Statera family wine estate dates back to the second half of the 20th century, when the solid foundations of our viticulture and winemaking were built.
In the 1990s, son Slavko Kotolenko and his wife Marija took over the family winery, which at the time was called Vinogradarstvo Vinski hram. The estate began to intensively develop and expand. At the end of the century, the operation was also engaged in farm tourism. The satisfaction of the guests with the wine and delicious food gave us a sincere confirmation of quality work, and at the same time an even greater impetus. As our family grew by two more members towards the end of the millennium – sons Domen and Gregor, the time of tourism on the farm had to come to an end. The estate expanded and increased most intensively in the first decade of the 21st century. Winemaking is now developing, modernizing and growing, and we are regularly expanding with new plantations and vineyard reconstructions. The younger son Gregor has been involved in a variety of work from an early age, because as the grandson and son of role models and winemakers, he wants to continue the family tradition.
Thus, different age groups are involved in the co-creation of our fairy tale, which connect and complement each other perfectly. Three generations and one common goal; to produce top-quality wine that reflects the variety and character typical of our wine-growing area.
- 1967 the foundation of a spacious hand-built wine cellar
- 1975 the first public presentation of our wine and the first prize-winning wines
- 1985 the first modern terraced vineyard (2.5 ha) was planted
- 1993 opening of tourism on the farm
- 1997 new vertical vineyard (2.5 ha)
- 1998 closure of farm tourism and focus on wine production and sales
- 2003 new vertical vineyard (3.5 ha)
- 2004 restoration and reconstruction of the terraced vineyard (2.5 ha)
- 2006 new wine cellar connected to the original one
- 2007 new vertical vineyard (2 ha)
- 2011 new commercial building with premises for processing grapes, bottling wine and a modern wine cellar
- 2015 renovation of the terraced vineyard
- 2017 new terraced vineyard (1 ha)
- 2018 modern nature-friendly mechanization
- 2019 update of the cellar with new stainless steel tanks and cooling system
- 2020 presentation of the new brand Statera
- 2022 reconstruction of two vineyards
Slavko was born on October 7, 1967, the same year that the first cellars were built. From an early age, he was involved in work on the farm of his parents, Viktor and Terezija Kotolenko. He completed his secondary vocational education as an agricultural machinery mechanic. Immediately after school, he got a job at a nearby agricultural combine. Because of his desire to start his own winery, he took over the vineyard farm in 1993 and devoted himself completely to viticulture and winemaking. Until his son took over the work in the cellar, he maintained 100,000 L of wine annually. With his honesty, correctness towards customers, and continuity he established a stable wine market, especially in the area of Varaždin County and its surroundings. Even today, he is responsible for the mentioned market, investments, mechanization and modernization of the machinery park.
Marija, born on August 21, 1969, grew up on a farm in Prlekija. After finishing her high school agricultural education in Ptuj she enrolled in agronomic studies in Maribor and graduated as an agronomic engineer in 1992. In 1993, she and her husband, Slavko, started their joint vineyard and winemaking journey. Today, she is responsible for the winter pruning of the vines, phytopharmaceutical protection of the vines, and the timing and performance of green work such as weeding, removing saplings, leafing , thinning, etc.
Born on January 28, 1998, he grew up in his native Zavrč and spent most of his time on his home vineyard farm and football field. After completing his primary education, he began attending the Biotechnical High School in Ptuj. During his high school education, he also completed training as a taster of wine, must and other wine and grape products at the Faculty of Biotechnical faculty in Ljubljana. He finished high school as a gold graduate and then enrolled in university studies in food science and nutrition at the Biotechnical faculty of the University of Ljubljana. During his undergraduate studies, he visited many domestic and foreign winemakers through various courses and completed a professional internship at the largest Slovenian winery, as well as at the Cavagri – Cooperativa winery Agricola to Alto Cavado in Portugal, near the city of Braga, in the Vinho verde region. He attended his 5th semester of undergraduate studies at the renowned Spanish university Universitat Polytechnic of Valencia. He completed his undergraduate studies with a thesis in which he researched the freshness and aging of young white wines. He continued his studies with a Master’s degree in Food Science also at the Biotechnical faculty in Ljubljana and concluded it with an extensive Master’s thesis entitled, “The effect of deaeration using inert gases during the bottling process on wine quality”. During an additional year of study, he also gained experience in a renowned wine cellar in New Zealand, in the largest wine-growing region of Marlborough, from which the world-famous Sauvignon Blancs come .
Gregor is responsible for grape quality control, grape processing, wine production and bottling, as well as presentations and tastings. At the local family vineyard estate Statera, he also takes care of the modernization of the overall graphic image and the new marketing approach of the Statera Elegant and Single vineyard offerings to various wine markets.