Over the three days, award-winning wines from an international competition which took place in Ljubljana in March will be presented, along with other wines and local culinary delights.

The fair is also an opportunity for the wine industry to exchange ideas and debate topical issues after the recent harvest.

In one of the opening acts of the three-day fair, representatives of the Slovenian wine industry and the Agriculture Ministry took part in a round table on the protection of the Teran wine.

The red wine variety from the western Kras region was protected by Slovenia when it entered the EU in 2004, but Croatia recently requested the protection be expanded to a similar wine made in its Istria region.

The move is vehemently opposed by Slovenia, which has argued that the wines are not the same due to regional differences, including in climate and soil.

Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Tanja Strniša reiterated as much in the debate, saying that Slovenia considered the question of protection of Teran "closed".

Croatia had an opportunity to raise this issue during accession, but did not, Strniša said, adding that Slovenia had laid out its case to the European Commission in recent weeks.

The head of a group overseeing the protection of Teran meanwhile suggested that the Croatian campaign was related to its foray in the Slovenian grocery sector. Teran became an issue again after Croatian food group Agrokor brought grocer Mercator, said Frederik Vodopivec.

The debate was a highlight of the first day of the fair that has attracted industry representatives from eight countries: Slovenia, Serbia, Macedonia, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Italy, Spain, France and India.