Saturday morning, 29th of August, started at the Dominican Monastery in Ptuj, where was organized a round table on connecting wine and art. Participating guests Janja Viher, Franci Cvetko, Stane Kocutar, Slavko Podbrežnik, Danilo Steyer and Sašo Topolšek were discussing wine as an artistic expression.
The debate was very interesting and lively, because of the different points of view. Some of invited guests have recognized the connection between wine and art, in a way that wine is even more than art. Wine is a culture. And if we want to understand art, first we have to understand culture. Drinking wine is considered as a European culture from the ancient times. For Slovenians wine is even more important. It is considered as a part of the national identity, because winemaking is actually one of the bases for understanding the profession of law in Slovenia, and The Old Vine in Maribor is considered as a Mecca of the wine world. At the same time, we all should understand that wine is an artistic product, because besides the nature it still requires the work of a man.
The craftsman's point of view is different. The word art sometimes sounds sublime and seems to be accessible only to select individuals. But at the same time every craftsman tries to survive on the local market. Therefore, if wine were equated with art, this kind of craft could quickly collapse.
Despite different points of view all the guests came to a common conclusion. Slovenia has a great potential and the only thing we need to work on more is the art of cooperation. Everyone agreed that it is necessary to return to our roots and become the best craftsmen of their craft, because it is tradition that wins the game of recognition. They also revealed to the public that the initiative is already in the making.
