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 arrange wine journeys to Italy along with Fred Nijhuis. That is the second day of our tour of Friuli. Click on right here for my account of our first day.
Collio was certainly one of earliest DOCs to be established in Italy, in 1968. The complete identify is Collio Goriziano. It’s within the province of Goriziano, a half moon form between Slovenia to the north and the Isonzo river to the south. We began our exploration of this DOC with a go to to the Collio Consorzio within the Enoteca di Cormóns.
Lavinia Zamaro, the director of the Consorzio, gave us an outline of the DOC. The entire space is 8000 ha, of which 1300 ha (3200 acres) is planted with vineyards (16%). All wines are white. Collio produces 7 million bottles of wine per 12 months, of which 25% Pinot Grigio, 17% Friulano, and 15% Ribolla Gialla. All allowed varieties for the DOC can be utilized for a mix that is named Collio Bianco. Each producer makes a Friulano, which is the primary number of the DOC.
The native soil is named ponca, which is layers of sandstone with marl. It has the power to empty water effectively, so the vines need to work laborious to develop deep roots. On the identical time, deep water reserves shield the vineyards from draught. Collio means hills and solely vineyards which are on the hillside are allowed for the DOC. Vineyards on a slope implies that many of the work needs to be carried out by hand moderately than machines.
There are 300 producers of grapes and 120 producers of wine. A particular bottle form has been designed for Collio, which isn’t obligatory however utilized by many producers. It has a extra slim neck than regular, forcing the cork to be extra tight and thus permitting much less oxygen into the wine. The highest of the capsules typically has the yellow brand of Collio.
We tasted 8 totally different wines of every sort (Ribollo Gialla, Friulano, Pinot Grigio, Collio Bianco), so 32 wines in whole. This gave us a fantastic overview of what Collio DOC is like. The wines can age effectively, and producers convey the wine to market when it is able to drink. So in some circumstances the present classic is 2021 and even 2019.
We began with Ribolla Gialla:
- Pighin Collio Ribolla Gialla DOC 2024 (chrome steel): recent and crisp.
- Humar Collio Ribolla Gialla DOC 2024 (4 days maceration): earthy, tannins from the pores and skin contact.
- Colle Duca Collio Ribolla Gialla DOC 2024 (brief maceration, half in French oak barrels and half in metal): peach, recent.
- Simone Komjanc Collio Ribolla Gialla DOC 2024 (late harvest, small barrels): ripe fruit, salty.
- Fantinel Tenuta Sant’Helena Collio Ribolla Gialla DOC 2024 Caterina (chrome steel): yellow apple, almond.
- Draga Collio Ribolla Gialla DOC 2023 (24 hour maceration, 7 months chrome steel on the lees): earthy, tannins from the pores and skin contact.
- Russiàn Collio Ribolla Gialla DOC 2023 (chrome steel): salty.
- Coldigrotta Collio Ribolla Gialla DOC 2021 (chrome steel and amphora): ripe fruit, construction, recent, advanced.
We continued with Friulano. It wants time within the bottle, which is why most wines we tasted the place from 2023 or 2022 moderately than 2024.
- Gall Collio Friulano DOC 2024 (chrome steel): mineral, salty.
- Zorzan Collio Friulano DOC 2024 (8 hours pores and skin contact, 6 months chrome steel): fragrant, recent, construction.
- Toros Collio Friulano DOC 2023 (chrome steel, stirring of the lees): ripe, developed, earthy.
- Villanova Collio Friulano DOC 2023 (8 months chrome steel on the lees): fragrant, tropical fruit, floral, recent
- Ronco Scagnèt Collio Friulano DOC 2023 (pores and skin contact 5 hours, 6 months on the lees): earthy.
- La Rajade Collio Friulano DOC 2023 (pores and skin contact, chrome steel): structured.
- Borgo Conventi Collio Friulano DOC 2023 (small share pores and skin contact, chrome steel): developed, aromas like a pure wine.
- Paraschos Collio Friulano Riserva DOC 2022 Kai (2 days pores and skin contact, aged 2 years on lees in giant oak, no added sulphites and with out filtration): pure wine, developed.
Subsequent Pinot Grigio. Because the identify implies, the colour of the grapes is between white (Bianco) and crimson (Nero). When a little bit of the colour from the Pinot Grigio grapes is extracted into the wine by maceration, the wine obtains a touch of copper and is named ramato in Italian (ramo = copper).
- Grappoli Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2024 Ascevi Luwa (brief pores and skin maceration, 6 to 7 months on lees in metal): pink hue, peach, recent and smooth.
- Skok Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2023 (24 to 36 hours pores and skin contact, 7 months on lees in metal with stirring): structured, salty.
- Fruscalzo Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2023 (8 months on lees in metal with stirring): amber-gold with a touch of copper, recent.
- Sturm Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2023 (chilly maceration, half in metal and half in 500 liter oak barrels, few months on the lees): earthy, construction.
- Subida di Monte Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2023 (chrome steel on the lees for six months): structured, steadiness.
- Castello di Spessa Collio Pinot Grigio DOC Pleasure 2022 (10-15 hours pores and skin maceration, 6 months chrome steel on the lees): rosé, earthy, full-bodied.
- Tercic Collio Pinot Grigio DOC Dar 2022 (20 hours pores and skin maceration, 9 months on the lees in French barriques, of which 20% new): golden, structured, salty.
- Renato Keber Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2019 (mild pores and skin maceration, 12 months in chrome steel, 10% fermented in barrique): developed, advanced, good.
We ended with Collio Bianco, by which all allowed grape forms of the DOC could also be blended to create the producer’s expression of the terroir.
- Borgo Savaian Collio Bianco DOC 2024 (60-70% Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Grigio, in glass for 3 months): mild, apple.
- Livon Collio Bianco DOC 2023 Solarco (Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Bianco, aged 6 months, 40% in oak barriques, 60% in metal): recent, construction from the wooden, recent.
- Raccaro Collio Bianco DOC 2023 (Friulano, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, some pores and skin contact just for the Friulano): construction.
- Bratje Collio Bianco DOC 2021 (Ribolla Gialla, Friulano, Malvasia, Picolit, aged in wooden for 12 months): oak, tropical fruit, good.
- Ferlat Collio Bianco DOC 2021 (100% Pinot Bianco, 24 hours pores and skin contact, chrome steel on the lees, with malo): advanced, recent, construction.
- Collavini Collio Bianco DOC Broy 2021 (50% Friulano, 30% Chardonnay, 20% Sauvignon, Friulano and Chardonnay air-dried, Sauvignon temporary pores and skin contact, half in metal and half in barriques): astringent.
- Pascolo Collio Bianco DOC Studio di Bianco 2021 (34% Friulano, 33% Sauvignon, 33% Riesling, French oak barriques for 12 months on the lees): earthy, spherical, full.
- Russiz Superiore Collio Bianco DOC Col Disore 2021 (Pinot Bianco, Friulano, Sauvignon, Ribolla Gialla, chilly maceration, 12 months in oak barrels): ripe fruit, decrease acidity.
After the tasting we had a lunch of salumi, cheese, salad, and frico on the Enoteca.
The primary vineyard we visited within the Collio area was Jermann. This was initially a household enterprise by the Jermann household with roots in Vienna, however is now a industrial enterprise that’s partly owned by Antinori. Within the Eighteen Eighties, the Jermann household was one of many first wineries within the space to bottle their wine as an alternative of promoting it in bulk. What actually put Jermann on the map was the Classic Tunina, a subject mix of Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, and Malvasia with an extended growing older. This wine has gained quite a few prizes. Jermann produces 1.5 million bottles per 12 months, of which 95% white. Though the vineyards are throughout the Collio area, solely the Picolit is classed as Collio DOC. The Pinot Grigio is classed as Friuli DOC. Classic Tunina is just not a DOC, as a result of subject blends weren’t allowed inside Collio or Friuli DOC.
For some time the household made inscriptions within the wall concerning the harvest high quality. This was carried out in numerous languages, because the totally different generations communicate totally different languages. The Austrian roots of the corporate have been clear from German textual content right here and there, and by the strict software of protocol (all of us needed to put on a tag with the home guidelines throughout our go to and I wanted to supply ID to have the ability to get a receipt and pay for our go to). Sadly it was solely attainable to get an ordinary go to aimed toward random vacationers, with an extended tour of the cellar (which is much less fascinating when you’ve got seen wine cellars dozens and even a whole lot of instances earlier than, like everybody in our group), and solely a restricted quantity of wines to style, together with solely one of many three crus.
Despite the fact that we had simply had lunch, the usual tour included extra meals (salumi, cheese, and polenta). Fred lower the polenta with a bit of string.
The wines we tasted at Jermann have been:
- Ribolla Gialla 2022 (aged for six months, 90% chrome steel, 10% in giant wooden): recent.
- Pinot Grigio 2024 (chrome steel): physique, recent, white fruit.
- Ramât Pinot Grigio 2022 (macerated for 4 hours, 6 months on the lees in chrome steel): copper shade, construction, recent.
- Classic Tunina 2022: mineral, advanced, construction.
- Pignolo 2018 (aged for 3 years in 300 litre barrique): plenty of tannin, however ripe tannin.
Radikon
The opposite vineyard we visited in Collio was Radikon. It is a actual household enterprise with its personal character, producing solely 90.000 bottles per 12 months from 25 ha (60 acres) of vineyards, partly positioned in Slovenia. They make ‘pure’ wine with as little intervention as attainable. This contains:
- Monitoring the winery by registering in an app every particular person vine with an issue that must be handled, so solely these vines are handled.
- Grass within the winery to stop floor erosion.
- No added sulphites, in order that they need to work very clear.
- Pure fermentation.
- Pores and skin maceration.
One other necessary facet is that they age the wine till it is able to drink. The longer the pores and skin maceration, the longer growing older is required to get the wines prepared. The wines are first aged in giant casks…
…after which within the bottle. The present vintages in the marketplace are 2020 for whites, 2013 for Pignolo, and 2009 (!) for Merlot.
Radikon produces three traces of wines. The “Pop” line is essentially the most approachable as a result of it has the shortest pores and skin maceration (2-4 days), the “S” line is produced from grapes from Slovenia with medium pores and skin maceration (8-14 days), and the “Blue” line undergoes 1-3 months of pores and skin maceration. Radikon produces very authentic wines with their very own character that you simply both love or hate. Some individuals in our group cherished the wines, however I’m within the latter class because the acidity is simply too excessive for me. The Blue line is bought in bottles of 0.5 and 1 litre as an alternative of the standard 0.75 and 1.5 litres. The bottles have a extra slim neck in an effort to give them the identical relative quantity of oxygen as a magnum for optimum bottle ripening situations.
The wines we tasted at Radikon have been:
- Slatnik 2022 (S-line, 80% Chardonnay, 20% Friulano, 10 days on the skins collectively, 1 12 months in barrel): peach, excessive acidity.
- Ribolla 2020 (Blue line, 3 months on the skins, 3 years in barrel, 18 months bottle growing older): orange wine, excessive acidity.
- Oslavje 2006 (Blue line, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, 3 months on the skins, 3 years in barrel, 15 years in bottle): darkish orange, excessive acidity, very developed.
- Merlot 2009 (Blue line, 1 month on the skins 5 years in barrique, 11 years in bottle): brick shade, smooth tannins, excessive acidity, very developed.
We had some free time between Radikon and dinner, and half the group determined to take the chance to take a pleasant half hour stroll via the city of Gorizia to the border with Slovenia. There was once a wall there as a part of the iron curtain. Now that Slovenia is a part of the European Union and we’ve got Schengen, you hardly discover the border.
Chincaglieria Gastronomica
We had dinner at Chincaglieria Gastronomica.
- Foam of inexperienced asparagus and sclopit (typical native greens), inexperienced and white asparagus, and fried egg yolk
- Risotto with wild herbs and lardo
- Pork fillet with mashed potatoes and horseradish
- Strudelmisù (one thing between strudel and tiramisù)
- Dario Coos Ribolla Gialla Spumante (charmat technique)
- Attems Collio DOC Cicinis 2023 (Sauvignon Blanc)
- Edi Keber Collio Bianca DOC 2022 (70% Friulano, 15% Malvasia, 15% Ribolla Gialla; 20% in giant oak barrels, relaxation in chrome steel)
- Lis Neris Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 Venezia Giulia IGT (6 months in French oak)
- Dario Coos Ramandolo DOCG (Verduzzo passito)
