Plenty going on at the Old Vine House in Maribor

The Old Vine in Maribor, which is more than 400 years old, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest vine in the world. The Old Vine House, on whose façade grows the Old Vine, is a shrine to the wine tradition and culture of Maribor, the Štajerska region and Slovenia – and in March it is due to host the first of the planned cultural events that should become permanent fixtures, since Maribor is set to be the European Capital of Culture in 2012.

The Old Vine House has an exhibition space that offers guided tours of the wealth of wine heritage and museum exhibits, and at the same time the House is a tasting and sales premises for top regional wines, a tourist information centre and an exceptional event venue. In 2011 the Maribor Tourist Board will be enhancing the activities at the Old Vine House, partly through thematic events held throughout the year, educational events, wine evaluation and the establishing of a club of friends of the oldest vine in the world.

Right at the beginning of March the Old Vine House hosted the first of the planned cultural events, which in 2011 will become a permanent fixture on the calendar and in this way strengthen the position of Maribor as the European Capital of Culture in 2012, on the subject of “Literature, Vine and Wine”. This was followed by the Cutting of the Old Vine – what was in fact a very serious, expert task, the pruning of the oldest vine, complete with the protocol of giving cuttings to friendly countries, municipalities and cities, took place this year in a carnival atmosphere. The vine was pruned and cuttings officially distributed by the Mayor of Maribor, who is the Master of the Old Vine, and by the City Vinedresser, in the presence of the Slovenian and Maribor Wine Queens.

The wine and culinary Thursday evenings, with their promotions of establishments on the tourist wine roads of the Maribor-Pohorje destination, which took place in January and February, will continue into April and May. For a token entrance fee (the purchase of an Old Vine House glass), lovers of wine tradition and culture will retain the possibility of spending evenings in the company of local vintners and other wine aficionados – from April including those from other Slovenian wine districts and also from Austria and Croatia.

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