Wines from Friuli

Pinot Grigio has a difficult time. Too often softly rinsed, too often vinified for quantity – a name that promises more than it delivers. Things are different in Capriva del Friuli. Here the variety was once called "Ribolla di Capriva", here it is at home on Eocene marl and clay, here it is the last white vine to ripen – it is only harvested in the last decade of September, when the nights get cooler and the flavours settle. Emilio and Alessandro Rotolo vinify the Pinot Grigio with the same rigour as all the wines in the Pompiere line: soft pressing, fermentation in steel at low temperatures, short bottle ageing. No effort that goes beyond the fruit. The wine is allowed to show what the soil has to offer.

A Friuli classic, here in an expressive interpretation à la Tunella: Refosco combines strength, fruit and regional flavour with a cool elegance. The vines are rooted in the calcareous Ponca soils of the Colli Orientali, which gives the wine structure and finesse. Ripe wild berries, sloe, a hint of violets and black pepper on the nose. Powerful on the palate, with fresh, invigorating acidity, firm tannins and juicy fruit. The vintage brings clarity and drinking pleasure without diluting the serious character of the variety. The finish is characterised by dark fruit, herbal spice and a hint of graphite. A stylistically balanced Refosco that brings origin and typicity to the glass with fine precision. SUPERIORE.DE

A Cabernet Sauvignon with a Friulian character: powerful, but never rustic. The vines are rooted in the calcareous flysch soils of the Colli Orientali, where they find ideal conditions under the influence of Alpine winds and Adriatic breezes. Dark berries, cassis, some paprika and a hint of graphite on the nose. Maturation in stainless steel tanks preserves the freshness and clarity typical of the variety. On the palate, the 2023 is juicy, structured and animating, with fine-grained tannins and good grip. The periods of summer heat were well buffered by night-time cooling, which is reflected in the balance of fruit, flavour and freshness. A Cabernet from the north-east full of character - powerful, honest and with a touch of noblesse. SUPERIORE.DE

Mario Schiopetto was born in 1930, he grew up in the family-owned Osteria ai Pompieri and had his first professional experiences as a fireman and later as a truck driver. In 1963, guided only by his taste and love of wine, he began to devote himself to wine production in his parents' farm and produced the first pure Tocai in 1965. The historic label at the time included the drawing of his fire engine, which he also used to deliver the wine to customers. With the 2019 vintage, the winery recalled these historical roots and resumed the cute drawing on part of its wine labels.

Merlot from Friuli – this is no imitation of Bordeaux, but, like Refosco, a distinct style that balances ripe fruit, freshness and a connection to the terroir. With its single-varietal Merlot, Tunella has produced a wine that is both charming and full of character. The vines are planted on the stony Ponca soils of the Colli Orientali, which lend the wine structure and depth. On the nose: black cherry, ripe plum, subtle spice and a hint of tobacco. On the palate, it is juicy, balanced and lively, with good tannin structure and moderate alcohol. The vintage brings ripe fruit, yet ageing in stainless steel preserves the freshness and directness. A classic yet modern Merlot with authentic terroir and plenty of charm and depth. SUPERIORE.DE

Pinot Nero is a rarity in the Colli Orientali – and a challenge that Tunella masters with sensitivity. The vines are planted on well-ventilated slopes with calcareous flysch soils, which give the delicate Pinot structure and freshness. A transparent ruby red colour in the glass. The nose is fine and complex: red cherry, wild strawberry, a hint of rose and subtle earthy tones. Elegant and silky on the palate with fine acidity, delicate tannins and a surprisingly long, spicy-mineral finish. The 2024 vintage is particularly clear and focussed – with cool fruit, good inner tension and an almost Burgundian noblesse. A Pinot Nero with a regional accent that perfectly reveals the delicate side of Friuli. SUPERIORE.DE

Mario Schiopetto's father ran the "Ai Pompieri" osteria in Udine – directly in front of the fire station. His son did not become a landlord, but the founder of modern Friulian white wine. Years ago, the new owners, the Rotolo family, incorporated the name of their father's restaurant into their younger wine line as a nod and a promise: accessible, direct, straightforward. Since 1986, the Blanc des Rosis has brought together the four leading white grape varieties of the Collio in a single wine: Friulano as the aromatic backbone, Pinot Bianco for volume and elegance, Sauvignon for freshness and tension, Pinot Grigio for the mineral bite. The soils under Capriva del Friuli – eocene clay and marl – give the wine its characteristic cool precision. Gentle pressing, decanting without sulphur, eight months on the lees in steel. And from the 2025 vintage, the Blanc des Rosis will appear in the glass earlier than ever before without the previous two-year retention period – in the glass earlier than ever before.

A white wine with Mediterranean lightness and a Friulian character: Shàris is a charming blend of Chardonnay and Ribolla Gialla – —two varieties that reveal their finest qualities here on the marl and sandstone soils of the Collio. A skilfully composed white wine with character that is never overwhelming, yet never seems mundane – but rather a true flagship of Friuli’s modern white wine culture and, incidentally, the winery’s bestseller.

Antonio Bragato, born in Germany but with an absolutely Friulian identity, joined forces 20 years ago with Gianni Maccari, who was Livio Felluga's cellar master for many years and founded his own winery Ronco della Rocca at the beginning of the millennium. An agronomist and Oenologist by training, he is considered one of Friuli's best-trained winegrowing experts. The profound knowledge of his own 12 hectares of vineyards as well as the leased plots and the radical precision in the execution of every work step characterise the clear style and the reliable quality of the wines that Antonio Bragato creates there together with him.

Vertigo – vertigo from the heights. Anyone who has ever stood on Livio Felluga’s terrace in Rosazzo will understand the name immediately: the view sweeps over the vineyards to the Karst, as far as Istria, to the walls of ancient Aquileia and far out into the Adriatic Sea. A view that throws you off balance for a moment. And a red wine that does the same. Livio Felluga has blended Schiopettino, the wild, peppery native variety of Friuli, with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon – three very different characters on the same flysch soil of Eocene origin, the characteristic alternation of marl and sandstone of the Rosazzo hills. Gentle destemming, fermentation with skin contact in stainless steel tanks, ageing in steel and small French oak barrels, followed by bottle ageing.

The same family has been cultivating vines in the Isonzo Valley since 1879, spanning several generations. In the 1980s, a new approach to production emerged, with the aim of achieving higher quality. Today, more than 70 hectares of vines lie between the Slovenian border in the north and the River Isonzo in the south, in a valley shaped by Alpine glaciers and later given its present form by their meltwater. The Pinot Grigio grapes grow in Romans and San Lorenzo on limestone-rich gravel; yields range from 40 to 45 hectolitres per hectare, and the harvest are harvest by hand. Following fermentation in steel tanks, the wine spends eight months on the fine lees with frequent stirring.

In San Lorenzo Isontino, you walk amongst the vines over stones. Beneath them lies a high plateau of deep gravel; the stones on the surface drain away water and store the day's heat, allowing the grapes to ripen fully. At night, the wind blows from the north-east, creating the significant temperature variations that give the wine its aroma and acidity. The Sauvignon is grown in San Lorenzo and Romans on calcareous gravel, at altitudes of between 25 and 60 metres, trained using the Guyot system with 5,200 to 5,600 vines per hectare. It ferments in stainless steel tanks and is then left on the lees for eight months, during which time the lees are stirred repeatedly.

Rome, the Republic of Venice and the Habsburgs have all left their mark on the Isonzo Valley; this is where Latin and Germanic cultures have met and continue to meet. A wine made from three grape varieties – Friulano, Sauvignon and Riesling – is the perfect accompaniment. It comes from the estate's youngest vineyards around San Lorenzo, Moraro and Romans, where calcareous gravel forms the subsoil. The vines are on average 15 years old; the grapes are carefully selected and harvested by hand, then fermented and matured in stainless-steel tanks for eight months on the fine lees, which are stirred frequently. Fiore di Campo has always been the "family wine", and you can really taste it.

The Ponca stretches from the north-east of Udine to the south of Istria in Croatia. The part closest to the winery, which formed in the northernmost bays of the lagoon, lies on the current border between Italy and Slovenia. More precisely, it is divided between two countries, three provincial governments and four protected designations of origin from the Collio, the Colli Orientali del Friuli, the Brda and the Vipava. Initially, with the help of a few Slovenian friends and colleagues, they only experimented with Merlot grapes, but now the grapes are vinified in their own cellar. SUPERIORE.DE

Cladrecis is an elegant interpretation of Chardonnay from the far north-east of Italy – full of character, harmonious and impressively balanced. The grapes come from a small plot in the hamlet of the same name in the municipality of Prepotto, whose limestone-rich soils and cool microclimate provide ideal conditions for the finesse typical of this grape variety. Ageing in wooden barrels and on the fine lees lends the wine a subtle creaminess, delicate toasted notes and a hint of vanilla, without masking its freshness.

From the gentle hills of the Friulian Collio, where the Ponca soils have been producing wines of exceptional elegance for centuries, comes this crystal-clear Pinot Bianco from Silvio Jermann, a visionary who has been redefining the boundaries of traditional viticulture since the 1970s. The 100% Pinot Bianco, a grape variety that has become rare in this region, matures for several months on the fine lees in stainless steel tanks. This process gives the wine its characteristic roundness and depth. The early September harvest ensures the perfect balance between aromatic ripeness and the natural acidity that makes Jermann's wines so distinctive.