Friuli - the hidden gem amongst Italian wine regions

Friulano grapes in Colli Orientali, Friuli

Delicious autochthonous grape varieties

Friuli-Venezia Giulia, or Friuli for short, is internationally well recognized for its high quality white wines that have entered the awareness of wine world since the 70’s. However, my reasons for travelling to Friuli were different. I was curious of the once nearly extinct autochthonous grape varieties that, fortunately, during the last decades, have again attracted the local winemakers attention. Black varieties such as Pignolo, Refosco ja Schiopettino, and white varieties Friulano ja Ribolla Gialla have become a medium for nurturing the local winemaking tradition, and as they are becoming Friuli’s wine signature, the area is distancing itself from the past neutrality of producing neutral, simple wines from international grape varieties.  

While the white wines made of both international and local varieties in the eastern Collio area  are still getting the most attention as Friuli’s premium wines, the black varieties have made steady progress behind the scenes. Since the 90’s the quality of Friuli’s Bordeaux blends and varietal Merlot has been recognized. Nevertheless, the area’s highest potential probably lies with the fascinating, autochthonous black varieties that are now being vinified using temperature control and thoughtful oak treatment - sometimes in blend with international grapes but more often on their own. The results are top quality red wines with longevity and personality that can’t be replicated anywhere else.

Eastern Collio on Slovenian border is orange wine's home

Orange wine’s home

It wasn’t only the local, obscure grape varieties but also the tradition of orange (or amber) wine making that made Friuli so magnetic for me. This style of making white wine with long skin maceration times, which is normally the procedure in red wine making but not white, is characteristic to the geographical area around the border of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Due to the extended skin contact, these wines receive more colour (orange or amber), tannin and flavour extracts from the grapes compared to white wine made in standard style. Consequently, orange wine’s structure and aromatic profile differs from those of conventional whites. Tasting orange wines previous to my travel to Friuli only added to my curiosity towards this particular wine style, and I was very excited to see the European home of orange wine making as well as to visit its top producer, Gravner. I’ll return to this subject and the divine wine visit at Gravner in my later posts.

Friuli is located in northeast Italy. Image: Wikipedia.

Premium wine from the east - everyday wines from the west

After highlighting the Friulian gems of autochthon grapes and orange wine it is only appropriate to finish with going back to the basics - to contextualize a bit. Geographically, Friuli-Venezia Giulia is located in the very north east of Italy, historically at the border region of Venetian and Habsburgian rules. These two historical powers are still influential in Friuli’s winemaking traditions as in Collio region in the very east, on the border of Slovenia, white wines dominate the production - in line with the taste preferences of Habsburg tradition. On the other hand, red wines are in the majority in Colli Orientali, only slightly west from Collio.

Top wines come from Collio (lime) and Colli Orientali (orange). Image: Bigger than your head.

What makes Friuli the hidden gem amongst Italy’s wine areas are its characterful reds from Colli Orientali that are on the rise, Collio’s whites that are regarded the best in Italy, and the uncompromising orange wine making very particular to this area. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention Friuli Isonzo (in dark green on the map) that produces excellent wines despite its vineyards growing on a pancake flat riverbank. Still, the reality is that two thirds of Friuli’s wine production comes from areas to the west of these top quality regions. The monstrously huge Friuli Grave DOC (in blue) covers majority of this production, offering mostly good, simple table wine for everyday consumption.

In terms of classification, to date only four Friulian wines have DOCG classification, three of these being sweet dessert wines made of Picolit and Verduzzo. These wines earned their merits at the royal courts of Europe in 1800’s, and despite of their current minuscule production volumes, they are still the jewels of Friuli’s wine crown. The most elegant expression of Verduzzo comes from Ramandolo DOCG at the eastern corner of Colli Orientali. 

***

After this intro to Friuli, the blog posts to follow will take a more in-depth look into Friuli's local grape varieties, as well as orange wine. All this juicy information will be applied to practice on Divine Wine visits to exciting wineries in Colli Orientali and Collio, and enjoying the best local wine bar at the village of Cormons at the heart eastern Friuli. Great times ahead!