Wines from Friuli

Antonio Bragato, born in Germany but with an absolute Friulian identity, joined forces 20 years ago with Gianni Maccari, who was cellar master at Livio Felluga for many years and founded his own winery Ronco della Rocca at the beginning of the millennium. Maccari, who has a degree in agronomy and Oenologist, is considered one of the best-trained viticultural experts in Friuli. 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 operation characterise the clear style and the reliable quality of the wines that Antonio Bragato creates there together with him.

Chardonnay is considered a chameleon among grape varieties – adaptable, malleable, ready for any interpretation. But what happens if it is denied precisely this transformation? When the pomace is processed fresh and soft, fermentation takes place anaerobically in stainless steel, distillation is slow in Benito Nonino's copper steam stills – and then: no wood, no colouring, just rest in neutral steel? The result is crystalline clarity. Bright fruits unfold on the nose – apple, pear, a hint of freshly baked bread. The palate reveals the harmonious softness that characterises Chardonnay when it is given space rather than direction. The finish is gentle and lingering. Served at 12°C in a tulip glass, this grappa reveals the essence of the grape variety – unadulterated and self-confident. SUPERIORE.DE

Brilliant, rich yellow with silver-green reflections. The bouquet has pronounced smoky, mineral notes, full flavours of mango, citrus fruit, sage and asparagus. It shows its true class on the palate: wonderfully complex structure, lots of naturally sweet flavour, refreshing acidity and a juiciness, strength and length that can only be achieved through long contact with the lees and simultaneous agitation. Very convincing, downright captivating! SUPERIORE.DE

Bright yellow-green in colour. Intense nose of orchard fruits, ripe peach, roasted nuts and some lemon mousse, rounded off with creamy vanilla. Very juicy on the palate, not too heavy, with salty elements and warm yellow fruit flavours. Chardonnay made by Lis Neris is always a complete pleasure and a lasting memory. Very elegant and with good ageing and maturation potential thanks to 11 months of ageing on the fine lees. SUPERIORE.DE

Sauvignon Bianco combines the intense flavour of Sauvignon with the heady and rich style of Meroi. Lemon oils and wild herbal tones combine with a hint of ground ginger. It is round in texture, but with a lively acid balance that conveys elegance with green citrus and penetrating spice. The finish is long and colourful, leaving a hint of lime and a residual acidity that keeps the expression fresh. Exciting contrast of savoury and sweet. A large-format Sauvignon Blanc that retains its harmony at all times. SUPERIORE.DE

The Chardonnay grapes for Lis Neris' Metodo Classico come from the historic Jurosa vineyard. After the first fermentation in 500-litre barrels, it matures for at least three years in the bottle on the fine lees and develops the nobility and elegance that immediately excited us. On the nose, notes of yeast, light stone fruit, limestone and minerals. In the mouth it is creamy and elegant, blessed with depth and at the same time great freshness, which one would wish for from many a French counterpart. Dom Jurosa is precise, cool and pleasantly dry in its overall appearance, which also makes it an excellent food companion. SUPERIORE.DE

Grappa Monovitigno Il Prosecco Bianco is the ideal summer grappa: fresh, floral and with a playful flavour. Excellent enjoyment at a serving temperature of 11 degrees and also brilliant for the preparation of many cocktails. SUPERIORE.DE

Chardonnay is one of the few white wine varieties that benefit from ageing in barriques – both in the wine and in the distillate. Nonino utilises this knowledge to create a grappa that perfectly balances the character of the grape variety with the maturity of the wood. Fresh Chardonnay pomace from Friuli is fermented anaerobically and slowly distilled in Benito's copper steam stills. Then the transformation begins: the distillate rests in small barriques for eight to twelve months until crystalline clarity turns to warm amber.

Sauvignon Blanc is the most expressive of the white grape varieties – unmistakable, self-confident, with an aroma profile that polarises. In wine, it shows its famous "green" notes; in grappa, it reveals a surprisingly different side. Fresh, destemmed pomace from selected growing areas is fermented anaerobically in stainless steel and immediately distilled – slowly, in Benito Nonino's copper steam still, with precise separation of the pre- and post-distillation stages. The result rests in glass balloons until it has found its harmony.

Malvasia Istriana is the most fragrant variety in Friuli – and the least known outside its borders. Gianfranco Gallo cultivated it when hardly anyone believed in it, on one and a half hectares in Mariano del Friuli, which give it everything it needs in terms of yield and ripeness. Dis Cumieris – named after a local topographical term – is Gallo's homage to the variety in its purest form. 100% Malvasia Istriana, on glacial gravel with sand, eight months on the lees, no malolactic. The result is a fragrance that is almost unrivalled in intensity by any other grape variety.

Picolit is not only one of the rarest, but also one of the finest grape varieties in Italy - a diva in the vineyard and a treasure in the glass. Due to its natural trickling, it naturally produces only a few, but highly concentrated berries. Tunella dedicates itself to this delicate, traditional plant with the utmost respect: hand-picking in several passes, natural drying of the berries on the plant until deep into autumn, ageing in small French oak barrels and a lot of patience. 2021 was a year with an ideal late summer that offered perfect conditions for Picolit. The noble rot grapes from the hills of the Colli Orientali yielded a dense, golden must that was fermented slowly and carefully. Maturation in small wooden barrels on the lees lends depth and texture without masking the delicate elegance of the variety.

Bright ruby red with garnet red reflections. Wild bouquet of red fruits, delicate spice flavours and a hint of tobacco and leather. Taut and elegant at the same time, the tannins are velvety soft, with a well-proportioned fruit centre and harmonious spiciness. A skilfully balanced red with a lingering final and good ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Friulano was the wine of Friuli long before anyone planted Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay in these soils. The autochthonous variety – long called Tocai until a European court judgement took the name away from it – has a distinctiveness that no other grape variety in this region can replicate: almond-bitter on the finish, floral on the attack, with a velvety texture and an unagitated stillness. Dolée comes from the vineyard of the same name in Mariano del Friuli – two hectares of sandy gravel with reddish silt, exposed to the east-west. Short cold maceration, fermentation at 16–19 °C, nine months on the lees in steel, natural clarification.

Flors di Uis means "flowers of the grape" in Friulian – and the name is as precise as a promise. Gianfranco Gallo conceived this wine as a tribute to the diversity of flavours of the Isonzo Valley: not a portrait of a single variety, but an ensemble of three equal voices. 58% Malvasia Istriana, 27% Rhine Riesling, 15% Friulano – all varieties fermented separately, then assembled over eight months on the yeasts in steel. The Malvasia provides the floral fragrance and tropical richness, the Riesling the cutting minerality and freshness, the Friulano the binding character and the delicately almond-bitter finish. No wood to come between the varieties.

The velvety accessibility of Merlot in wine is translated into unrivalled roundness in grappa. The Noninos select only fresh, soft vinacce from Friuli for this – the grapes are destemmed and processed immediately before undesirable secondary fermentation can set in. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks in the absence of air. The family then distils the wine slowly and discontinuously in their copper steam stills so that only the core reaches the bottle. After six to twelve months of resting in stainless steel, the distillate retains its crystalline clarity.

The Vieris vineyard covers 9.4 hectares with predominantly French clones, planted at the highest density: 0.7 kilograms yield per vine. On the same glacial gravel soils in the Isonzo Valley, with the same Bora coolness and the same Adriatic light – but with a yield that forces the wine to search deeper. Gianfranco Gallo deliberately vinifies the Vieris for a creamier texture: less focussed on varietal character, more on terroir. Short cold maceration, controlled fermentation, nine months in large wooden barrels on the lees, natural clarification, no malolactic.

The world of Sauvignon Blanc knows two great voices: the Loire Valley and Marlborough. Gianfranco Gallo has added a third – the Isonzo Valley. Not because he wanted to, but because the Piere vineyard decided so. 11.5 hectares in Mariano del Friuli at 34 metres, predominantly Italian clones with loose grapes on deep, gravelly-sandy soils with conglomerate components. The bora brings coolness, the Adriatic Sea brings ripeness, the Isonzo brings minerals. Short cold maceration, fermentation at 16–19 °C, eight months on the yeasts, no malolactic fermentation, ten months in the bottle.