Adventures in Collio

Estate Vineyards of Skok, San Floriano del Collio (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Well on my 49th trip to Italy, I finally made it to the gorgeous Collio zone in the Friuli region. Clearly I was overdue to finally visit this temple of great Italian white wines. It was a brief three days, but I was able to visit several influential producers as well as attend some informative and excellent dinners.

Collio - the name literally means "hill" - is all about hillside vineyards. Tucked along the border with Slovenia in southeastern Friuli, the Collio zone is one of the premier white wine producing zones in all of the world. Here varieties such as Friulano, Malvasia and Ribolla Gialla are implemented on their own or in blends simply labeled as Collio Bianco. Other varieties used include Sauvignon - the examples here are among the most distinctive for this variety anywhere in Italy - as well as Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay.

I enjoyed my ride on the Vespa, but ...

(Photo by Alessandra Gruppi)

One of the highlights of my time there was a special dinner at Rosenbar Ristorante in Gorizia with several producers of Ribolla Gialla from the small commune of Oslavia. Gialla means "yellow" in Italian and as you can see from the photos, yellow is a major theme with the wines of Collio. Think yellow and you think of the sun and nature- two appropriate descriptors for the identity of the Collio district. 

But with these Ribolla Gialla, it was orange and not yellow that was the common color for these wines. Producers including Radikon, La Castellada and Dario Princic take this grape very seriously, aging their wine for several years - sometimes as much as six years - before releasing their wines. We tasted examples from 2004 through 2008 from the various producers and the wines display lovely freshness as well as marvelous texture. These are among the best evidence that Italian wines can age for many years - it was clear from the 2005 Radikon (and the 2001 I tasted the following evening) that the wines have at least another 5-7 years of life ahead of them.

... I much preferred my time in the Porsche Carerra 

(Photo by Paola Antonaci)

I will write a more in-depth post on the wines of Collio on my other blog, Learn Italian Wines, very soon. For now, I will give you a short list of some of my favorite Collio wines from my recent trip:

• 2010 Zuani "Vigne" (Collio Bianco)
• 2009 Gradis'ciutta "Bratinis" (Collio Bianco)
• 2010 Muzic Malvasia
• 2010 Skok Friulano "Zabura"
• 2010 Venica Sauvignon "Ronco del Cero"

• 2006 La Castellada Ribolla Gialla
• 2008 Il Carpino Ribolla Gialla
• 2005 Radikon Ribolla Gialla
• 2008 Livon "Terre Alte" 
• 2009 Carlos de Pradis Friulano

• 2006 Marco Felluga Sauvignon Riserva
• 2008 Renato Keber Friulano 

Marko Primosic (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

While there were so many excellent wines I tasted during my brief stay, there was one that stood out above the others and it was no surprise. The wine was the 2008 Primosic "Klin"; designated as a Collio Bianco, it is a blend of Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla and Friulano. I mention that this was not a surprise, as I have tasted two previous vintages of this wine and have been amazed at the intensity of the aromas, outstanding concentration and structure of this wine. The 2008 is as fine a bottling of this wine as I have had; with aromas of spiced pear, lavender and beeswax and outstanding persistence, this is for me, one of the very best of all Italian whites. 2008 was a wonderful year in Collio and the wines have striking acidity and the potential to age for many years - I expect this to be at its best in 7-10 years and it may drink well beyond that. Bravo Marko Primosic!

Italian Wines - Traditional, Natural and Delicious!

Elisabetta Foradori (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

The Italians use the word anima to describe a wine that has soul, a wine with not only excellent varietal purity and balance, but one that reflects its local terroir, one that has a sense of place. These are wines that are honest, like the farmers that tend the vineyards and the enologists that craft these wines in their cellars.

Today I was able to taste wines from several Italian producers who make their wines this way; the occasion was a tasting of bottlings from the Louis Dressner portfolio. While I also sampled a few French wines at this event (including an outstanding 2002 Cuvée Prestige from Franck Pascal), my emphasis was on the splendid group of Italian wines at this tasting.

I started right at the top with the wines from Elisabetta Foradori from Trentino. I had tasted her wines many times before, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to meet her. What a treat to taste these wines while listening to her thoughts on the various bottlings. She poured a 2009 release of a white called Myrto, produced from the Manzoni variety, a cross between Riesling Renano and Pinot Bianco. This is a beautiful dry white with petrol and pear aromas with lovely texture and excellent complexity.

She also showed four reds, all made from Teroldego, the variety she is best known for. I loved the 2009 "Scarzon" bottling, with its deep color, heavenly perfumes of black raspberry, anise and violets and outstanding persistence. This is great evidence of the biodynamic farming she undertakes at her estate; she told me that this practice allows her to "go back to the fertility of the soil." All of her red wines display wonderful varietal purity and finesse, two qualities I have been finding in the very best wines made biodynamically.

Sonia Torretta, Cascina degli Ulivi (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Two of the most pleasant surprises at this tasting were red wines from Cascina degli Ulivi, a small estate in the Alessandria province that is well known for their Gavi. The first red was a charming red called "Semplicimente", a blend of 70% Barbera and 30% Dolcetto. This has the wonderful black raspberry and cranberry fruit of Dolcetto along with the zippy, tangy acidity of Barbera; aged solely in steel tanks, this is a fun wine meant for consumption with pizza and salumi over the next 12 months. I mentioned to Sonia Torretta from the estate that it was neat to try an old-fashioned Piemontese red; she smiled and replied that many people in her town had told her that this wine "was just like my uncle used to make." Given all the powerful wines that emerge from Piemonte, how nice to find an approachable wine such as this (especially at around $18 retail).

Torretta also poured her 2006 "Nibio" a wine made entirely from a local strain of Dolcetto. This particular clone (the wine is a Monferrato Dolcetto) has small berries, so there is a touch more tannin than the usual Dolcetto d'Alba, given the skin to juice ratio. This is a delicious wine and one that will be at is best in about five years - at $24-27 dollars, this is a fine value, especially as it challenges other Italian reds in regards of quality and complexity at that price.

Alessandra Venturini, Monte dall'Orca (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

I wasn't familiar with the wines of Monte dall'Orca from Valpolicella, but can highly recommend them, especially the 2007 Ripasso "Sausto" and the 2006 Amarone. Both wines are remarkably elegant without the big raisiny flavors one normally encounters in wines of these type. The wines are aged in grandi botti, so the wood influence is minimal. To me this allowed the varietal flavors of the Corvina and Rondinella grapes to emerge, along with subtle spice. This Amarone is one of the best I've tasted over the past few years.

Arianna Occhipinti (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Finally, two producers making wines at different ends of the spectrum. Sasha Radikon was present pouring his father's gorgeous "orange" wines; among them were the 2005 Ribolla Gialla, the Jakot (Tokaj spelled backwards) froma the same vintage and the "Oslavje" (also from 2005). This last white, a blend of Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon and Chardonnay has excellent persistence and texture with outstanding complexity. A first rate wine as was the Ribolla Gialla, which displayed remarkable freshness for a five year old white wine. Radikon gives these white wines three and a half months of skin contact and them ages them for three and a half years in grandi botti of 30 hl. This is an amazing way to make white wines - one that surely is razor's edge - but is works grandly!

Finally I was able to sample the new wines from my brand new friend Arianna Occhippinti. I had known about her wines for some time now, as several friends recommended them to me (Arianna is the niece of Giusto Occhipinti, one of the proprietors of COS winery in Vittoria, one of Italy's most remowned producers). I finally met Arianna on March 12 at an event in Sicily, where I tasted her estate wines (I especially loved her 2006 "Siccogno" Nero d'Avola). I then flew back to Chicago on the 15th on the same flight as Arianna- she was actually seated one row directly in front of me - talk about a small world! (Incidentally, both of us, having flown Alitalia in the past, had the foresight to order a vegetarian meal  - they couldn't screw that up!). So today, the 23rd, marked the third time in twelve days I've spent time with her after never meeting her in the past. She is certainly worth spending time with, I can admit, not only for her wines, but also for her charming personality.

I tasted three wines from her new project she has undertaken with a few friends. The wines are under the Tami label and the three wines, a Grillo and two reds, Frappato and Nero d'Avola, are medium-bodied and offer good freshness, varietal character and are quite elegant and approachable now. These are fine food wines and very reasonably priced - they should be in the $16-$18 retail range, though I'm guessing much of the wine will wind up as glass pours - a wonderful idea for any restaurant wine buyers reading this post.

In case you couldn't tell, I had fun at this tasting. To me, that's always in the back of my mind at wine events. No matter how expensive or famous the wine, I'll only rate it highly if I enjoy it. Today, I enjoyed a beautiful range of wines - life's good!