Castle grape harvest: An excellent harvest at Bled Castle

On Saturday, we harvested the grapes from the descendant of the world’s oldest vine from Lent in Maribor at Bled Castle. This year’s harvest was a good one, and according to the castle vine keeper, Mirko Klinar – Mišon Podgoliški, the grapes were beautiful and sweet. Once again, the traditional event attracted both local and international visitors, bringing together winemaking tradition, cultural heritage, and social gathering.

The tradition of the castle grape harvest has been cultivated at Bled Castle for many years. A descendant of the famous world’s oldest vine from Lent in Maribor has been growing at the castle since 2011 and continues to thrive despite the demanding conditions of the castle environment.

As Mirko Klinar – Mišon Podgoliški, the castle’s vine keeper, explained, the year-round care devoted to the vine paid off particularly well this year. The harvest was carried out carefully and in keeping with established tradition under the professional guidance of castle winemaker Davorin Slejk, vine keeper and leader of the grape harvesters from Malečnik Alojz Jenuš – Slavek, and with the assistance of the local castle vine keeper.

Those gathered were welcomed by Bled Deputy Mayor Iztok Pesrl and Jože Rozman, a representative of the Bled Culture Institute, who highlighted the importance of preserving traditional events connected with cultural and ethnological heritage.

The cultural programme featured Janez Triler, a member of the Slovenian Octet, performing vocals and accordion, as well as Lojze Ropret, who hosted the programme and enriched it with interpretations of an excerpt from Prešeren’s Zdravljica and poetry by Iztok Mlakar. Host Darja Pretnar also helped bring the event and its traditions closer to both local and international visitors.

During the grape harvest, Mladovita wine was also presented. The wine is produced from grapes harvested from descendants of the world’s oldest vine from Lent in Maribor.