LATNIK

 

Latnik is the name of traditional trellis for vine growing in Karst and surrounding areas. It is Teran wine which most likely comes from traditional latnik in Karst. It is still in use in many places, but almost none are newly built. New vineyards are set with modern vine training system, to be easily cultivated with machines. They are also cheaper to build than traditional latnik. For centuries all the work in vineyard was done manually, therefore latnik was appropriate cultivation form. Why this form of trellis developed is not really clear. It is speculated it may be for protection against summer drought, for it casts shadow on ground and also protects grapes from summer sun. Grapes hang freely beneath the canopy. There is less work with pruning during the year.
There are variations of latnik, from light inclined to steeper and leveled post type.
Smaller vineyards with latnik system appear almost like art objects in landscape, especially in winter when it's wooden structure is not covered by leaves.