Our red wines from Friuli

Close to the terraced hillsides, many varieties of wines are grown in the Friuli Colli Orientali D.O.C., the best known of which are certainly those of the great whites, but we must not forget the red wine varieties, which in addition to the great classics such as the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon reserve pleasant local surprises.

Most Friulian red wines exhibit significant character and lend themselves well to aging in wood, as in the case of the Pignolo. Pignolo, having a very decisive and grumpy taste as a base, lends itself well (not to say that it obliges) those who make the wine to make a long passage in barrique precisely to polish this rough side of it. The phase of barrel aging varies and starts from a minimum of four years; after this rest in contact with wood, our wine does not lose its importance but smooths its character a lot and acquires spicy notes and savory components.

Another wine from our land that requires the passage in wood is definitely the Schioppettino: in this case the aging process lasts less, about 12 months, and only a percentage of the wine, previously aged in stainless steel, passes in French barrique and then rejoins the remaining part. This wine is characterized by a spicy taste and strong notes of black pepper and cloves that do not hide an aftertaste of berries.

Among our winery's barricades we also find the only exception among pure wines: the. Rîul. this wine inspired by the Bordeaux blend is presented with 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and finally 20% Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso. Its round, well-balanced taste succeeds in being appreciated by all. Once blended, it spends 36 months first in barrels and then in tonneaux.

Another red wine from Friuli-Venezia Giulia is definitely the Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, which in contrast to other famous Friuli red wines, has an aging in stainless steel of 12 months. This grape variety has very ancient and even somewhat mysterious origins: we know for sure that it is part of the wild grape family and that it was already widespread in Roman times. As evidence of this we even find a quotation from Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia . Of course, in the text we find it by its original name: "Racimulus fuscus," from which it was later derived "ràp fosc," which in vernacular parlance means "dark bunch." Beyond the intriguing history of the name we are certain that it is one of the best red wines from Friuli, as it was used as a valuable trade commodity even at the time of the Venetian Republic, as Casanova tells us in his writings.

As anticipated, among the rows of our lands we also find other red grape varieties of French origin, considered on a par with native Friulian wines; we are talking about the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon, which arrived in our parts in the 18th century. Just think, they are so integrated into our culture that by now Merlot is considered almost a synonym for red wine; in fact, it is the most planted red grape variety in the region. 

Cabernet Sauvignon has found an ideal habitat in our soil as it is rich in mineral and fossil matter, which gives the wine qualitatively interesting results. Despite this, Cabernet Sauvignon plantings in our region are far lower than those of Merlot: about 38 hectares versus 221.