I’m a member of the Dutch affiliation of wine connoisseurs (Verenigde Vinologen Nederland). As a member of the journey committee of the VVN, I set up wine journeys to Italy along with Fred Nijhuis. Final yr the journey to Campania was the primary tour I organized. This yr we’re going to Friuli, within the north-east of Italy, on the border with Slovenia. Friuli was a part of Austria, and most of it grew to become a part of Italy after World Battle I. Friuli has its personal id with its personal tradition and language, which can be noticeable within the wines. The standard and magnificence of winemaking are generally extra Austrian than Italian. Friuli is understood for its prime quality of white wines, which have been produced there because the Nineteen Seventies when in the remainder of Italy the white wines have been nonetheless fairly ‘rustic’. Of the 25 Friulan wines which have received tre bicchieri within the Vini d’Italia 2025 information by Gambero Rosso, 24 are white. Friuli produces 9% of all DOC(G) wine in Italy, whereas Friuli solely produces 4% of all Italian wine.
We begin our tour of Friuli with Friuli Graves, the most important subzone of Friuli. It’s dominated (and has been formed) by the river Tagliamento. It is a very vast river: the dikes are 2 km (1.4 miles) aside. The river has not been urbanized, so every year it chooses its personal path to the ocean, abandoning sand and pebbles. Thus the realm has a thick layer of these, which signifies that rain will drain rapidly deep into the bottom. The identify “Grave” refers to this gravel, similar to the Bordeaux appellation Graves. In the summertime the river appears empty, however then the water will nonetheless run underground. This implies the vines must root deeply to get to the water. The flat sandy and gravelly soil is usually suited to white wines. In direction of the coast there’s limestone, that forces the water to return to the floor, making it extra fertile. That space is extra appropriate for Friulano and crimson wines.
One other issue that’s essential for the terroir of Friuli Grave is the wind. The closeness of the Alps to the ocean creates a relentless sea breeze. This breeze is ideal to dry the well-known prosciutto from San Daniele, nevertheless it additionally helps to dry the vines after the frequent rain showers within the space.
Greater than 80% of the wine from Friuli is white. Within the Nineteen Sixties it was nonetheless 60% Merlot, however the space is extra appropriate for whites and the demand for crimson wine (together with Merlot) has descreased. This yr the Merlot subsequent to the Pitars vineyard was changed with white varieties. In Friuli Grave DOC white wines are produced from Chardonnay, Friulano, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Verduzzo Friulano. In addition to reds from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Nero, and Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso. Friulano is essentially the most well-known grape number of Friuli. It was referred to as Tokai or Tokai Friulano till Hungary joined the European Union, when Hungary claimed the identify Tokai as a result of it has a geographical space with that identify. The Italians discovered from this and created the brand new Prosecco DOC in 2009, encompassing each Friuli and Veneto. The identify Prosecco was linked to the grape selection referred to as Prosecco, however now they began calling the grape selection Glera, and linked the identify of the DOC to the city additionally referred to as Prosecco in Friuli. Regardless that the basic space for producing Prosecco is round Valdobbiadene in Veneto (now for Prosecco with a DOCG). This choice prompted monumental industrial success, as a result of now 700 million of bottles of Prosecco are produced every year.
Pitars
The primary vineyard we go to in Friuli Grave is Pitars. It is a household enterprise of Bruno Pitaro and has household. Pitars is the Friulan spelling of (the plural of) Pitaro. Pitas has 190 hectares (470 acres) of vineyards and produces 1 million bottles per yr. The Pitaro household has lived on this space because the 1500s.
Bruno Pitaro can be the president of the Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Friuli Grave. He confirmed us across the vineyard.
It was constructed utilizing recycled supplies from the realm (together with the chairs within the tasting room), to mix in with the surroundings. They don’t use malolactic for white wines to maintain the wines contemporary, and prohibit the usage of sulfites.
Nicola, son of Bruno, continued the presentation. He defined that the Pitars domesticate their very own yeast along with an organization from Navarra (Spain). This provides the wine their very own character, slightly than utilizing industrial yeast that makes all wines style the identical.
At Pitars we tasted the next wines:
- Ribolla Gialla Spumante Brut (charmat methodology for six months, 8 grams residual sugar): contemporary and fruity, however extra construction than a Prosecco
- Ribolla Gialla Spumante Further Brut 2023 (charmat methodology for 9 months, 4 grams residual sugar): earthy, dry.
- Ribolla Gialla IGT Venezia Giulia 2024 (Ribolla Gialla DOC solely allowed in Collio)
- Friuli Friulano DOC 2024: calmly fragrant, grass.
- Friuli Malvasia DOC 2024: extra physique and construction, white fruit, almond end.
- Friuli Sauvignon Blanc DOC 2023: restrained nostril and creamy for a SB.
- Friuli Sauvignon Blanc DOC 2024: basic SB aromas of inexperienced apple, grass, and grapefruit, crisp.
- Friuli Sauvignon Blanc DOC 2018: golden colour, developed, mineral, oily, honey.
- Friuli Refosco DOC 2021 (with a machine solely ripe berries are harvested with out the stems, ganimede methodology for winemaking to extract colour and tannins in a delicate manner): contemporary, tender tannins.
- Friuli Refosco DOC 2018 (harvested on October 26, a lot later than different vintages as a result of often it’s required to reap earlier than it rains an excessive amount of, 24 months American oak): very ripe fruit, complicated.
Le Monde
The Le Monde vineyard was based in 1970, however the present homeowners acquired it in 2008. It’s a household enterprise that produces 800,000 bottles per yr from 125 hectares (300 acres) of vineyards, 20 totally different labels. Giovanni Brumat confirmed us round and defined that the identify sounds French however will not be; Le Monde is the native identify of the realm. The soil right here is clay and limestone. They don’t use chemical substances within the winery, however they aren’t licensed natural due to the forms that might be concerned.
The wines we tasted at Le Monde have been:
- Pinot Nero rosé spumante (charmat methodology for 4 months, 5 grams/litre residual sugar): mild colour, fruity, dry, tender mousse, good end.
- Friuli Pinot Bianco DOC 2024 (10% in oak, 90% stainless-steel): contact of oak, pear, construction.
- Pratum Friuli Chardonnay DOC 2022 (not launched but, fermented half in oak and half in metal, then 1 yr oak, adopted by 1 yr metal): oak not but built-in (wants extra time within the bottle), full-bodied however nice freshness.
- La Ponca Collio Malvasia DOC 2022 (50% used oak, 50% metal): mineral, physique, construction, salty, almond end, contemporary.
- Friuli Cabernet Franc DOC 2022: inexperienced bell pepper, contemporary, tender tannins.
Ristorante Rosenbar
We ended the day with a dinner at Ristorante Rosenbar, the place we loved:
- Vegetable polpettine with cream of Montasio cheese and sclopit greens
- Purple mullet sandwich with salad of zucchini and almonds
- Marinated anchovies with salad of tomato, olives, and capers
- Maccheroni pasta with ragù of mussels, calamari, and prawns
- Sardine skewer with inexperienced beans
- Gibanica (native dessert) with strawberries and cream
After all there was wine as effectively. The Paraschos vineyard was sort of sufficient to allow us to style their Sauvignon and Friulano. They have been each pure wines, ‘however’ very good. We additionally had Sharis by Livio Felluga, a mix of Chardonnay and Ribolla Gialla. And at last we had the Ribolla Gialla Venezia Giulia IGT 2016 by Gravner, a beautiful wine made with pores and skin maceration, with nice complexity and stability.
