ethnological culture of Štajerska.
Is the Old Vine in Maribor really the oldest vine in the world?
Vine genetics experts in Paris also confirmed the authenticity of the age of the Old Vine, along with precise professional measurements by Slovene experts. The vine was planted at least 400 years ago, probably somewhat earlier. Its Methuselah state is also confirmed in paintings of Maribor dating from the years 1657 and 1681, which are kept in the Štajerska Provincial Museum in Graz.
In the pictures the frontage of the house at Vojašniška ulica 8, built in the 16th century, can be clearly seen and even then it was already lushly overgrown with today’s venerated Old Vine. If you step closer you can see that just as in far history, the Old Vine still clings to the trelliswork or "brajda" as the wooden support is called in Štajerska.
The oldest in the world
Old Vine is the oldest living specimen on our planet of a noble grape vine that still bears grapes! With an age of over 400 years it is registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest vine in the world.
You don't believe it? Belive it, it has been proven by genetic tests in Paris. It was planted here in 16th century. Ever since then it survived floods and wars and one of the hardest bombarding in second world war.
Old Vine is the central symbol of rich wine culture of Maribor, Štajerska and Slovenia. Each year a part of it is planted in other towns in the world. So the descendants of old vine now grow in almost all continents of the world.
And because of it strength the embankment of Drava river is now lively and renewed. If you look around you can see that Mariborian's put a lot of effort into keeping this part of the town interesting. Due to it's sunny position it is very popular place to go for a drink or a walk. Narrow streets that lead down from the town centre offer a touch of past centuries and life in old Maribor.
Wine facts
Old Vine's grape, the sort Žametovka or Modra kavčina, is one of the oldest domesticated noble wine sorts in Slovenia. The 35 to 55 kg symbolic annual grape harvest is bottled in 2,5 dcl glass bottles designed by the famous artist Oskar Kogoj that represent a precious protocol gift. Annually more than 100 bottles are filled.
Besides this, a large region east of Maribor is called "Slovenian wineyards" and produces some of the best wines in the world. Importance of wine in the region is represented as well with one of the largest in-town wine cellars in Europe which you can visit later if you have not already.
Each year pruning of the Old Vine, a ceremonious event with the bestowal of scions to selected cities is taking place on St Martin's Day. It is the biggest one-day St Martin’s Day celebrations in Slovenia. Important part is ceremonial grape harvest of the Old Vine, the highlight of the Old Vine Festival that shows the rich wine, as well as fruit, culinary and ethnological culture of Štajerska.
Is the Old Vine in Maribor really the oldest vine in the world?
Vine genetics experts in Paris also confirmed the authenticity of the age of the Old Vine, along with precise professional measurements by Slovene experts. The vine was planted at least 400 years ago, probably somewhat earlier. Its Methuselah state is also confirmed in paintings of Maribor dating from the years 1657 and 1681, which are kept in the Štajerska Provincial Museum in Graz.
In the pictures the frontage of the house at Vojašniška ulica 8, built in the 16th century, can be clearly seen and even then it was already lushly overgrown with today’s venerated Old Vine. If you step closer you can see that just as in far history, the Old Vine still clings to the trelliswork or "brajda" as the wooden support is called in Štajerska.
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