 Among white grapes, the most common varieties in the region are Chardonnay, Sauvignon, and the indigenous varieties Zelen, Pinela, and Vitovska Garganja, while red varieties include Merlot, Barbera, and Cabernet Sauvignon.About 8000 BC the Vipava Valley was colonized by Illyrians, Iberians, and Ligures as well as later immigrated Celts and Etruscans (which thereafter became the Rhaetian people).In Roman Times the valley of the "fluvius frigidus" (literally, 'cold river', today the Vipava) became part of the Roman X Regio Augustea – ‘Venetia et Histria'.