Colourful old buildings surround the piazza where underneath
the yellow sunshades you can hear the laughter of locals, many of them wine
producers, as well as see couples and even a few tourists enjoying the fruits
of Cormons and broader Collio area vineyards. A group of friends sitting in the
table next to us cheers and applauds as one more arrives on a buzzing Vespa.
Spontaneous and cheerful, the mood on this wine bar terrace is contagious.
Plates of delicious local prosciutto and formaggio, of which
Friuli is famous for, arrive alongside with wine glasses that conveniently have
clothespins attached as a reminder of the producer in question. This labelling
is very appropriate, as going forward with the tasting the table gets more and
more crowded with wonderful glasses of wine. These treasures are not to be
mixed! At Enoteca di Cormons a wine lover is at a true risk of getting stuck to
the chair - there is always one more
interesting Merlot to taste from a different producer, and surely you can’t
leave before trying that producer’s Schioppettino since their Bordeaux blend
was so marvellous!
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| Enoteca is a cooperative wine bar owned by local producers. |
Enoteca di Cormons is a co-operative wine bar of local
producers situated on the attractive main piazza of the 7000 strong village of
Cormons. The co-operative was established in 1984, and today the wine bar is
the heart of Cormons wine village. Over thirty producers from areas of Collio
and Friuli Isonzo are represented on the wine list. Alongside with offering
their production for tasting, the objective is to inform visitors of the area’s
wines as well as their producers. On the contrary to a conventional wine bar,
this place wishes to bring the customers and the producers in contact, and
advance the awareness of the local wine culture.
Ideally structured, the wine list serves this purpose
magnificently: each producer has their own page listing their products. Most of
the wines can be bought by the glass for a couple of euros. Also, it isn’t
improbable at all to get acquainted with the producer himself at the bar
counter and get an improvised round of tasting there and then! And even if you
didn’t meet a producer, there is plenty of knowledgeable staff around to tell
you about the wines in detail.
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| The adorable view over Cormons from our room at Subida di Monte. |
On the Enoteca’s website there is a map of the wineries of
the producers involved, which demonstrates in how very compact geographical
area they actually can be found. As we walked the less than two kilometre from
the Enoteca member winery Subida di Monte, where we stayed (they also have a
small B&B, highly recommended) to the Enoteca, we managed to pass another
member winery, Barbara Bastiani, who’s wines we also tasted at the Enoteca. It
is worthwhile to keep in mind that the Enoteca of Cormons is exactly that, a
very local establishment, not covering the entirety of Collio wines and styles.
Aware of these limitations, however, a wine lover will find Enoteca di Cormons
a wonderful starting point to explore the surrounding wine region. This place
offers an especially rich opportunity to get introduced to the richness of
Friulian local grape varieties, and to learn to understand them in an instant,
through comparatively taste e.g. Schioppetino varietal wines from several
producers.
Cormons as well as its Enoteca are welcoming and charming,
and in Northern Italian style, tranquil and uncomplicated. On top of this,
Cormons is still completely free of any touristic influence. Furthermore, in
this wine-appreciating village there are particularly fine restaurants, which
I’m convinced a culinaristically oriented wine traveller will value. Finding an
accommodation is extra enjoyable fo a wine lover as many of the area’s wineries
have a B&B alongside with their core function, winemaking. With all these
qualities, Cormons serves as an ideal base for delving into high quality
Friulian wine scenes of Collio and Colli Orientali after you have been
initiated to Friulian wine at the lovely and informative Enoteca di Cormons.
Highly recommended.
Coordinates
Enoteca di Cormòns
Piazza XXIV Maggio 21
34071 Cormons GO, Italy
cormons (at) gmail.com
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