Venetian and Friuli whites.....help needed!

Hi all: We are going to be in Venice for the first time this Fall. I already received a ton of good info about hotels and food but have to admit my ignorance of the local wines, especially whites. Any wines, producers, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to throw some red knowledge on me as well!


Cheers!
Marshall

For Friuli whites, there are some famous wines, Gravner, Miani, Radikon. But there’s a host of excellent wines at much lesser prices. Friuli is famous within Italy for the quality of their white wines. There’s Jermann, Venica & Venica, Vie di Romans, Dorigo, both Fellugas, and many others. Ribolla Gialla is the most famous variety, but I’m a fan of Friulano (formerly Tocai Friulano but the Tokay folks got mad). Sauvignon Blanc also makes some terrific wines. If you have a chance to try Picolit, do so. A relatively rare dessert wine and, at one time, famous throughout Europe. My favorite red varieties are Cabernet Franc and Refosco. Make sure you try a dish of frico (fried cheese).

What Eric said -

Marshall, most of the best whites will come from Collio, a little sub-region of Friuli - and just about all the producers Eric named are from there. And all the whites are superb, but Ribolla Gialla is my personal favorite.

Schioppettino and Refosco are the best of the Reds, though they do remarkably well with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. I’ve had some outrageously good Merlots from Collio that rivaled the best I’ve ever had from California -

And don’t forget the ‘Picolit’, an exotic grape they produce late harvest wines out of - I like them super young, others like them aged - always interesting though -

Eric’s given you a great start. I’d add in the Cantina Terlan wines and also Alois Lageder. I don’t think either is at the level of Jermann et al, but may be good options on a wine list if nothing else looks tempting.

Soave, especially Pieropan. Their Calvarino for a more classic treatment, la Rocca slightly softer. I enjoy them both.

Inama and Pieropan make quite nice soave in the Veneto. These are not the bulk wines that flooded the markets in the 80s, but are instead multidimensional and ageable. I just bought and opened a 10 year old single vineyard Pieropan that was lovely and all of $18 stateside. I can’t imagine what they charge in-country; maybe it just runs freely from the taps.

Ronco di Cialla schioppettino is worth seeking out and library releases back to the 90s are in the market now. A recently opened 2010 showed very well at a group dinner.

Marshall
I don’t think you can go wrong with anything from Borgo del Tiglio. And if you go eat at Corte Sconta (and you should, asking for a table in the courtyard) they should have it on their list.

I have a soft spot for Venica & Venica too but Borgo is on another level.

Let’s not forget Pignolo as top of the reds!

Seconding Peter’s recommendation here - Borgo del Tiglio wines are top notch, and if you can find them with age, you are in for a real treat. Seductive, versatile food wines with plenty of stuffing. Give the young ones a decant if you can.

Yup, Joe…totally agree. The RdC Schioppettino is probably about the best there is. But, then, what would I know?
Haven’t had a Schioppettino since breakfast this morning!!

Paolo Rapuzzi of RdC is the guy who rescued Scio from extinction. He’s dead now, but his son, Ivan, has lifted the wines to an
even higher level. When I did a visit w/ Ivan several yrs ago, we sat around the kitchen table and tasted thru a bunch of his wine
with his Mom, Dina, (who couldn’t speak a lick of English…but was obviously enjoyed these foreign visitors), including some older Schios.
They were amazing good. I took along a btl of the Matthiasson Scio for Evan to try and he was favorably impressed by it.
Tom

There are an abundance of high-acid, unoaked, mineral based Italian whites readily available at any decent trattoria or restaurant. We spent two weeks in July last year in Montalcino, Florence and Venice and temperatures during the day were near 100 degrees. We took refuge in many Spritzes and many 20 Euro whites like Soave, Arneis, Lugana, Vernaccia, Robolla Gialla, Trebbiano, Verdicchio, Grillo, Kerner, and Vermentino. They were dirt cheap, from largely unknown producers, but perfect for summer quaffing.

Fantastic! Thank you all for the suggestions…very much appreciated. I am actually going to look at a couple of restaurant wine lists to get the feel of the area and cross reference some of the producers mentioned.

Peter: As an aside “Corte Sconta” is definitely on the short list!

Keep 'em coming!

Cheers!
Marshall

We really enjoyed this Pinot Grigio Romato. Beautiful pink-copper color. It was available just about everywhere we went in Venice.

Since you’ll be eating at Alle Testiere, don’t hesitate to ask Luca, host extraordinaire and sommelier, for a rec. He knows the wines of the region very well, and will steer you toward a good bottle to match the cuisine.

Just as an aside I’m a fan of Venetian olive oils which lack the peppery note associated with their Tuscan brethren. Hard to find in the US so you might take advantage of your visit.

Thanks Jay: We are always on the lookout for interesting olive oils to bring home as well.

I have been perusing a few wine lists as most are not available on line and continue to be amazed at how fairly priced many Italian wine lists are. In the past, we have had no problem accessing beautiful wines in Rome, Tuscany, and Piedmont and I am quite sure that Venice will be similar. Please keep the suggestions coming as I still have more time to digest the information.

Cheers!
Marshall

A couple of producers I really like from Friuli:

I Clivi-Elegant whites that are balanced. Their Friulano and Ribolla bottling were standouts.

Aquila Del Torre-Friulano, Riesling, and Sauvignon (Blanc) are all excellent. Their Picolit is tremendous but made in minuscule quantities. All biodynamic farming.

Just drank a bottle of this last week, the- vodopivec origin vitovska carso friuli venezia giulia italy 2009. AG gave this a 94 and described it in glowing terms. This wine is 9 years on in the bottle and developed beautifully. Rich lanolin texture, touch of apricot and and quince, still carrying decent acidity. Long honeyed and expansive finish. Kept this in the fridge over three days and it was absolutely delicious to the last drop. Still available retail for about $40 in the US. Might be cheaper in Italy. If this were a $90 White Burg at 9 years of age I would be thrilled with its development.

White Italian wines that age this beautifully? Who knew? And the real bonus, a mere 12.5% ABV. Antonio hit this one right on the nailhead.

Will be in Venice in June. Will be looking for similar wines myself. Cheers!

the-" vodopivec origin vitovska carso friuli venezia giulia italy 2009" It’s no wonder that Italian wines have difficulty marketing in the US.

Yes, It is a damn mouthful. But we put up with all kinds of site specific information for wines from Burgundy and don’t bat an eye. Then again Italians are not exactly a culture that values brevity and precision. Unfortunate as this is really an excellent wine for the money. 2012 Version retails for $60 but it is still worth it. I suppose German wines suffer from the same affliction. Maybe it’s for the best as this leaves the great wines for drinking to the truly patient.