With a treasure trove of native white varieties, Friuli Venezia Giulia makes some of Italy’s most exciting white wines.Friuli Venezia Giulia is considered the birthplace of modern Italian white winemaking. In the late 1960s, a small group of inspired producers began crafting clean, fresh and fruity white wines—a monumental shift from the tired, oxidized versions that had been largely produced prior.

A number of Friuli’s native varieties were rescued from the brink of disappearance. Let us introduce you to Vitovska and Pignolo. Vitovska: The name of this white grape variety is of clear Slavic origin, but it is generally considered to be a native variety of both eastern Friuli and Slovenia, as it was historically only cultivated in Carso (in the province of Trieste) and in Slovenia.

Advances in the cellars coupled with better vineyard management and Friuli’s natural gift of a temperate climate, resulted in concentrated wines with an extra layer of richness. From the 1970s onward, Friuli gained commercial success and popularity for its white wines.

Friuli Grave DOC Friuli Grave was previously called Grave del Friuli but is often simply referred to as Grave. This is the largest DOC, both in terms of area under vine and in production. It accounts for more than one-third of Friuli’s total wine production.

The Super-Whites of Friuli In the late 1970s, the producer, Jermann, created Vintage Tunina, a complex blend of native and international white grapes that became iconic among Friuli’s superior white blends. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Jermann inspired several other Friuli producers, particularly in the DOCs of Collio and Friuli Colli Orientali.

Summary:  Join Decanter Magazine journalist Richard Baudains for an insider look at the skin-contact white wines of Friuli. The orange wines of Friuli have become one of the iconic wine styles produced in the region. In this webinar, Richard Baudains will explore the various maceration process protocols adopted in Friuli as well as the most suitable

Collio (or Collio Goriziano) DOC Collio’s vineyards date back to pre-Roman times; they were of renown then and are held in high esteem now. Their impressive whites are considered the finest in Friuli and are among the finest in Italy.