Viticulture and winemaking has existed in this region since the time of the Celts and the Illyrian tribes, long before the Romans would introduce winemaking to the lands of France, Spain and Germany. Today Slovenia has more than 28.000 wineries making between 80 and 90 million litres of wine annually from the country’s 22.300 hectares of vineyards. About 75% of the country’s production is white wine and almost all of the wine is consumed domestically , with only 6.1 million liter a year being exported –mostly to the United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and lately to the Czech Republic. 70% of the country’s wine production fall under the classification of premium (vrhunska) wine. Slovenia has three principal wine regions : the Dravo Wine-Growing Region , the Lower Sava Wine-Growing Region and the Littoral Wine-Growing Region. The country has a diverse geography which provides a wide variety of microclimates. It is bordered to the north by Austria separated by the Alps , to the west is Italy and the  Adriatic Sea , Hungary to the east and Croatia from the southern border. The region has a continental climate , with cold , dry winters and hot summer. The far western regions of the Littoral have some Mediterranean influence. Wines in Slovenia has traditionally  follow the Austrian preference of single varietal over blended wines , but the production of blended wines are on the rise. Slovenian white wine varieties : Welschriesling, Rhine Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Ribolla, Sauvignon Blanc, Friulano, Traminer, Picolit, Malvasia, Pinela, Zelen. Slovenian red wine varieties : Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zweigelt, Blaufraenkisch, St. Laurent, Blauer Portugieser, Barbera, Gamay, Retosco, Zametovka.