LJUBLJANA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Slovenia expects lower wine production, but higher wine quality this year, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reported on Sunday, quoting a wine expert.
Rok Jamnik, the expert from P&F Jeruzalem, or Puklavec Family Wines, the biggest winery of Slovenia, expected three and half (3.5) million litres of wine this year, which is about one fifth less than in the average year for the winery's vineyards.
However, the expert said the wine quality is expected to be higher.
The expert said that vineyards around Slovenia have been affected by the drought to different degrees, many wineries will already start picking their grapes in the second half of August, which is a few weeks sooner than usual.
The tough weather has generally reduced the yields, but high quality wine is expected this year too, he said, noting that "a good, relatively high quality harvest, the grapes are healthy".
Even though the vineyards, located in the northeast of the country were hit by frost in the spring and a drought followed that also included some hail, said the expert.
The quality forecasts are also good at Vinakoper, said the STA report, the coastal winery which produces 3.2 million litres of wine on average.
The grape amounts are believed to be on par with average years for Vinakoper, with the winery's chief oenologist Bostjan Zidar explaining that only some of the vineyards have been affected by the drought. In general, the recent rain is believed to have saved the situation.
