Posavje can proudly be considered one of the best regions in Slovenia—and even in Europe—for Blue Frankin, which is why Posavje’s Blue Frankin is full-bodied and rich in taste, aroma, color, and health benefits. Blue Frankin can be paired with locally produced food to create rich wine-and-dining experiences.
The project “Blaufränkisch – The Velvety Wine of the Posavje Region” (project acronym: “Blue Frankin”) is a continuation and enhancement of projects from previous periods, particularly the project “Blue Frankin – The Velvety Wine of Posavje”, implemented by KŠTM Sevnica as the lead partner within the framework of LAS Posavje projects together with three partners during 2013–2014, the project “Tourism in Walled Vineyards”, led by CPT Krško, and other related projects. The results, impacts, and especially the responses from the professional community, winemakers, hospitality providers, and the general public were excellent and served as motivation to further develop these activities.
Konec leta 2016 so mednarodni znanstveniki – arheologi genetskih zapisov pozabljenih trt – potrdili, da je Modra frankinja avtohtona sorta spodnje štajerske (Posavje je del tega območja), s čimer je najboljša rdeča sorta celinske Evrope dobila svoj izvor in dom, s tem pa slovenski pridelovalci vina Modra frankinja tudi izjemno zgodbo in osnovo za poslovno priložnost.
At the end of 2016, international scientists—archaeologists of the genetic records of forgotten vines—confirmed that Blue Frankin is an autochthonous variety of Lower Styria (Posavje is part of this region), giving the best red grape variety of continental Europe its origin and home. This provides Slovenian Blue Frankin producers with an exceptional story and a strong basis for business opportunities.
The project activities are based on the experience, established partnerships, cooperation, and connections gained from the partners’ previous projects. Therefore, the project activities are clearly defined and aimed at common goals. It is important to emphasize that expectations also come from vineyard owners, winemakers, restaurateurs, and businesses who participated in previous projects and provide strong support. Although they could not be included as formal project partners, they will benefit from the positive and sustainable effects of the project. The project is ready for implementation.
The project is built on multilayered activities that work from the bottom up, engaging producers, vineyard owners, winemakers, restaurateurs, and craftsmen, whose collaboration creates lasting synergies. Previous initiatives have already shown strong results, including greater recognition of Blue Frankin, increased demand, a notable rise in its presence in hospitality both within and beyond the region, and new partnerships among winegrowers and hospitality providers. This project will amplify those effects on a broader scale, with Blue Frankin wine paired with locally produced food to create unique culinary products and a new tourism offering for Posavje that will sustainably attract visitors to the region.
Some parts of the activities, such as communication and the networking of individual producers and providers, have been carried out on a smaller scale since the completion of the previous project “Blaufränkisch – The Velvety Wine of Posavje” as a form of sustainability. Likewise, the Blue Frankin Festival is organized every year and the public is informed, but these remain very limited activities. With successful funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, however, they would be able to expand significantly in scope and achieve the necessary scale of activities.
The project lays a solid foundation for establishing a business model that will connect Blue Frankin producers in Posavje, thereby creating the basic condition for developing a recognizable brand of Posavje Blue Frankin wine. Together with the region’s distinctive culinary dishes, this will become a Slovenian-recognized culinary-tourism product. Through workshops, training, promotional activities, and public events, the project will bring together Blue Frankin wine producers, winemakers, hospitality providers, and other tourism stakeholders, creating a sustainable system for utilizing locally produced wine and food through short supply chains from producers to consumers.
Develop a culinary story of Posavje recognized both within and beyond the region.
Create a marketing strategy for the sale of BF wine.
The project’s effects are sustainability-oriented, and its results and impacts can be transferred to other regions. The innovation of the project lies in connecting existing culinary specialties of the region into a new culinary story, which will represent an internationally recognized tourism product.
“Blaufränkischwine becomes a recognizable culinary and gastronomic product of Posavje and, in terms of quality and reach, one of the prominent centers of Blue Frankin in Europe.”
The project “Blaufränkisch – The Velvety Wine of the Posavje Region” is co-financed with the support of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe invests in rural areas. The content is the responsibility of KŠTM Sevnica. The managing authority designated for implementing the Rural Development Programme of the Republic of Slovenia for the period 2014–2020 is the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food.
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