About us

Zalatel

The Zalatel estate extends over 10 hectares of vineyards. It is located on the southwestern slopes of Brda, in the middle of a hill called Čisto in the village of Hruševlje. Most of our vineyards are in the immediate vicinity of the winery, where we pay most attention to the Rebula, Malvasia, Sauvignon vert and Merlot varieties. In 1991, we embarked on the path of independence and bottled Rebula for the first time under our own label. Today, the Zalatel winery’s wine offer is more extensive. In addition to the fresh line of varietal wines, we proudly present the classical method sparkling wine de Onesti and the Cursò line of matured wines.

Hruševlje

The village of Hruševlje is bordered by the Kožbanjšček stream at the bottom of the valley, and by the villages of Neblo and Hlevnik on the sides, and it also borders to the neighboring Italy. The village spreads over several beautiful hills, which with their orientation and soil composition offer excellent conditions for winegrowing. Above the village stands the beautiful Gothic church of St. Margaret. Hruševlje consists of several hamlets. The hill where our estate is located was nicknamed Na Čistem or simply Čisto (Pure) by the locals in the past. Hruševlje once belonged to Dolenje, today in Italy, back then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At that time, the village was named Cursò, which adorns the label of our wines.

Vineyards

The Vrh, Jama, Teza, Hrib and Pri reki vineyard sites extend from the Kožbanjšček stream, past our winery in the middle of the hill, all the way to the top of a hill called Čisto. Thus, our vines are planted at altitudes of 90 to 140 meters above sea level. The Pikol and Burdin sites are cultivated in the neighboring village of Neblo, only 2.5 km away from our winery. The dominant soil structure is opoka, layers of marl and sandstone, which were formed during the Eocene period, when the Brda Mountains were flooded by the sea. The presence of the sea can still be felt today in the wind from the south, and at night we are cooled by a gust from the north, where the Alps outline the horizon. The soil is poor, but at the same time rich in minerals, which give the wine a special touch. The hilly landscape and the correct orientation of the central axes of the vineyards offer excellent conditions for the growth of local and international varieties. We have planted our vineyards with varieties such as Rebula, Malvasia, Sauvignon Vert, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris among the whites and Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc among the reds. We work with pleasure in our vineyards and take care of them so that they give us only the best. We work in them sustainably, making sure that the vineyards are full of life because we believe that only in this way will the vineyard live a long and healthy life. The vineyards are covered with grass and occasionally, as needed, we cultivate them to introduce the necessary organic matter into the soil. In addition to the grapevine, there are many other plants and animals in them, which indicate a diverse biodiversity.

History

De Onesti, was the surname of the ancestors who lived and worked on the same estate and in the same vineyards as the Zalatel family today. Franc de Onesti was the last to bear this surname. In 1900, at the very beginning of the twentieth century, one of his daughters married a local man named Ivan Janez Zalatel. Since then, the Zalatel surname has been present on the estate. Today, Valter Zalatel, his wife Jožica and their sons Kristjan and Matjaž, represent the 4th and 5th generation of the Zalatel family. They still carefully and passionately cultivate the vineyards and take care of the homestead. As a memory of the past and as a tribute to our ancestors, our sparkling wine bears the name de Onesti.