The Dobuje Wine Estate has been engaged in wine-growing and -making for six generations, however, the tradition dates back even further. Since its inception, several generations have lived at the farmstead at the same time. As such, the older generation has continuously passed on wine-growing and -making know-how and the sense of preserving tradition and attachment to the land to the younger. In the 1960s, its fifth owner, Roman Bučinel, supplied inns in the cities of Vrhnika and Ljubljana with his wines, between 1965 and 1985, however, grapes were sold to the local cooperative wine cellar.
After that, our own wine-production for sales was resumed, initially under the Bučinel brand.
As early as 1992, the first awards were received at an appraisal of wines in Ljubljana, which were followed by awards in Zagreb, Italy and London.
Slowly but surely, the wine estate was increased. Initially, the farm included 10 acres (4 hectares) of agricultural areas. In 1993, Dobuje rented an additional 5 acres (2 hectares) of land. Between 2009 and 2011, an additional 10 acres (4 hectares) of land was acquired and, subsequently, restored and re-planted with various grape varieties.
By acquiring the neighbouring large-estate farm in Dobuje, our wine estate acquired a farm which had sold wine between the 19th century and WWII to nearby Italian cities, such as Krmin (Cormons), Gorica (Gorizia), Manzano and Gradiška (Gradisca).
In 2000, the Dobuje brand was launched.
An important link between our village of Snežeče with the past is marked by the Ribolla Gialla (Rebula) variety, which was first mentioned in the entire region of Gorica Wine-Growing Hills (Goriška Brda) exactly therein. The Goriška Brda Compendium 1 contains sales agreement Cod. R 80, which reads that, on 27 May 1336, Ancil from Snežeče sold one-tenth of his vineyards to Henrik from Rittersberg where 6 buckets or about 220 litres of Rebula were produced on an annual basis. According to an older source, Ancil’s father from Snežeče had sold his hamlet in Snežeče (Dobuje) on 31 December 1323. Most likely, both sources refer to vineyards located on the same slopes around the Church of Saint Mary of the Snows where present-day Dobuje Wine Estate vineyards can be found.
It is thus far from coincidental that the oldest bottle of wine at our wine estate contains a 1969 vintage year Rebula.
