The story about The World Oldest Grape Vine from Maribor, Styria, Slovenia

Žametovka vine/Modra kavčina/Velvety Black, was planted over 400 years ago in front of the Old Vine House and according to Guinness’s Book of World Records it’s the oldest producing vine on earth.
From the ceremonial grape harvest of the Old Vine in the beginning of October until the biggest celebration of St. Martin’s Day in Slovenia on 11 November, Maribor and Styria is annualy celebrating the symbol of Slovenian wine. 

The world oldest vine which grows on Lent in the oldest part of Maribor and is the pride of  Maribor, Styria, and Slovenia. For all the visitors, it is the entrance to an extraordinary rich wine tradition and successful stories of winegrowers in Styria.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, when Maribor was facing the threat of Ottoman invasion, the “Žametovka ore Modra Kavčina”grape variety was planted in front of the house on Vojašniška ulica 8. The Oldest Vine survived despite furious fights between invaders and defenders of the city going on in its immediate vicinity. The vine survives and was not harmed by frequent  fires in the region, due to the wooden roof structures and straw coverings used in the Late Middle Ages.

Around 1870 European wine growers are confronted with phylloxera catastrophe as this parasite attacking at the roots killed most of the vines. As The oldest vine is grooving on embankment of the Drava river The Old Vine’s roots were deep within the banks of the river where the phylloxera could not survive.

Maribor was heavily bombarded by allied forces at the end of the WW2 and Old vine house was also partly destroyed but resilient plant survived once again.
In 1963 the dam was build and the river bad rose for about 3 meters. That caused a serious threat to the balance of the roots system and also due to neglected area along the banks the vine started to die slowly…

Fortunately, the old vine was noticed by a group of experts from the Institute of Agriculture, led by Mag. Tone Zafošnik which prevented the removal of the vine and the demolition of the house, which had become dilapidated. Mag. Tone Zafošnik and his team restored the vine and again after survived mayor restoration of the house and the paving of the surrounding area in 1982, The Old Vine has flourished in all its glory.
The Old Vine has become one of the most recognised Slovenian landmarks and for it won a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest noble vine in the world still bearing grapes.

The story of The Oldest Vine is also a story of incredible persistence, perserverance and the will to survive. Today the Vine has its own museum: The Old Vine House and it’s customary to sing while drinking wine so the Old Vine also has its own anthem, and now you are invited to sing along with “The Old VineAnthem” 
http://maribor-pohorje.si/files/himna.mp3        Old vine anthem text:   http://maribor-pohorje.si/files/zdravica_stari_trti.pdf 

Today, the Descendants of The Oldest Vine grow on almost all continents and in several places in Slovenia. Each of those plants has it own story and here we are presenting to you The Australian story of Descendants of Slovenian World Oldest vine

Authorised by: SAATCE