Many winemakers claim they make wine only to please themselves. It implies their craft is an art, unsullied by the grubby realities of the market; quite often, they are speaking nonsense. When Josko Gravner says it, you understand exactly what he means.
| Josko Gravner and his daughter Mateja Gravner |
Gravner has a formidable reputation both locally and internationally. He took over his father's winery in the Collio region of Friuli, high on the Italian-Slovenian border, some 30 years ago. By his account, he started work in the vineyards when he was 14, and was put in charge of the winery when he was 18. His father's watchword was "Quality
not quantity … but I was young, and I told him that I was going to find quality and quantity. I can still see him looking at me and saying: 'Try it, and see if you succeed.'"
