Drašiči wine community house

The Drašiči community, together with its shared wine house, like other such communities in Bela Krajina, developed from the 17th century onwards. Its origins are most likely connected to the establishment of the branch Church of St Peter in Drašiči. In the wine house, which served as a gathering place for the local community, wine collected from the members was stored, then loaned to villagers and also sold. Wine debts were originally recorded with tally sticks and later written in debt records. Repayments were made in kind, with wine interest set at 50% (for one litre borrowed, one and a half litres had to be returned). Villagers usually borrowed wine when their own supplies ran out, most often in spring or during the busy summer farming season. They repaid their debts soon after the grape harvest, while the must had not yet turned into wine, allowing it to ferment in the communal barrel in the wine house cellar.

The operations of the wine house were managed by two elected members of the community (šekutarja), who were responsible for maintaining the shared property, distributing wine and collecting repayments.

The functioning of the Drašiči community and its wine cellar continued uninterrupted even after the Second World War. In recent years, it has been presented to tourist groups as the only still-active “wine bank” in Bela Krajina – a system of borrowing communal wine – while also offering tastings and sales of wines produced by local winemakers.

In autumn, on the first Saturday after St Martin’s Day, the people of Drašiči organise the traditional “Walk along the paths of the Drašiči wine community”. Along the 11.5 km route, more than a thousand visitors stop at eight stations, where, in addition to fine wines, they can also taste traditional homemade delicacies. The route leads from the Drašiči wine community house to a world-renowned winemaker and Slovenia’s first wine queen. Along the way, visitors refresh themselves at the natural spring in Vidošiči, visit the Church of St Anne nestled among vineyards, and enjoy performances by various musicians. This pleasant excursion through the vineyards concludes each year in the courtyard of a well-known Drašiči winegrowing family, where the gathering continues with dancing and live music from local bands.