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Home , Enoteca, Pinot gris, Prepotto, Rose, San Floriano del Collio, San Lorenzo Isontino

Travel: Friuli Map: Maggie Nelson Maggie Map:

My perfect day in Friuli Morning After breakfast at the peaceful Colli di Poianis agriturismo*, drive 15 minutes into . Above: perched on a ravine, Cividale del Friuli is Perched on a ravine created by the The travel guide to the perfect stop before exploring Colli Orientali river Natisone, Cividale is crammed FACT FILE full of medieval history, plus some Selected DOCG/ solely for sweet , made from indigenous excellent shopping opportunities. DOCs & top variety, Friulano. Energised by a mid-morning at San Floriano DOCG café in Cividale’s main square, drive A perfect food match to Ronchi di Cialla, set in one of the incredible vista of rolling hills and 60ha**; Friuli, Verduzzo Friulano Just as the Bordelais prefer to drink Colli Orientali’s prettiest valleys. vineyards before you is a while the northerly Alpine part bordering as an aperitif, so Friulians know that the You’ll meet the Rapuzzi family, the patchwork of Italy and . DOC Stretching from the to the Adriatic, Friuli is home to rolling is decidedly Germanic. honeyed, mildly tannic, high-acid Ramandolo saviours of from Grave 2,273ha**; For visitors seeking outstanding food and goes best with the local Prosciutto di San obscurity and producers of some Evening and overnight Pinot Grigio, , hills, picturesque villages and a , and beautiful countryside, the region is Daniele (similar to Prosciutto di Parma) or of the best wines in the region. After a scenic 30-minute drive, wealth of boutique wine a paradise. Friuli doesn’t get overrun with with Montasio cheese. I Comelli is one of the finish with dinner at Terra & Vini Lunch Collio 1,319ha*; producers. Simon Woolf shares indiscriminate tourists, which has helped 30 producers in the Consorzio Tutela Vini (www.terraevini.it), an osteria in Pinot Grigio, preserve a sense of authenticity and character Ramandolo with excellent wines and a From here it’s a short hop to the Brazzano which also acts as front Sauvignon Blanc, tips on how best to plan a trip that is harder to find in Tuscany or . peaceful agriturismo near the (info@ village of , to refuel at of house for world-famous winery, It also offers an unbeatable combination of icomelli.com). Trattoria da Mario*. Your only Livio Felluga. Although wines by Corners Images Corners Colli Orientali I suspect it can be a bit slow if you’re a news dramatic mountain scenery, rolling Ramandolo DOCG is contained within the challenge is to exercise enough the glass are limited to Felluga, the ‑ 1,208ha**; Friulano, reporter in Friuli. One of last year’s bigger vistas and idyllic Adriatic coastline. dog-leg-shaped Colli Orientali DOC, which restraint to justify dinner later on. full list offers a varied selection from stories was a scandal alleging the presence of The best wine areas are concentrated stretches down to the plains around . Friuli Collio, as does the ensuite Sauvignon Blanc, Afternoon Merlot illegal additives in Sauvignon Blanc. Friuli- around the southeastern part of the region, Colli Orientali’s green, sweeping valleys are enoteca. The food is traditional, Venezia Giulia, to use the full and rather especially in the hilly sub-regions of Collio and home to myriad small, quality-focused After lunch, drive 30 minutes to uncomplicated and quite exquisite. Isonzo 712ha**; confusing name (Venice is not part of the Colli Orientali (collio means hill in Italian). and several different wine styles. Around the San Floriano, high in the Collio hills. If you’re feeling very lazy, Terra Pinot Grigio, region), is a peaceful, genteel corner of Italy, Neighbouring Isonzo valley and Friuli Carso village of Prepotto, the rediscovered red Il Carpino (www.ilcarpino.com) is & Vini has well-appointed rooms Sauvignon Blanc, lacking big-ticket tourist attractions and are also important. , Cormons and variety Schioppettino is king. Ronchi di Cialla one of a clutch of small producers above the restaurant, but only a Chardonnay generally more concerned with are attractive bases for a wine-themed ([email protected]) produces elegant, around the village who make five-minute stroll away is the Carso 58ha*; and . trip. All have a certain mitteleuropa elegance, refined wines from this fascinating peppery ‘ wines’. Franco’s tasting charming agriturismo Zorzon Istriana, It wasn’t ever thus. Modern-day Italy’s most and plenty of diversions beyond wine. variety, not to mention a standout white room is the perfect place for a (www.zorzon.it). The rooms and Vitovska, Sauvignon northeasterly quarter has been disputed and Planning a hypothetical north-to-south blend. Antico Broilo ([email protected]) masterclass on long skin . apartments back onto jaw- Blanc fought over since antiquity – by Romans, tour, you’d start in the northerly DOCG area of and La Viarte ([email protected]) also A few minutes away is the town droppingly beautiful Collio * 2012 vineyard Byzantines, Venetians and Habsburgs. Ramandolo, a set of dramatic hills which produce excellent Schioppettino. The latter of Oslavia. Try to catch dusk as you vineyards and a small church. surface ha Although most visible scars have healed, the starts to feel increasingly Alpine as it has an attractively located tasting room ascend the war memorial tower ** DOC vineyard ha region remains noticeably cross-cultural: approaches neighbouring Austria. Centred overlooking vineyards. just outside the town. The * For more detail, turn to page 95

Slavic influences permeate the easterly areas, around the Roman town of , the DOCG is Two cult producers not to be forgotten ➢ Fantuz/SIME/4 Olimpio Images; Quirtmair/Getty Walter Photographs:

44 | Italy 2016 • DECANTER DECANTER • Italy 2016 | 45 Travel: Friuli

‘For visitors seeking Your Friuli address book outstanding Accommodation Restaurants Al Ponte, La Botteguccia dei Sapori food and Agriturismo Colli di Orsone, Cividale del Friuli Poianis, Prepotto Joe and Lidia Bastianich opened this wine, and Maura and Gabriele offer generously smart, cosmopolitan restaurant and sized apartments in a peaceful location in 2013. Situated right by their winery, beautiful just a few kilometres away from close to Cividale del Friuli, the modern Prepotto. You’ll sample Maura’s baking European cooking is top notch, as is the countryside, and passion for local, artisanal foods at service. The is truly breakfast. A and tour of the outstanding – let her suggest creative the region is estate is also highly recommended. wine matches. www.orsone.com www.collidipoianis.it a paradise’ Osteria d’Alchemista, Agriturismo Paraschos, Gorizia Despite the name, this is a wine bar Shopping Set in a wonderful location overlooking buried in the back streets. Owner Al Ponte, La Botteguccia the vineyards of San Floriano del Collio, Stefano specialises in natural wines and dei Sapori, Cividale del these modern, stylish and spacious has some real treasures. Graze on local Friuli rooms are directly above the estate’s meats and cheeses, and catch some live Although this delicatessen is tiny, it’s cellars. Don’t miss the Paraschos music. www.facebook.com/ absolutely stuffed full of local, artisanal family’s excellent wines, including some Osteria-Lalchimista-1467327083558687 products – think fine oils, cured made in amphorae along the same lines meats, pastries and outstanding . as Josko Gravner’s. www.paraschos.it Osteria di Ramandolo bottegucciadeisapori.oneminutesite.it Relais Lis Neris, Covered market, Gorizia Housed in an elegant market building on Situated in the middle of Friuli Isonzo, in the Corso Verdi, the stalls here offer the small village of San Lorenzo Isontino, seasonal, local vegetables, cheese, an old courtyard has been lovingly meats, seafood and more. This is very restored by the Pecorari family to provide much a living, breathing part of the city, four sizeable, comfortable apartments. not a chi-chi tourist attraction. Open Clockwise from top left: are Le Due Terre ([email protected]), just Oslavia provide the perfect for Ribolla Everything at this estate is done with Monday to Friday mornings and the vineyards of Collio outside Prepotto, and I Clivi ([email protected]). Gialla, a thick-skinned white variety that can style and panache, including the wines. Saturday all day. are home to some of Le Due Terre’s Schioppettino/ blend be very neutral when vinified as a fresh, young If you thought was boring, the region’s finest Sacrisassi would surely be a if it wine, but becomes complex, regal and everyday stuff, let Alvaro Pecorai wineries; Formentini were in . I Clivi has vineyards in both thrilling when made as a vino bianco macerato change that impression forever. Osteria di Ramandolo Castle in the town of Colli Orientali and Collio, and specialises in – an , to use the now-popular term www.lisneris.it/en/relais Clinging to one of Ramandolo’s higher How to get there San Floriano; Montasio stunning, long-aged white wines, made mainly for white wines made with long skin contact. peaks, this osteria allows a wonderful Fly directly to Friuli-Venezia Giulia cheese; the talented from Friulano. The Oslavia area is a hotbed for this style, and Palazzo Lantieri, Gorizia view of the Monte Bernadia hills, plus Airport (often called Airport, Le Due Terre family Many of these wineries are family estates you’ll find seminal producers such as Radikon Set in a stately 14th-century courtyard some very good eating. Decidedly although it is in ) from where you’ll be tasting at the ’s ([email protected]), Gravner ([email protected]) and right in the centre of Gorizia, these upper-class cooking, with clever twists London, Barcelona, Munich, kitchen table. Most are happy to receive a small Dario Prinˇciˇc dotted around its twisting lanes. grand but characterful rooms and on traditional Friulian dishes. The wine Valencia and some Italian cities. This number of guests, provided that you make These are all Slovenian families, fluent in apartments have gorgeous parquet list is varied and similarly original. is a short drive (30-40 minutes) arrangements in advance – so do be sure to Italian and Slovene but not necessarily English. floors and furniture. Breakfast is www.osteriadiramandolo.it away from Gorizia, Udine, Cormons email or phone ahead. For a reminder of why Friuli to fame as also rather special. and the Carso. While offering more the go-to region for pure, white wines, www.palazzo-lantieri.com Trattoria da Mario, choice, Venice Marco Polo Airport is Local pride head to Borgo del Tiglio ([email protected]), Enoteca dello 90 minutes drive from the heart of The bucolic rolling hills of Collio are not only where Nicola Manferrari produces refined, Schioppettino, Prepotto the . some of the region’s most beautiful – they also delicate expressions of the important local There’s no better place for a good lunch By rail, connect to Udine railway harbour some of its most iconic . varieties Friulano and Malvasia Istriana, in than this unpretentious eatery. Cosy, station from Salzburg, or travel to Fierce independence is characteristic here, as addition to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. warm and inviting, the food and the Trieste via Rome. cultural identity transcend the While the Collio is primarily famous for its interior are as traditional as it gets. Even Driving is a stress-free experience nonsensical border drawn after World War II. whites, the Isonzo valley provides alluvial better, it has a superb selection of the since roads are generally quiet, This has left families and vineyards artificially plains and clay that are perfect for the local Schioppettino di Prepotto to except for the metropolitan area parcellated between Friuli Collio on one side region’s red grapes. , Merlot and sample by the glass or bottle. around Trieste. Palazzo Lantieri and Slovenian Goriška Brda on the other. are popular, and with www.enotecaschioppettino.it

The hillsides surrounding San Floriano and good reason as they can be very successful. ➢ Ramandolo di Osteria Images; Croppi/SIME/4Corners Gabriele Images; Carassale/SIME/4Corners Matteo Woolf(3); Simon Photographs:

46 | Italy 2016 • DECANTER DECANTER • Italy 2016 | 47 Travel: Friuli

‘Friuli offers an unbeatable combination of dramatic mountain scenery, rolling vineyard vistas and idyllic Adriatic coastline’

Easy-going, herbaceous Refosco, and the fierce, rather wild Pignol are indigenous varieties to seek out. Fulvio Bressan’s (info@ bressanwines.com) Pignol is one of the most characterful and ageworthy around. Heading south from the Collio down the tiny strip of Adriatic coastline towards Trieste brings you to another different landscape, and the region’s only formal wine route. The hills that form the Carso plateau are heavily wooded, and everything feels a little bit wilder here. Wines made from the vineyards of Sandi Enclave of individuals Skerk (pictured, top), Friuli’s second Prepotto – the one in Carso and those of Benjamin rather than the one in Colli Orientali – is Zidarich (above), are home to a clutch of highly individual and produced with as little accomplished winemakers. Sandi Skerk (info@ interference in the skerk.com) and Benjamin Zidarich (info@ cellar as possible; zidarich.it) are masters of low-intervention Stanko Radikon (left) is . Both produce highly one of Oslavia’s leading accomplished white blends made with long winemakers skin macerations, and individual expressions gastronomy festival set in the jaw-droppingly of the local Terrano – a nervy red variety with beautiful alpine village of Malborghetto. and acid that need a skilled If you prefer the summer sun, and you’re www.turismofvg.it/ winemaker to tame them. Skerk, Zidarich and not a vegetarian, consider visiting San Daniele food-and-wine their illustrious neighbour Edi Kante (kante@ for Aria di Festa at the end of , an entire kante.it) all have extraordinary cellars cut into festival dedicated to the town’s lip-smacking, Writer, columnist and the limestone rock. eponymous ham. specialist, The mild , moderated both by the There couldn’t be a better demonstration of Simon Woolf won the Alps and the Adriatic, isn’t just beneficial for the priorities in Friuli – if Slow Food celebrates 2015 Born Digital grapes, but also for visitors. Friuli is particularly all that is traditional and regional, slow Award for work on his beautiful in October – and visitors at this time would appear to sum up the visiting blog, www.the

Photographs: Simon Woolf; Herbert Lehmann/Cephas Herbert Woolf; Simon Photographs: can pencil in Ein Prosit, a major wine and experience perfectly. D morningclaret.com

48 | Italy 2016 • DECANTER