The family estate of Domaine Slapšak lies in the lush green hills of the Slovenian region of Dolenjska. Wine has been a family affair for a long time. When the head of the family, Martin, returned to his native Telče in 1988, he continued a winemaking tradition that had been nurtured by his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather before him. Martin and his wife Tanja added new vineyards and built a new wine cellar. Their vision was to make wines that would be special, different from others in the region.

This idea really took off when Martin and Tanja’s daughter Urška brought a new member into the family. Urška’s partner François Botton is a winemaker and expert in the production of sparkling wines according to the traditional method. He also hails from the Champagne region in France. After his studies at the University of Reims, he worked for different prestigious Champagne houses, such as Roederer. He continues to consult winemakers around the world on the traditional method of sparkling wine production.

This background soon proved propitious. When François came to Dolenjska, he began studying the grapes Martin and Tanja were growing in their vineyards. He had not been familiar with the classic Slovenian varieties žametna črnina (žametovka), which is one of the oldest grape varieties in the world. When he studied its characteristics and the soil on which it grows, he soon realized it has fantastic potential for sparkling wines.

François and his brothers-in-law Matej and Andrej went to work. They planted additional vineyards that included chardonnay and pinot noir and started a sparkling wine production. Matej, who is an engineer, is also in charge of all things technical at the cellar. He even developed an app to control the wine press remotely.

The new generation is writing a new chapter of the story that Martin and Tanja began back in 1988. The wines now carry a French-Slovenian brand name, Domaine Slapšak, which symbolizes the marriage of the French techniques and Slovenian traditions from which our vibrant sparkling wines are born.

The sun-kissed slopes of the Slapšak estate lie at 500 metres above sea level. They grow on soil made predominantly of sandstone and calcium-rich marl, which is particularly well suited for the elaboration of our bright sparkling wines. Occasionally – only if the vintage is exceptional – we also elaborate our modra frankinja (Blaufränkisch) wine.

François decided to use the endemic Slovenian variety žametna črnina when he noticed something quite surprising during their maturing: “The grapes here reach exactly the same maturity level as in the Champagne region. This gives it an optimal sugar/acid ratio for elaboration of sparkling wines.”

Most of our sparkling wines are non-vintage. We are the first in Slovenia to use a proportion of reserve wine in our blends. We maintain our wines’ signature flavour profiles by blending base wines from different vintages. This guarantees that whenever you open a bottle of Domaine Slapšak sparkling wine, you know what to expect.