The Colli Orientali del Friuli is a Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) located in the Italian wine region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The region is located in the province of Udine and is sub-divided into three main sections; Ramandolo in the north, Cialla and Corno di Rosazzo. The climate and soil is very similar to the neighboring DOC of Collio Goriziano and the two region share many winemaking similarities as well. The main distinction between the Colli Orientali del Friuli and Collio Goriziano lie in the increased red and dessert wine production of the Colli Orientali del Friuli. The region also includes within its boundaries the three Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Ramandolo and the two passito wine DOCGs of Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit and Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit-Cialla. [1]
Viticulture has existed in the area since the time of the Romans. In 1866, during the Risorgimento, the region was united with Italy. In the 1970s, the white wines of the region began to receive international attention due to innovations in winemaking techniques that produced fresher, more vibrant white wines. In the 1980s, winemakers in the Colli Orientali del Friuli focused on increasing the quality of their red wine production. Following in the footsteps of the "Super Tuscan" producers, Friuli winemakers decided to produce red wines outside of DOC regulations, under the vino da tavola designation. Fuller bodied white wines, made from Chardonnay and Pinot bianco fermented in oak, were also sold under vino da tavola, to distinguish them from the crisp, lighter white wines that Colli Orientali del Friuli is typically associated with. [2]
The white wine production of the Colli Orientali del Friuli is dominated by the Friulano grape, which accounts for nearly a third of the region's vineyard plantings. Other important white wine varieties include Sauvignon blanc, Pinot grigio, Verduzzo, Pinot bianco and Ribolla Gialla. The Picolit grape is the primary grape for sweet wines and is the main grape behind two of the regions DOCGs. Red wines account for around 35% of the region's entire production and is centered on the towns of Buttrio, Cividale del Friuli and Manzano, Friuli. Merlot is the leading red wine variety, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir, Pignolo, Refosco, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso and Schioppettino. [2]
In addition to the main Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC, there are two smaller DOCs centered on the sub-regions of Cialla and Corno di Rosazzo. The Colli Orientali del Friuli Cialla DOC is noted for its dry white wines and produces sweet and off dry wines from the Picolit and Verduzzo grapes. Dry red wines are produced in this region from the Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso and Schioppettino grapes. The Colli Orientali del Friuli Rosazzo DOC of Corno di Rosazzo is noted for its significant plantings of Ribolla Gialla, which is believed to have originated in the region in the vineyard of the local abbey over 1,000 years ago. Sweet wines made from the Picolit and dry wines from the Pignolo grapes are also common in this region. The dessert wines from the Picolit grape made in the passito style has two DOCG regions in the Colli Orientali del Friuli; the Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit-Cialla DOCG is centered on the commune of Cialla, while the Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit DOCG encompasses most of the region. [1]
The Piave is a river in northern Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for 220 kilometres (140 mi) into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice. One of its tributaries is the Boite.
Prosecco is an Italian DOC or DOCG white wine produced in a large area spanning nine provinces in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, and named after the village of Prosecco, which is in the province of Trieste, Italy. It is made from the Prosecco grape but denomination rules allow up to 15% of the wine to be other permitted varieties. Prosecco is almost always made in sparkling or semi-sparkling style, but a still wine is also permitted. Within the larger designation are two small DOCG areas, Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco in the hills between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, and Asolo Prosecco around the nearby town of Asolo. Prosecco Superiore is always spumante and comes only from these DOCG areas.
Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, as well as the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of 702,000 hectares under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted for 19 per cent of global production, ahead of France and Spain. Italian wine is both exported around the world and popular domestically among Italians, who consume an average of 42 litres per capita, ranking fifth in world wine consumption.
Picolit is a white Italian wine grape grown in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is allowed in the Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) wines of Colli Orientali del Friuli. The grape is most commonly associated with sweet dessert wines often made in the passito style. Historically planted in poor and infertile vineyards, the grape gets its name from the very small stalk, which in friulian language is called pecolèt or pecolùt. The grape had a worldwide reputation in the 18th century when it was featured in royal courts from Great Britain to the Russian Empire. While experiencing cult wine popularity in the 1960s & 1970s, Picolit's extremely small yields have made it economically difficult to grow and has limited the number of plantings.
Aleatico is a red Italian wine grape variety. It is notable for being the primary grape in the cult wine Aleatico di Portoferraio made in Elba. In Chile is known as Red Moscatel. The grape has also been cultivated at Mudgee in New South Wales and California.
Venetian wine is produced in Veneto, a highly productive wine region in northeastern Italy.
Lombardy wine is the Italian wine produced in the Lombardy region of north central Italy. The region is known particularly for its sparkling wines made in the Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese areas. Lombardy also produces still red, white and rosé wines made from a variety of local and international grapes, including Nebbiolo wines in the Valtellina region and Trebbiano di Lugana white wines produced with the Chiaretto style rosé along the shores of Lake Garda. The wine region currently has 22 denominazione di origine controllata (DOC), 5 denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) and at least 13 indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designations. The main cities of the region are Milan, Bergamo and Brescia. The region annually produces around 1.3 million hectolitres of wine, more than the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Umbria.
Tuscan wine is Italian wine from the Tuscany region. Located in central Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast, Tuscany is home to some of the world's most notable wine regions. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are primarily made with Sangiovese grape whereas the Vernaccia grape is the basis of the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Tuscany is also known for the dessert wine Vin Santo, made from a variety of the region's grapes. Tuscany has forty-one Denominazioni di origine controllata (DOC) and eleven Denominazioni di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). In the 1970s a new class of wines known in the trade as "Super Tuscans" emerged. These wines were made outside DOC/DOCG regulations but were considered of high quality and commanded high prices. Many of these wines became cult wines. In the reformation of the Italian classification system many of the original Super Tuscans now qualify as DOC or DOCG wines but some producers still prefer the declassified rankings or to use the Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) classification of Toscana. Tuscany has six sub-categories of IGT wines today.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine is wine made in the northeastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. There are 11 denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) and 3 denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia area. The region has 3 indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designations Alto Livenza, delle Venezie and Venezia Giulia. Nearly 62% of the wine produced in the region falls under a DOC designation. The area is known predominantly for its white wines, which are considered some of the best examples of Italian wine in that style. Along with the Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia forms the Tre Venezie wine region, which ranks with Tuscany and Piedmont as Italy's world class wine regions.
Pignolo is a red Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. Believed to have been cultivated in the hills of Rosazzo, the grape is now a prominent variety in the Colli Orientali del Friuli Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC). In Italian the grape's name originates from pigna, because the grapes are dense like pine cones. The first recorded mention of the grape was in Abbot Giobatta Michieli's late 17th century book Bacchus in Friuli in which he described the grape making "excellent black wine". Today the grape is used to make rich, deep colored, full bodied wine that does well with some time in oak. Well made examples of the wine have good balance between the grape's acidity and tannins with flavor notes of plum and blackberry. Most experts believe that it is not related to the Lombardy Pignola grape of the Valtellina region.
Schioppettino is a red Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is believed to have originated between the comune of Prepotto and the Slovenian border, where records of the Schiopettino wine being used in marriage ceremonies date to 1282. The grape was nearly lost to extinction following the phylloxera epidemic of the late 19th century, when vineyard owners decided against replanting the variety in favor of French wine grapes like Cabernet franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot gris, Sauvignon blanc and Merlot. Some isolated plantings continued to exist until a 1978 European Union decree encouraged its planting in the province of Udine.
Ribolla Gialla is a white wine grape grown most prominently in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is also found in Slovenia, where it is known as Rebula. In Friuli Venezia Giulia, the grape thrives in the region around Corno di Rosazzo and Gorizia. In Slovenia, the grape is grown prominently in the Brda region. The grape is not related to the Friuli red wine grape Schioppettino, which is also known as Ribolla Nera. The obscure, lower quality Ribolla Verde grape is a mutated version that is not widely used.
Verduzzo is a white Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. It is also found in significant plantings in the Piave Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) of the Veneto region, though some of these plantings may be of the separate Verduzzo Trevigiano variety. Verduzzo Friulano is used in varietal and blended wines, many of which fall under DOC as well as vino da tavola designations, that range in style from dry to late harvest wines. According to wine expert Oz Clarke, most of the sweeter examples of Verduzzo can be found in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia with the grape being used for progressively drier styles of the wine the further west into the Veneto.
Slovenia has more than 28,000 wineries making between 80 and 90 million litres annually from the country's 22,300 ha of vineyards. About 75% of the country's production is white wine. Almost all of the wine is consumed domestically with only 6.1 million L a year being exported—mostly to the United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and lately the Czech Republic. Most of the country's wine production falls under the classification of premium (vrhunsko) wine with less than 30% classified as basic table wine (namizno vino). Slovenia has three principal wine regions: the Drava Wine-Growing Region, the Lower Sava Wine-Growing Region, and the Littoral Wine-Growing Region.
Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso is a red Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is a variety in the Refosco family and derives its name from its red stems. It is found in the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) of Colli Orientali del Friuli, Friuli Aquileia, Friuli Grave and Friuli Latisana. It is also found in the Veneto portion of the Lison Pramaggiore and in the Slovenian wine region of Koper. In Slovenia, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso and Refosco are both called Terrano and are commonly used in a field blend.
The Gorizia Hills is a hilly microregion in western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies on the right bank of the Soča (Isonzo) River, north of the Italian town of Gorizia, after which it is named. The region covers around 120 km2 (46 sq mi) and has about 7,000 inhabitants, mostly ethnic Slovenes, with a small number of Friulian speakers in its westernmost part.
Carso – Kras is an Italian wine-producing zone located in the provinces Trieste and Gorizia in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, on the border with Slovenia. It was classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) in 1985 and produces both red and white wine. It takes its name from the Karst Plateau and covers 57 hectares. It has produced 1, 080 hl total 2013/2014, with an average of 11, 240 cases bottled annually.
Collio Goriziano is an Italian wine and winemaking region in northeast Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, located in the northernmost part of the Province of Gorizia, in the Italian part of the Gorizia Hills, which extend to neighboring Slovenia. It has been recognized with the official the status of DOC. Colli Goriziano predominantly produces white wines with Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, Chardonnay, Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio, and Sauvignon blanc being the leading varietals. Red wine is also produced under the Collio Rosso designation and is usually a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Marzemina bianca is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. Ampelographers believe that the grape is a natural crossing of the Trentino wine grape Marzemino and the Soave wine grape Garganega. This parent-offspring relationship between Marzemina bianca and Marzemino makes the variety distinct from grapes like Pinot blanc and Grenache blanc which are other color mutations of Pinot noir and Grenache, respectively. DNA analysis has confirmed that the Veneto grape Raboso Veronese is the offspring of Marzemina bianca and Raboso Piave.