📍 White Carniola

Bela Krajina ("White Carniola") is a wine district in south-eastern Slovenia, by the Croatian border, in the valley of the Kolpa river. The main town is Metlika. It belongs to the Posavje wine region and is part of Slovenia.

Bela Krajina has two traditional wines protected at national level: the white Belokranjec and the red Metliška Črnina. Metliška Črnina is a blend of the region's red grapes, the main ones being Žametovka (Žametna Črnina) and Modra Frankinja (Blaufränkisch); small shares of Portugalka and other grapes are added.

Among whites grow Laški Rizling (Welschriesling) and local varieties, from which light, fresh wines are made.

Slovenia is divided into three wine regions: Podravje, Posavje and Primorska. Bela Krajina is part of Posavje, and therefore a neighbour of districts such as Bizeljsko-Sremič and Dolenjska. According to 2009 data, Slovenia has five traditional protected wine names: Teran from the Karst, Cviček from Lower Carniola, Belokranjec and Metliška Črnina from White Carniola, and Bizeljčan from Bizeljsko-Sremič. Blaufränkisch (Modra Frankinja) and Laški Rizling are also grown here.