Zidarich

Running through all of Zidarich’s wines is a driving, dancing, powerful yet balletic minerality—an essence of pure stone.

Following his father, Benjamin began in 1988 with just 1 ha and has since grown his holdings to 8, all of which he farms biodynamically. The vines grow in the classic iron- and calcium-rich red soils of the area, extending deep into the limestone that looms just below the surface. Benjamin works primarily with Vitovska, the classic local variety of the Carso, but he also has plantings of Malvasia and Sauvignon—as well as small amounts of Teran (another local variety) and Merlot for his reds.

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Running through all of Zidarich’s wines is a driving, dancing, powerful yet balletic minerality—an essence of pure stone. Even in those wines made from more assertive and aromatic varieties like Malvasia and Sauvignon, it is the limestone that takes center stage. They combine invigorating liveliness and profound, contemplative mineral heft like few other wines on Earth, capturing both the gleaming sunshine of his high-altitude vineyards and the cool depth of his cellar. Benjamin is quick to open older bottles—a testament to his confidence as well as his generosity—and it is frankly astonishing to see how well his wines develop with age. We invite you to take this dive into the Carso with us, and we hope that you will get on board with the minute quantities of the wines below, as they are truly among the most exciting testaments of terroir we have encountered in quite some time.

Farming

Certified biodynamic since 2018, practicing biodynamic and organic long before

Treatments

Copper sulfate and biodynamic treatments only

Ploughing

Annual ploughing to maintain vineyard health

Soils

Iron-rich red limestone endemic to the Carso/Karst

Vines

Trained in Guyot or Albarello (head-trained), planted at 8,000-10,000 vines/ha, average vine age 6-30 years old

Yields

Controlled with severe pruning, debudding, and an occasional green harvest in abundant years

Harvest

Entirely manual, in 15 kg crates; usually from late September to early October

Sourcing

Entirely estate fruit

Fermentation

After total destemming, wines ferment spontaneously on their skins in open-top, Slavonian oak tini without temperature control. Cuvaison lasts c. 2-4 weeks. Kamen ferments in vats hewn from local Karst limestone

Extraction

Daily punchdowns during maceration

Chaptalization

None

Pressing

Vertical basket press

Malolactic Fermentation

Spontaneous, simultaneous with alcoholic fermentation

Élevage

Wines age for 24 months in neutral Slavonian oak casks that range from 5-30 hl

lees

Wines remain on their fine lees during élevage

Fining and Filtration

Wines are unfined and unfiltered

Sulfur

Applied at harvest if necessary and at bottling, c. 60 mg/l total sulfur

Farming

Certified biodynamic since 2018, practicing biodynamic and organic long before

Treatments

Copper sulfate and biodynamic treatments only

Ploughing

Annual ploughing to maintain vineyard health

Soils

Iron-rich red limestone endemic to the Carso/Karst

Vines

Trained in Guyot or Albarello (head-trained), planted at 8,000-10,000 vines/ha, average vine age 6-30 years old

Yields

Controlled with severe pruning, debudding, and an occasional green harvest in abundant years

Harvest

Entirely manual, in 15 kg crates; usually from late September to early October

Sourcing

Entirely estate fruit

Fermentation

After total destemming, wines ferment spontaneously on their skins in open-top, Slavonian oak tini without temperature control. Cuvaison lasts c. 2-4 weeks. Kamen ferments in vats hewn from local Karst limestone

Extraction

Daily punchdowns during maceration

Chaptalization

None

Pressing

Vertical basket press

Malolactic Fermentation

Spontaneous, simultaneous with alcoholic fermentation

Élevage

Wines age for 24 months in neutral Slavonian oak casks that range from 5-30 hl

Lees

Wines remain on their fine lees during élevage

Fining & Filtration

Wines are unfined and unfiltered

Sulfur

Applied at harvest if necessary and at bottling, c. 60 mg/l total sulfur

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Growers