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Organic biodynamic wines

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Organic biodynamic wines
Organic biodynamic spirits

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Organic biodynamic spirits

About us

In the beginning, there was a dream. Then, the idea was born. Our vision was to combine the best terroir and our respect for the nature in order to offer wine-lovers a new, organic, natural and unforgettable wine experience. After that, the hard work began. Hard work that resulted in Santei wines and spirits. We are not looking for shortcuts. We are not looking for quick fixes. We are only interested in the best. We follow nature, we respect tradition. Our grapes and wines are organically certified and in 2019 we started to follow biodynamic principles in wine-growing and vinification process. This is our path. We wish you many pleasant moments with our Santei wines and spirits!

Purchase of the Santei estate

2008

Love. Sandra and Matej. Santei. A biologist and a mathematician. Head of sales and a financial director. Deep love for nature and extreme passion for wine.

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First bottles

2010

Over the next 5 years, we completely renovated the Santei estate, including the 200-year old house. Our first red wine Santei merlot 2008 won a golden medal at the American Finger Lakes international wine competition.

Organic wine-making

2014

Organic and natural is the only right way. With strong respect for the nature, we grow almost 30.000 vines, with focus on local varieties.

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Organic spirits and gin

2017

Organic spirits and organic gin Santei are distilled in a traditional way from our organic grapes and wine. All the herbs are handpicked at mount Nanos and in the Karst region and dried at Santei estate. Lavandula is grown in our organic garden.

Biodynamic wine-making

2019

We follow the rules of nature. From 2018 all our grapes and wines are organically certified. From 2019 we are treating our vineyards and wines with biodynamic principles. Santei wine labels got a new look that supports the balance we search for in our every-day interaction with mother nature.

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Demeter certified

2021

All our wines from 2021 vintage onwards are Demeter certified.

Our Vineyards are laid in Vipava collio

The Santei estate is located in Vipavska brda, the upper, rugged part of the Vipava Valley. Our vineyards are a part of the Upper Branica wine-growing sub-region, which is characterized by specific geo-climatic conditions that enable the production of premium wines. The Branica valley serves as the border between the Karst region and the Vipava Valley and encompasses the upper part of the Branica basin with the southern slopes of the Vipava hills. The ground is composed of the deposits of Eocene flysch, which is characterized by sequences of marlstone, sandy siltstone and coarse-grained carbonaceous sandstone, intertwined by thick and thin layers of breccias and conglomerates. The people from the Vipava region call this ideal wine-growing topsoil “soudan".

Upper Branica has a very specific location, because of the immediate vicinity of the Karst region, so the brown and white clay in the “soudan” mix with the red soil, typical of the Karst region. It is also characterized by lower temperatures. Our measurements show that the average temperatures are approximately 2 degrees lower than in the rest of the Upper Vipava Valley. This is the result of the Čipnje gorge limiting the inflow of warm Mediterranean air. The geo-climatic specifics of the Upper Branica valley allow the grapes to maintain the appropriate quantity of acids even when fully ripe, which contributes not only to their superior quality, but also to a potentially longer maturing period.

 

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Wines

Santei Natural wines are the pure demonstration of our respect for Mother Nature and Matej´s perfectionism in the wine cellar. All our wines are certified organic from 2018 vintage. From 2019 we follow the principles of biodynamic winemaking and in 2021 we received Demeter certificate.

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Spirits

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14022
working days
17
awards
13995
customers
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vineyards

Organic, biodynamic and natural

Our vision is to combine the best terroirs and offer you a natural, organic and unforgettable wine experience, while respecting the natural characteristics of the Vipava Valley.

These are the principles we follow strictly:

  1. We follow organic and biodynamic principles in everything we do
  2. Great wines are born in the vineyard
  3. Wines are produced in a natural way

1. We follow organic and biodynamic principles in everything we do

We believe in the concept of sustainability. Most of the work at our vineyards - including harvest - is done manually with respect for nature. It is only this deep respect for nature that allows us to build a sustainable ecosystem. All our grapes and wines ore organically certified, and from 2019 we use biodynamic principles in our vineyards and at Santei wine cellar.

In our sustainability efforts, we are assisted by nature itself:

  • The mixing of the Mediterranean and the continental climate, in combination with the bora wind, is specific to the Vipava Valley and greatly influences the production of premium quality grapes. The bora and the cold air from the Nanos mountain keep the ground cold and reduce humidity, which could otherwise cause grapevine diseases, so we are able to work the vine sustainably and in a way that is friendly both to nature and to our customers.
  • All our vineyards are built in terraces at the altitudes above 220 meters. The average cant of our vineyards is 25% to facilitate the air flow between the vines, drying them quickly after the rain. At the same time, this makes work at the vineyards more difficult and requires a lower crop load on the grapevines, which is an important factor in the production of our premium wines.

2. Great wines are born in the vineyard

We believe in the concept of terroir. Premium wines can only be produced from the grapes which are grown at the best wine-growing sites. We place great importance on the wine growing tradition. Our ancestors, the old farmers of the Vipava valley region knew exactly which wine growing locations were the most appropriate for individual grapevine varieties, so we strictly adhere to this tradition. All Santei vineyards are planted at the locations where vineyards were grown in the past. Our wines are made exclusively from the grapes that we grow in our vineyards.

3. Our wines, spirits and gin are produced in a natural way

We respect tradition. In our wine cellar we follow the French know-how. We use traditional French wooden press for pressing grapes and utilize no additives in the winemaking process, apart from sulfur, which is added in minimum quantities necessary. The essence of our oenological processes is cleanliness, attention to details and time, and these factors only support the premium grapes from our organic and biodynamic vineyards. We believe that every wine needs enough time to fully mature in the barrel before it is bottled. Only when fully harmonized, we offer our wines, spirits and gin to our customers.

Contact

Santei estate

Dolanci 9,
6222 Štanjel, Slovenia

We will be happy to host you. Please reserve your visit by calling Sandra +386 41 399 374 or Matej: +386 41 675 504 or send an email to: sandra@santei.si or matej@santei.si

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