Gönc 3 Pinot Noir 2016

Gönc winery is a family tradition going back to 1936, when its current steward, 4th generation Peter Gönc’s great grandfather built their first wine cellar and planted the vineyard around it in the small town of Dobrovnik in Slovenia. After World War II, his grandfather moved to the city Ptuj where he started working in the Ptujska Klet, or Ptuj wine cellar, as a cellar cleaner and worked his way up to head winemaker and CEO of the oldest winery in Slovenia, now known as Pullus. 

Peter’s father worked at the same winery, but on the side he also planted 24 acres of vineyards to keep up the family tradition (now 28 acres total). When Peter came of age they built a new cellar in Ptuj and started Gönc again. Farming is organic, and all the wines receive little to no added sulfites at bottling. Despite this minimal intervention, the wines are even more stable and long lasting, even once open, making them ideal for restaurants or wine bars pouring by the glass. 

Made from old, low yielding vines between 20-55 years of age, planted in sandy soils rich in marl, all pruned to single Guyot like in Burgundy, this Pinot Noir was aged in older French oak barrels for 15 months. 

Fun fact: Gönc is also a name for a barrel that they produce in Hungary, from whence the Gönc family hails, that’s 136 liters volume. The 136 dots on each bottle of their wines are in tribute to the family’s long history in the area’s wine community.