While visiting the Collio region of Friuli Venezia Giulia on a press trip sponsored by The Consorzio Di Tutela Vini Collio, I tasted 10 examples of Friulano DOC Collio.
Tasting of Friulano DOC Collio
Mr. Salvini and Mr Baudains in the vineyard
The tasting was held at the Skok Winery. Sebastian Salvini, the export manager represented the winery and Richard Baudains, an English wine writer, conducted the tasting.
Mr. Salvini prepared some regional foods to have after the tasting.
Mr. Baudains explained that the wine known as Friuliano was once called Tocai. The name was changed because of a ruling by the European Union in 2007 which decided that due to the potential confusion with the Hungarian wine Tokaji, producers in Friuli can no longer call their wine Tocai.
The Wines
SKOK Friulano Zabura DOC Collio 2022. 100% Tocai Friulano from a single vineyard (cru). The soil is Ponce made of stratified marl and sandstone of Eocene origin. There are 5,500 plants per hectare. The harvest is by hand with a very careful selection of the grapes making sure all the grapes entering the winery are healthy. The grapes undergo a gentle pressing. Cold maceration at 12C degrees for one day. Static decantation to eliminate all the impurities. Fermentation is with inoculated yeasts in stainless steel at a controlled temperature. The wine remains on the lees for 6 months. Battonage takes place for the first period, then the wine remains at rest. A cold decantation separates the wine from the yeast. The wine is then bottled in the spring following ancient traditions with the Easter moon which takes place a little before and a little after the full moon. The wine then remains in bottle for one month before release.The wine has hints of herbs, tomato leaves, white flowers with a touch of lime and a hint of green tea. There is an almond finish that is characteristic of the grape. The name Zabura is taken from an ancient map from the 1700’s. $16
STURM Friulano DOC Collio 2022 made from 100% Friulano from 50 year old vines. The training system is cappuccio. Harvest is by hand in September. Grapes are destemmed and cold macerated. Fermentation is in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature. The wine spends a few months on the lees and is then bottled. The wine is a brilliant and clear straw yellow with hints of acacia, pears, thyme and almonds. $24
FRUSCALZO Friulano DOC Collio 2021 made from 100% Friulano from 30 to 60 year old vines. The training system is guyot, cappuccio and casarsa. No herbicides are used, only natural fertilizers. Harvest is by hand in the middle of September. There is a soft pressing of the grapes and a must clarification process by filtration. Fermentation is in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature. The wine remains in the same tanks under frequent battonage with autochthonous yeasts for about 8 months in contact with the fine sediments consisting of complex mineral salts, acids and inactive yeast which dissolve enhancing the structure and harmony of the wine. After the tangential flow filtration, bottling takes place according to the phases of the moon. Vivid straw color, with hints of fruit, acacia, wild flowers, discreet acidity and a touch of almonds. $14
PASCOLO Friulano DOC Collio 2021 made from 100% Friulano. The soil is marl and sandstone and the exposure is south/southeast. There are 5,000 plants per hectare and the training system is guyot. The vines were planted in 1989/1993. Harvest is manual. The grapes are destemmed and pressed. Fermentation is in stainless steel. The wine is aged on the lees for a number of months. The wine remains in the bottle for 3 months before release. Color is straw yellow with golden highlights and hints of apple, hay, chamomile, with a touch of pear and typical almond tasting finish. $15
TENUTA STELLA Friulano DOC Collio 2021 made from 100% Tocai Friulano. The soil is marl and sandstone and the training system is Guyot. The vineyard is at 260 meters with a south/east exposure. Spontaneous fermentation takes place in stainless steel at a controlled temperature with wild yeast. Aging is in stainless steel 90% and 10% in second passage French tonneaux for 10 months. There is a long aging on the lees before bottling. The wine is golden in color with bright highlights and hints of dandelion, broom, peach and apricot, a touch of bay leaf and a vegetal note. $20
The Wines
KURTIN Friulano DOC Collio. Made from 100% Tocai Friulano. The training system is Guyot and the vines are 40 to 50 years old. The soil is called Ponca, a word in the local old Friulian language to indicate a type of soil characterized by marl and sandstone both of which are of oceanic origin. The manual harvest takes place at the last 15 days of September. The process starts with the soft pressure of grapes, then static clarification of the must. The must undergoes a along and slow alcoholic fermentation at a controlled temperature (18 °C), using selected yeasts in stainless steel tanks. The last refinement takes place in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature until spring. Color is straw yellow tending toward greenish. The wine has hints of wild flowers, citrus fruit, pear and apricots with the typical almond aftertaste.$18
TENUTA BORGO CONVENTI Friulano DOC Collio 2021 made from 100% Friulano. Straw yellow color with a slight golden highlights. The soil is a mixture of marl and sandstone underlying stratified layers and clayey on the higher ground and fine grained at the foot of the hill slopes. There are 4,000/7,000 vines per hectare and the vines are 15/35 years old. The training system is guyot and Sylvoz. A small percentage of selected grapes undergoes cold fermentation before the pressing. There is a soft pressing of the grapes followed by temperature controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks for 10 days. Once fermentation is complete the wine remains on the lees until spring when it is bottled. This is a fruit-driven wine with hints of alpine flowers, peach, apricot and a pleasant note of almonds. $19
LIVON Friulano Manditocai DOC Collio 2021 made from 100% Friulano. The soil is marl and clay and there are 4,200 vines per hectare. The vines are cordon and guyot trained and are 40 years old. Harvest of select grapes is by hand using boxes and sent to the cellars where whole bunches are pressed. The must from the pressing, characterized by the absence of rotation of the press and by the slow, gradual increase in pressure, is put in a stainless steel tank for a light cold settling. After 24 hours, 50% of the product is distributed in steel barrels and 50% in Hungarian oak barriques chosen for alcoholic fermentation. After 8 months of refinement in barriques, characterized by a very fine wood and by a very light toasting , the finished wine is bottled. The wine is yellow in color with golden reflections, hints of peach, white flowers, a touch of nutmeg and an aftertaste of bitter almonds. $23
TERRE DEL FAET Friulano DOC Collio 2021 made from 100% Friulano. Manual harvest. There is a soft pressing of the whole grapes and the must is decanted in a cold environment. Fermentation is with selected and indigenous yeasts at a controlled temperature and the wines is kept on the lees until it is bottled. The wine remains in the bottle for 30 days before release. The wine is straw yellow in color with hints of peach and apple, a touch of pineapple and a slight almond finish. $29
DRAGA Friulano Miklus DOC Collio 2018 made from 100% Friulano. Production zone is San Fioriano del Colle. The vines are 65 years old at 230 meters. Training system is guyot. The soil is ponca (layers of marl and sandstone). Harvest is by hand at the beginning of September. There is manual selection of the grapes and they are destemmed followed by a soft pressing. The wine remains on the skins for 12 days in cylinder shaped vats made of oak without temperature control. Fermentation starts with native yeast and the cap is pushed down 3 times a day. The wine is aged for 24 months in French oak tonneaux. The wine is unfiltered. They believe in as little intervention as possible on the part of the wine maker and he winery is organic, biodynamic and vegan. The wine has a very deep amber hue. The name of the wine is Jakot which is Tokaj (Tocai) spelled backward. This is a full bodied unique wine with hints of dry tea, peach, apricot, and plum with a note of marmalade and a touch of almond. $59
Depending on the winemaker, the methods used and the location of the vineyards in Collio, I found each of these wines to have distinctive flavors and characteristics.
When I first visited Friuli Venezia Giulia if you asked for a glass of white wine, you were given Tocai. Whether it is called Tocai or Tocai Friulano or Friulano, it is still the wine that embodies the taste of Collio.
Charles Scicolone on Wine 