Wine from Glass & Moonlight
Matej Švara is an independent winemaker from Slovenia's Karst region, renowned for his commitment to natural and biodynamic viticulture. [^15^] Operating on a modest 1.5-hectare estate in the village of Komen, he produces wines that are deeply expressive of their terroir, focusing on purity and minimal intervention. [^15^] His unique signature is the use of small glass vessels — damigianas — for ageing, making traditional wooden barrels redundant and allowing for a purer expression of fruit and terroir. [^16^] Every step of his process, from pruning to bottling, is governed by the Maria Thun biodynamic calendar. [^17^]
A Calm, Steady Pace — One Man, 1.5 Hectares, Total Commitment
Matej Švara started making wines in 2010, working his 1.5 hectares pretty much all by himself at his own calm but steady pace. [^17^] He is not a winemaker who seeks the spotlight; he is a practitioner of what he calls a "cosmo-cultural" approach — a philosophy that aligns every action in the vineyard and cellar with the rhythms of nature, the moon, and the biodynamic calendar. [^16^] This is not marketing language; it is the structure of his daily work. Pruning, spraying, harvesting, and bottling are all scheduled according to the Maria Thun calendar, the legendary biodynamic farmer's guide to aligning agricultural work with lunar and planetary cycles. [^17^]
The Švara estate is located in Komen, a village in the heart of the Karst plateau — the same windswept limestone landscape that gave its name to the geological term "karst." [^16^] The vineyards sit on terra rossa soil, a red, clay-rich loam derived from the limestone bedrock, at elevations just above sea level with southeast exposures that enhance ripening. [^15^] The vines range from 35 to 60 years old, deeply rooted in a soil that is as distinctive as it is demanding. The Karst is a place of extremes — fierce winds, thin soils, and a climate caught between Mediterranean warmth and Alpine cool — and it produces wines of corresponding intensity and character.
Matej's background as a chef informs his approach to wine. [^15^] He understands that wine is not an isolated product but part of a larger gastronomic experience. His wines are crafted to pair with rich, flavorful cuisine — not delicate, minimalist plates, but the robust, earthy food of the Karst: pršut, aged cheeses, olive oil, and stews. This culinary sensibility shapes his winemaking decisions, from the length of maceration to the level of extraction. He is not making wines for the tasting room alone; he is making wines for the table.
"The wines of Matej Švara are made with spontaneous fermentation — no yeasts are added. Maceration is left to nature, the temperature is not controlled. The wines are unfiltered and contain only free sulfur."
— Amber Wines
Terra Rossa, Biodynamic Calendar & Glass Demijohns
Švara's viticulture is intensely manual, with minimal interventions. He eschews synthetic pesticides and fungicides entirely, applying only natural sprays containing brown algae and sulfur. [^16^] A notable and distinctive practice is the targeted application of a small amount of copper exclusively to the leaves, never the grape clusters — a precision that reflects his deep attention to detail and his refusal to compromise the purity of the fruit. [^17^] The vineyards are sprayed only three to a maximum of five times per year, a remarkably low frequency that speaks to the health of the vines and the balance of the ecosystem. [^17^]
All vineyard work — pruning, tying, leaf removal, harvesting — is performed by hand. [^17^] There are no machines in Švara's vineyards, no tractors compacting the terra rossa, no mechanical harvesters shaking the old vines. This is farming as it was done for centuries, with the human hand as the primary tool and the human eye as the primary judge of ripeness and health. The southeast exposure of the vineyards ensures good sunlight and air circulation, reducing disease pressure and allowing the grapes to ripen fully while retaining acidity.
In the cellar, Švara's approach is equally low-tech and respectful of natural processes. After manual harvest, the grapes undergo spontaneous fermentation with indigenous, ambient yeasts. [^16^] Maceration is allowed to proceed without temperature control — whatever the weather brings, the wine accepts. [^17^] The wines are aged without the use of wooden barrels, which would impart exogenous flavours and tannins. Instead, he utilises small glass demijohns (damigianas), often 54-litre vessels, for extended maturation, followed by a short period in inox (stainless steel) containers. [^16^] This method preserves the primary aromatic and mineral characteristics of the grapes and terroir, resulting in wines of extraordinary clarity and freshness. The finished wines are unfiltered and contain minimal free sulfur dioxide, typically in the range of 2–4 mg/L, with a total of around 10 mg/L. [^16^]
All vineyard and cellar work governed by the Maria Thun biodynamic calendar. Pruning, spraying, harvesting, and bottling aligned with lunar cycles. A philosophy of total harmony between human action and natural rhythm. [^16^] [^17^]
Red, clay-rich loam derived from limestone bedrock. Southeast exposure for enhanced ripening. The same soil that underlies the great wines of the Karst — iron-rich, draining, and demanding. [^15^] [^16^]
Ageing in 54-litre glass vessels instead of wooden barrels. No exogenous tannins or flavours. Pure expression of fruit and terroir. Followed by short maturation in stainless steel. [^16^]
2–4 mg/L free sulfur, ~10 mg/L total. Unfiltered. Spontaneous fermentation. No temperature control. No added yeasts. No chemicals. [^16^] [^17^]
Spontaneous Fermentation, Natural Maceration & Bottling by Moonlight
Matej Švara's winemaking is a study in restraint and trust. He does not add yeasts; he does not control temperatures; he does not filter. [^17^] The grapes are harvested by hand at the optimal moment — a decision made by taste and intuition rather than laboratory analysis — and placed into open vats for maceration. The length of skin contact is left to nature: some vintages may see 12 days, others more or less, depending on the grape variety, the vintage conditions, and the wine's own evolution. [^15^] This is not negligence; it is a deep confidence in the wine's ability to find its own balance.
After maceration and fermentation, the wines are transferred to glass demijohns for extended ageing. [^16^] These 54-litre vessels — smaller than traditional barrels, larger than bottles — create a unique maturation environment. Glass is inert; it breathes almost not at all. The wine ages slowly, protected from oxidation, developing complexity through time and the subtle interaction of lees and wine, not through wood-derived tannins or oxygen ingress. The result is a style of wine that is remarkably pure, with a clarity of fruit and a precision of minerality that is rare in an era of barrel-aged everything.
Bottling is performed at the time of full moons in August and September, following Maria Thun's calendar. [^17^] This is not superstition but a biodynamic principle: the gravitational pull of the full moon is believed to influence the wine's stability and its ability to settle naturally. Švara follows Thun's advice not only for bottling but also for cutting the grapevines and during other critical processes. [^17^] This attention to cosmic timing is the final layer of his cosmo-cultural approach — a winemaking that is as much about when as it is about how.
His Vitovska 2021 is the flagship expression of this philosophy. The grapes undergo 12 days of maceration in open vats, followed by fermentation and extended ageing in 54-litre glass vessels. [^15^] In the glass, it presents a seductive straw colour with golden tones, offering aromas of peach and meadow herbs, and a mineral taste with extraordinary freshness. [^15^] This is not an aggressive orange wine; it is a wine of finesse, of whispered complexity, of the Karst wind captured in liquid form. The Malvazija and Teran complete the trio — each a pure, unadorned expression of variety and place, made with the same patience and the same refusal to intervene. [^15^]
Vitovska 2021 — "12 Days of Maceration, Glass Vessel Ageing"
Matej Švara's Vitovska is the purest expression of his cosmo-cultural approach — a wine made from one of the Karst's most distinctive native varieties, aged in glass rather than wood, and bottled by the light of the full moon. [^15^] [^16^]
The grapes undergo 12 days of maceration in open vats, with spontaneous fermentation and no temperature control. [^15^] After pressing, the wine is transferred to 54-litre glass demijohns for extended maturation, preserving every nuance of the terra rossa terroir without the masking effect of oak. A short period in stainless steel follows before bottling at the August or September full moon, per the Maria Thun calendar. [^16^] [^17^]
In the glass, it glows with a seductive straw colour and golden tones. The nose offers peach and meadow herbs — the flora of the Karst plateau in late summer. The palate is mineral, fresh, and extraordinarily precise, with a clarity that can only come from glass-ageing and minimal sulfur. This is not a wine of power; it is a wine of purity, of place, and of the patient hand that guided it from vine to bottle without ever imposing its will. Unfiltered, 2–4 mg/L free sulfur, ~10 mg/L total. A benchmark for natural Vitovska and a testament to what happens when a winemaker trusts his terroir completely. ~€22–€32 / ~$24–$35.
The Matej Švara Range
Matej Švara produces a focused portfolio of three wines from his 1.5-hectare estate in Komen, Karst. All wines are spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts, hand-harvested, unfiltered, and aged in glass demijohns with minimal sulfur additions. The portfolio is intentionally small — a single expression of each variety, made with total commitment to purity and terroir. Prices are approximate and in EUR/USD.