Quality of
Slovak Wines
Slovak wines can be divided into three quality categories: wine, wine with protected geographical indication, wine with protected designation of origin.
Wine – also known as table wine or wine without geographical indication. This is the lowest category of wine. It is produced from grapes with a minimum sugar content of 13 NM.
Protected Geographical Indication or PGI – this is a mid-level category of wines which include local, specific wines, as well as regional wines. Burčiak (a must in the early stages of fermentation ) belongs to this category.
Protected Designation of Origin or PDO – indicates the highest quality of wines in the European Union. These wines are entered into database E-Bacchus, an electronic register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications of wines. The Slovak geographical indications that are protected are Malokarpatská, Južnoslovenská, Stredoslovenská, Nitrianska, Východoslovenská, and winegrowing region Tokaj. PDO has a synonym that is specific to the Slovak Republic: Districtus Slovakia Controlatus (DSC or D.S.C). These are Slovakia’s wines of the highest quality, which include quality wines (akostné vína) and quality wines with attribute (akostné vína s prívlastkom).
Burčiak – this type of beverage is only known in central Europe. It is a fermenting grape must, containing at least 0.5% vol. alcohol, but not more than 5-6% vol. alcohol. The “burčiak “ phase of fermenting must only last for several hours.
Traditional Names of Wines in Slovakia:
Akostné víno / Quality Wine depends on the region, grape’s minimum level of sugar at harvest time is 16 - 17 kg per 1 hl of must Quality Wine with Attribute (akostné víno s prívlastkom): Kabinetné / Cabinet made from grapes with a minimum level of sugar of 19 kg per 1 hl of must Neskorý zber / Late Harvest made from grapes with a minimum level of sugar of 21 kg per 1 hl of must Výber z hrozna / Grape Selection made from grapes with a minimum level of sugar of 23 kg per 1 hl of must Bobulový výber / Berry Selection made from grapes with a minimum level of sugar of 26 kg per 1 hl of must Hrozienkový výber / Raisin Selection made from grapes with a minimum level of sugar of 28 kg per 1 hl of must Botrytický výber / Noble Rotted Selection made from grapes with a minimum level of sugar of 28 kg per 1 hl of must from berries affected by Botrytis Cinerea Persoon Ladové víno / Ice Wine made from grapes with a minimum level of sugar of 27 kg per 1 hl of must. Grapes are picked at the temperature of -7° C Slamové víno / Straw Wine made from grapes with a minimum level of sugar of 27 kg per 1 hl of must, stored on straw for three months.
The simplest rule for determining a wine’s quality is its geographical indication: The smaller the area where grapes are harvested, the higher the wine category.