WE CELEBRATED THE HOLIDAY OF THE SLOVENIAN TRADITIONAL DRINK

Terms like tolkc, bunkovc, žvižgovc, jabček, mošt, jabolčnik, and many others represent the Slovenian traditional alcoholic beverage made from apples, which generations of Slovenes have produced in all regions of Slovenia where apples thrive.

We call it cider because it is a unified term for a wider area than just regional or even national borders. And since on the other side of our borders, the World Cider Day is celebrated every year on June 3rd, this desire quietly simmered within us as well. And in the end, why not? By celebrating the Slovenian Cider Day, we finally put ourselves on the map of producers of this drink, which our great-grandfathers already pressed and fermented from their own homegrown apples.

Slovenes are a fruit-growing nation, and our apples are excellent, that is well known. However, it is not yet widely known that we also produce excellent still and sparkling apple wines, as evidenced by the abundance of domestic and foreign highly rated awards.

So, the Slovenian traditional drink has finally had its holiday. Together with other Slovenian cider producers, we organized an event on Saturday, June 3, 2023, with stands where each provider presented their offerings. In addition to Malner, the event was also attended by Pivomat, LOO-BLAH-NAH Brewery, Karlovček Farm, Šaleška dolina Cooperative, Rebernik Farm, Tolkc by Camp Menina, and Hoop&Hoof. Visitors to the event got to know ciders of different styles from different regions.

With this event, we wanted to raise awareness of cider as a beverage in Slovenia, put Slovenia on the global map of cider producers, raise awareness about the existence of cider producers here, raise awareness about the quality, rich, and diverse offerings of Slovenian cider producers. An important goal was also to promote the added value of Slovenian fruit and thus contribute to the fruit-growing industry in Slovenia.

We hoped that both lovers of this drink and those who are not yet familiar with it would come to visit us. And let's be honest, there are significantly more of the latter, of course, excluding foreigners. Cider is a relatively well-known drink to foreigners, especially to the English, Spaniards, Germans, Americans, and for example, Canadians. This was easily noticeable at the event.

And what are the conclusions? Such events must become a regular practice and are extremely welcome for the development of the industry. You learn a lot of important information when you take the time to talk to people about your product, listen to their reactions, and perhaps even ask about their desires, opinions, habits, and tastes.

Above all, we believe it is important for cider producers to now know each other better, socialize, and network. In such events, we see an outstanding potential for the further development of high-quality products and, of course, the market here.