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the Great Red in the
land of the Whites
Fussy Newbie? Start
from here to begin
the journey of discovery
of the legend (and, why
not, make yourself look good to those who
don't know yet).
Enter the
story to understand
how much and why this great red wine
from Friuli is loved by the
guardians of its land.
The king!
The wine who lived. Survived
by a whisker thanks to a few
Friulian winemakers, today it is the Great
Red in the land of white wines. It is
so rare that only
56,000 bottles are produced each year - almost 13 million bottles of Barolo
are made...
- and perhaps even your friend
has never tasted it.
The Colli Orientali
are a succession of hills to the east of
Udine, winding their way
up to the Slovenian border
.
The first trace is in a
document from 1398, but
it is among the vineyards of the ancient
Abbey of Rosazzo - on the
Colli Orientali del Friuli - that
was rescued in the distant
1970s. Today it is the
red wine that is the undisputed protagonist
of the Friuli hills.
The thousand-year-old Abbey, stands
on the eastern hills of
Friuli, a point of connection
between West and East.
Pignolo has survived
the laws of men
and the market for love
of winemakers who have
chosen to live with
Nature and intervene only
when necessary.
It takes almost five
years of work to
put it on the market, and
five years is a long
time for a wine.
The berries are
very small,
only 1 cm!
It all starts with
beautiful bunches of
black grapes that
resemble a pine cone.
The berries are
very small,
only 1 cm!
After a long
refinement of a minimum of
48 months in French oak barriques
and a further 6
months in bottles lying down
we obtain a red wine with
tannicity and structure
which is firm but composed.
Rough and gentle like a
Friulian winemaker, it is the wine
for those who prefer to drink
less, but drink well.
Pignolo is so special
that when you try it for
the first time, you have the
feeling that you have never
tasted one like it.
coffee
wood
burnt
leather
In addition to leather, coffee and burnt wood, you can smell jam of
sour cherries alternating with black pepper, liquorice, resins and cinchona;
conquers you with its vigorous tannins balanced by savoury and dense components
. Ruby red, almost impenetrable.
Pignolo is at its best with important, fatty, grilled meats
such as T-bone steaks and chops, as well as with large game
size. It also goes well with mature cheeses.
Fussy Newbie? Start
from here to begin
the journey of discovery
of the legend (and, why
not, make yourself look good with those who
don't know yet).
Enter the
story to understand
how much and why this great red wine
from Friuli is loved by the
guardians of its land.
This is the only way to define a grape variety that risked
being wiped out by the laws of the market, but which
for the love of what it represents was saved by
a few, determined winemakers. People who have invested
and risked their own pockets in order to put
a piece of Friulian history back in its place.
The fortune of Pignolo is linked to
men such as Domenico Casasola,
who saved the plant,
to Benito and Giannola Nonino,
who even set up a
prize to make it known to the
world, and to Girolamo Dorigo who,
among the hills of Montsclapade, of
which we have been guardians of since 2012, has
cultivated it with deep dedication.
Pignolo has character to spare,
is the Mustang of wines.
Initially grumpy, thanks to
time and patient care in the cellar Pignolo has become an extraordinary red wine, capable of maintaining its characteristics over the years and competing
with the great international red wines.
Like
Fussy, the Mustang is initially grumpy.
Be patient.
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We grow it in the hills,
among dry soils composed
of marl and sandstone - ponca
for the Friulians - well exposed
to the sun and protected from the cold tramontana
wind.
Otherwise, as he liked to say
grandfather Marino Ermacora,
"tu varâs un vin garp", which
in Friulian means wine
sour and unripe. If our
Pignolo today has been awarded
for five years in a row, we
also owe it to you grandfather.
Touncork a Pignolo is to set off for a
place that doesn't belong to you, and then discover that
you are part of it too. There are those who love the pampering of
a Hilton, those who are open to the possibilities offered
by an AirBnb and those who prefer to discover the
world in a Volkswagen California.
But even if you go as a tourist, you might not come back
as a traveller.
Here you will find a Pignolo
vinified in purity, cultivated
at Montsclapade 46.014294 N and
13.367788 E, between 100 and 200 metres
altitude of protected hills
from the Julian Prealps and the
breezes of the Adriatic, surrounded
by woods and an infinite
variety of microclimates.
To drink Pignolo is to try to
understand the essence of Friuli
through the fruits it gives.
Montsclapade means 'split mountain'
in Friulian language
We would like to meet people
who want to discover the stories of
farmers and support their daily work
with the most
spontaneous gesture there is: buying
a bottle and sharing it
with those who value time.
With every purchase
you are guaranteeing the life of a vine
by protecting it from rules of
mere economic expediency
that could extinguish it.
And become a bit like us,
guardians of hills and vineyards united
by the pride of being part of
an important piece of Friuli.
Pignolo is much more than a wine:
it is part of a thousand-year-old voice.
If you are excited and want to
taste Pignolo as soon as possible,
book a visit to the winery.
If you can wait a few days
and want to enjoy it on your favourite chair
, pop into our shop.
If the story of Pignolo has you
hooked on the screen, you should know
that this is just the beginning of a journey that you can continue with Dubliner Ben Little and his book Pignolo - Cultivating The Invisible, masterfully designed and illustrated by Carin Marzaro.
A concentration of creativity, probably the richest text on Pignolo in existence! You'll find the story
of Pignolo and its saviours, data ranging from colour and scent to
DNA sequencing, the vineyard keepers who still have the courage to bottle it and tell its story, and hints for enjoying it to the full.
Ermacora © 2022
Copy: Fabiano Braida
Art direction + visual design: Carin Marzaro
Illustrations and images by: Carin Marzaro, Ben Little,
Luca Zamero and Giuseppe Santocono / ZB IMAGE,
Gaetano Sturolo, Irene Kredenets, Rowan Heuvel, Lefteris Kallergis, Unsplash archive.
the Great Red in the land of whites
Pignolo newbie? Start here to begin the journey of discovery of the legend (and, why not, make friends with those who don't know yet).
The wine who lived. It barely survived thanks to a few Friulian winegrowers, and today it is the Great Red in the land of white wines. It is so rare that only 56,000 bottles are produced each year - Barolo makes almost 13 million*... - and perhaps even your sommelier friend has never tasted it.
The Colli Orientali are a succession of hills to the east of Udine, stretching all the way to the border with Slovenia.
The first trace of it is in a document from 1398, but it was among the vineyards of the ancient Abbey of Rosazzo - in the Colli Orientali del Friuli - that it was rescued in the distant 1970s. Today it is the undisputed star red wine of the Friuli hills.
Pignolo has survived the laws of men and the market for the love of winemakers who have chosen to live with Nature and intervene only when necessary.
It takes almost five
years of work to put it on the market, and five years is a long time for a wine.
It all starts with beautiful bunches of black grapes that resemble pine cones.
After a long ageing period of at least 48 months in French oak barriques and a further 6 months in the bottle, we obtain a red wine with a strong but composed tannicity and structure.
Rough and gentle like a Friulian winemaker, it is the wine for those who prefer to drink less, but drink well.
Pignolo is so special that when you try it for the first time, you get the feeling that you have never tasted anything like it.
In addition to leather, coffee and burnt wood, you can smell black cherry jam alternating with black pepper, liquorice, resin and cinchona; it conquers you with its vigorous tannins balanced by dense, savoury components. Ruby red, almost impenetrable.
Pignolo is at its best with important, fatty, grilled meats such as T-bone steaks and chops, as well as with large game. It also goes well with mature cheeses.
OK, LET'S GET ON WITH IT!
Delve into the story to understand how and why this great red wine from Friuli is loved by the custodians of its land.
This is the only way to define a grape variety that was in danger of being wiped out by the laws of the market, but which, out of love for what it represents, has been saved by a few determined vine-dressers. People who have invested and risked their own money in order to put a piece of Friulian history back in its place.
The fortune of Pignolo is linked to men like Domenico Casasola, who saved the plant, Benito and Giannola Nonino, who even established a prize to make it known to the world, and Girolamo Dorigo who, among the hills of Montsclapade, of which we have been custodians since 2012, has cultivated it with deep dedication.
Pignolo has character to spare, it is the Mustang of wines.
Initially grumpy, thanks to time and patient care in the cellar Pignolo has become an extraordinary red wine, able to maintain its characteristics over the years and compete with the great international red wines.
We grow it in the hills, in dry soils composed of marl and sandstone - ponca for the Friulians - well exposed to the sun and protected from the cold north wind. Otherwise, as grandfather Marino Ermacora used to say, "tu varâs un vin garp", which in Friulian means sour and unripe wine. If our Pignolo today has been awarded five years in a row, we owe it to you too, grandpa.
Touncork a Pignolo is to set off for a place that doesn't belong to you, and then discover that you are part of it too. There are those who love the pampering of a Hilton, those who are open to the possibilities offered by an AirBnb and those who prefer to discover the world in a Volkswagen California. But even if you leave as a tourist, you can't necessarily come back as a traveller.
Here you will find a Pignolo vinified in purity, cultivated at Montsclapade 46.014294 N and 13.367788 E, between 100 and 200 metres above sea level on hills protected by the Julian Pre-Alps and the Adriatic breezes, surrounded by woods and an infinite variety of microclimates. To drink Pignolo is to try and understand the essence of Friuli through the fruits it offers.
We would like to meet people who want to discover the stories of farmers and support their daily work with the most spontaneous gesture there is: buying a bottle and sharing it with those who value time.
With every purchase you make, you are guaranteeing the life of a vine and protecting it from rules of mere economic expediency that could extinguish it.
And become a bit like us, custodians of hills and vineyards united by the pride of being part of an important part of Friuli. Pignolo is much more than a wine: it is part of a thousand-year-old voice.
If you are excited and want to
taste Pignolo as soon as possible,
book a visit to the winery.
If you can wait a few days
and want to enjoy it on your favourite chair
, pop into our shop.
If, on the other hand, the story of Pignolo has
nailed you to the screen, you should know
that it is only the beginning of a journey that you can continue with Dubliner Ben Little and his book Pignolo - Cultivating The Invisible, masterfully designed and illustrated by Carin Marzaro.
A concentration of creativity, probably the richest text on Pignolo in existence! There you will find the history
of Pignolo and its saviours, data ranging from colour and aroma to
DNA sequencing, the vineyard keepers who still have the courage to bottle it and tell its story, and hints on how to enjoy it to the full.
Ermacora © 2022
Copy: Fabiano Braida
Art direction + visual design: Carin Marzaro
Illustrations and images by: Carin Marzaro, Ben Little,
Luca Zamero and Giuseppe Santocono / ZB IMAGE,
Gaetano Sturolo, Irene Kredenets, Rowan Heuvel, Lefteris Kallergis, Unsplash archive.
