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. Final 12 months the journey to Campania was the primary tour I organized. This 12 months we’re going to Friuli, within the north-east of Italy, on the border with Slovenia. Friuli was once 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 also be noticeable within the wines. The standard and magnificence of winemaking are typically extra Austrian than Italian. Friuli is understood for its prime quality of white wines, which have been produced there for the reason that 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 purple. 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 biggest subzone of Friuli. It’s dominated (and has been formed) by the river Tagliamento. This can be a very large 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, forsaking sand and pebbles. Thus the world has a thick layer of these, which signifies that rain will drain shortly deep into the bottom. The title “Grave” refers to this gravel, similar to the Bordeaux appellation Graves. In the summertime the river seems to be empty, however then the water will nonetheless run underground. This implies the vines should root deeply to get to the water. The flat sandy and gravelly soil is generally fitted to white wines. In the 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 purple 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, however 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 Sixties it was nonetheless 60% Merlot, however the space is extra appropriate for whites and the demand for purple wine (together with Merlot) has descreased. This 12 months 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 probably the most well-known grape number of Friuli. It was once referred to as Tokai or Tokai Friulano till Hungary joined the European Union, when Hungary claimed the title Tokai as a result of it has a geographical space with that title. The Italians realized from this and created the brand new Prosecco DOC in 2009, encompassing each Friuli and Veneto. The title Prosecco was once linked to the grape selection referred to as Prosecco, however now they began calling the grape selection Glera, and linked the title of the DOC to the city additionally referred to as Prosecco in Friuli. Regardless that the traditional space for producing Prosecco is round Valdobbiadene in Veneto (now for Prosecco with a DOCG). This determination brought on monumental business 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. This can be 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 12 months. The Pitaro household has lived on this space for the reason that 1500s.
Bruno Pitaro can also 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 world (together with the chairs within the tasting room), to mix in with the setting. They don’t use malolactic for white wines to maintain the wines contemporary, and limit 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, quite than utilizing business yeast that makes all wines style the identical.
At Pitars we tasted the next wines:
- Ribolla Gialla Spumante Brut (charmat technique for six months, 8 grams residual sugar): contemporary and fruity, however extra construction than a Prosecco
- Ribolla Gialla Spumante Further Brut 2023 (charmat technique 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: flippantly 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: traditional 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 technique for winemaking to extract colour and tannins in a mild approach): contemporary, mushy 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 12 months from 125 hectares (300 acres) of vineyards, 20 totally different labels. Giovanni Brumat confirmed us round and defined that the title sounds French however will not be; Le Monde is the native title of the world. 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 paperwork that will be concerned.
The wines we tasted at Le Monde have been:
- Pinot Nero rosé spumante (charmat technique for 4 months, 5 grams/litre residual sugar): gentle colour, fruity, dry, mushy mousse, good end.
- Friuli Pinot Bianco DOC 2024 (10% in oak, 90% chrome steel): contact of oak, pear, construction.
- Pratum Friuli Chardonnay DOC 2022 (not launched but, fermented half in oak and half in metal, then 1 12 months oak, adopted by 1 12 months 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, mushy 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
- Crimson 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
In fact there was wine as properly. 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 eventually 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.
