Tasting of selected wines of Pierpaolo Pecorari (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy)

I visited Friuli-Venezia Giulia a number of years ago as part of a European Wine Bloggers Post-Conference Press Trip and, thenceforth, have been an avid fan of the region's wines. When West Palm Wines -- A Tampa-based purveyor of an eclectic mix of wine-related products and services -- announced that they would have the son (Alessandro Pecorari) of the Friuli winemaker Pierpaolo Pecorari in for a winemaker's visit, I was quick to sign up for the event.

The event was planned as a seated tasting with the winemaker guiding attendees through the wines. Prior to being seated, attendees mingled in the bar area, fortified by the winery's Rosé offering, Rosalba. During this meet and greet I was introduced to Alessandro by an old friend Maurilio Purpura, owner of wine importer CV Tuscany, and the person distributing the Pecorari wines in the US.

Pierpaolo Pecorari is a small, family-owned winery located in San Lorenzo Isontino in the DOC Isonzo subzone of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and sourcing grapes from vineyards in both the Collio and Isonzo subzones. The sources of those grapes are shown in the figure below and descriptions of the subzones follow immediately after.

DOC Collio
Colli Goriziano, simply called Collio (hillsides), is a crescent-shaped collar of land located in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and bounded to the west and south by the Judrio and Isonzo Rivers and to the east by the Slovenian border. The area has a mild temperate climate with cool winds from Central Europe and warm air currents from the Adriatic Sea combining to keep the grapes dry and healthy. The Julian pre-Alps protect from the biting north winds while the Adriatic, in addition to its warm air currents, reflects solar radiation and, in so doing, aids grape ripening. Diurnal temperature variation allows ripening in the daytime with acidity retention in the cool nighttime air. Heavy rainfall (1000-1600 mm on average) provides a reservoir that plant roots can tap into even in the hottest of times.

The soil in the region is called "ponca" and its marl and sandstone strata are rich in calcium carbonate and alkalinity.

A total of 1500 hectares of vine are planted at elevations ranging between 100 and 430 meters and these produce 7,000,000 bottles of aromatic, crisp red and white wines. Twelve white and five red varietals are permitted and they may be bottled as blends or single varietals. The primary white grapes are international (Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon, and Chardonnay included) but indigenous cultivars (Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, and Malvasia) comprise 20% of the plantings. Red wines are primarily made from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Merlot.  Most of the wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel and are made to be drunk young.

DOC Isonzo
Isonzo is a small DOC (classified in 1974) lying in the southeastern portion of Friulia-Venezia Giulia. The climate is maritime with the DOC experiencing more rainfall than any of the other regional zones. The Julian Alps serve as a natural barrier against north winds and there is a constant circulation of warm winds coming off the Adriatic and through the passage associated with the Isonzo River.

The soil on the left bank of the river is rich with clay and red gravel while the soil on the right bank is chalky and layered with white gravel. The river bed is susceptible to periodic shifting and the resulting floods serve to re-invigorate the soil with minerals from upstream sources.

Pierpaolo Pecorari and its Wines
After all of the attendees had arrived, and had had an opportunity to taste the Rosé, we were ushered into the tasting room and shown to our appointed seats. Mark Lasky of West Palm Wines opened the proceedings by welcoming us, talking about the intent of the tasting and how it would proceed, and, finally, formally introducing Alessandro.

Mark Lasky (West Palm Wines) and Alessandro Pecorari

As Alessandro describes it, this organic estate is farmed by a husband and wife team and their son. They grow a range of indigenous and international red and white cultivars (Refosco dal peduncolo rosso, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Pinot Bianco, Traminer Aromatico, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, and Malvasia) which are used as the source material for a range of varietal and blended wines.

The vineyards, as shown previously, are in the villages of San Lorenzo Insontino, Moraro, Mossa, Corona, and Capriva del Friuli and are planted on gravelly limestone soils at 60 meters above sea level. Vines are Guyot-trained at an average density of 5600 vines/ha. Yields are 40 - 50 hl/ha for traditional wines and 30 hl/ha for higher-end wines.

All of the grapes are hand-harvested and the picking decision is made on the basis of taste. The grapes are vinified in stainless steel using indigenous yeasts. Whites are invariably aged in stainless steel tanks on the lees with monthly batonnage to add richness to the wine. The reds are also vinified in stainless steel but are mostly aged in barriques.

Alessandro doubled back to describe the Rosalba 2016 that we had drunk at the bar. This wine was named after his mother who had purchased the vineyard that was the source of the Pinot Noir grapes used in the wine. The Rosalba was his project. He conceived of the idea of a 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Refosco vinified as Blancs de Noir. These grapes were sourced from the villages of Capriva del Friuli and Mossa and had been subjected to a soft press and had had no skin contact. The grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks for two weeks at low temperature and were aged on the lees with 2 - 3 hours of stirring per week.

This wine was a mix of elegance and power. On the nose, fruit and earth, herbs, savoriness, mint. Elegant on the palate. Mineral. Crisp, lengthy finish. I was very impressed with this wine.

The first wine tasted in the sit-down session was the 2016 Ribolla Gialla, a wine normally drunk in the summertime in Italy. The grapes for this wine are cultivated in the hills of Collio and Isonzo. This wine exhibited white flowers and fresh fruit on the nose along with a stony minerality. Spiciness on the palate. Fresh, with a long finish. This was an excellent wine.

The next white was the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes had been grown in Mossa and San Lorenzo Isontino. The initial impression on the nose was of fresh-cut basil followed by melon skin and a stony minerality. On the palate, broad-based with a hint of sweetness contrasting some green notes. Not as complex on the palate as suggested by the nose.

The Pinot Bianco 2015 was sourced from 40-year-old vines in a single vineyard in San Lorenzo Insontino. Only 300 cases of this wine are made annually. The grapes are fermenetd with indigenous yeast where a small maceration is done as a starter culture which is added to the must. This wine is vinified in stainless steel and aged for 1 year on the lees.

Aromatic on the nose with a slight yeastiness. Citrus, lemon, and spice on the palate. Lengthy finish.

The first of the two reds tasted was the 2014 Refosco. This wine had been vinified in stainless steel for 20 days with délestage (rack and return), aged for 18 months in barriques, and then further aged in bottle. Black, red, and blue fruit. Blueberries, strawberries, red flower and spice on the nose, Spicy, earthy flavors on the palate. Mid-palate gap and a shrinking finish.

The 2013 Tao Refosco was vinified in stainless steel for 24 days with délestage, aged for 24 months in barriques, and then aged in bottle for an additional 24 months. A ton of blue fruit on the nose along with herbs and a hint of phenols. A lot of effort went into the making of this wine but it is not yet rewarding the love.

Overall,  the whites outshone the reds. I was especially impressed by the Rosalba and the Ribolla Gialla but thought well enough of the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Bianco that I bought them also.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

The Carso DOC of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Between Trieste and Collio Goriziano, and running from the Gulf of Trieste over the border into Slovenia, lies a rocky strip of land called the Karst (German; Carso in Italian and Kras in Slovenian) Plateau, an area whose name, according to Gams (Origin of the term "karst," and the transformation of the classical karst (Kras), Environmental Geology 21(3), pp. 110-114), derives from a pre-Indo-European word "karra" which means stony.  And stony it is.

A karst landscape forms when water interacts with soluble bedrock, such as limestone or dolostone, to create an environment that is riven with unique landscape shapes and underground rivers and caverns. This condition arises when falling rain picks up carbon dioxide (either from the atmosphere or ground) and forms carbonic acid.  This mildly acidic solution dissolves the surface of the soluble bedrock and, over time, creates distinct surface shapes and underground cavities and drainage systems.

The characteristics of a karst landscape are :

• Absence of a surface water web
• Partial or total lack of soil
• Irregular plateau
• Closed depressions
• Rocky, stony surface which reflects a higher degree of the sun's radiation than say a gneiss surface
• Limited vegetation cover due to a lack of soil and surface water

Karst landscapes exist in many parts of the world but the area in the Slovene-Italian region was the first to be subjected to rigorous scientific study and, as a result, is called Classical Karst.

And it is in this area that we find the Carso DOC of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.  Bounded by the Gulf of Trieste, the border with Slovenia, Vipacco River, the Gorizia-Monfalcone Railway Line, and the A4 Autostrade, this land is a testament to man's perserverance, patience, and ingenuity.  Cultivating land here is a hard, intense, expensive process.

The Carso climate is maritime Mediterranean at the coast and continental approaching the Julian Alps.  A sea breeze -- Yugo -- during the day time keeps the vineyard dry while a nightime breeze --Tramate -- brings the temperatures down at night.  A strong northeast winter wind called Bora-- named after the Greek mythological figure Boreas (the North Wind) -- pummels the area in the winter time with gusts that can reach up to 120 km/hr.

I have just described the karst landscape and it is not vine-friendly in its native state because of a lack of surface soil.  Vineyards are prepared by cutting away any vegetation and then digging down into the limestone to take away the roots of the old vegetation.  Yellow soil from Trieste is then trucked in and laid to a depth of 3 meters.  This soil levels the ground as well as retains some humidity in the environment.  One-half meter of Carso red soil is overlain on the base Trieste soil.  This red (terra rossa) soil is found in collapsed caves called Dolina and is both hard to find and expensive.  This soil is rich in iron and lime but poor in organic components.  This soil is the result of the mixing of calcium carbonate solutions from the bedrock with blown sand from the Sahara and Sahel regions of Africa.

Vineyards reside on stone terraces and vines are Albaretto-trained.  In the Cante vineyard, the density is 8500 vines/hectare, a situation necessitated by the expense associated with creating each acre of vineyard.

Grapes are hand-harvested.  DOC wines must contain 85% of the stated variety with the remainder from permitted varieites of the same color.  The permitted varieties are the major internationals plus two indigenous whites -- Vitovska and Malvasia -- and one indigenous red -- a strain of Refosco called Terrano. The Vitovska is a cross between the Malvasia and Prosecco varieties.  A Rosso is also produced from 70% Terrano and the remainder from other permitted red grapes.

Schioppettino di Prepotto, the variety brought back from the dead

"I unreservedly recommend the wines of Schioppettino di Prepotto.  High-quality, fresh, food-craving wines of great consistency." Thus did I tweet on October 27, 2011, after reflecting on a tasting of seven Schioppettino wines with the Association Produttori Schioppettino di Prepotto at Ristorante Al Monastero in Cividale del Friuli on October 10, 2011.  And that is still my position today.

The Schioppettino grape -- also known as Ribolla Nera and Pokalça -- is native to the Prepotto commune of the Cialla zone of Colli Orientali del Friuli but is currently grown in other Friuli-Venezia Giulia communes (Buttrio and Manzano, for example) and in Sonoma County in the US.  Prepotto occupies a 30-square-kilometer area in the Judrio River Valley and shares a border with Slovenia.

Source: Associazione Produttori Schioppettino di Prepotto

The Prepotto climate varies between Mediterranean and continental but experiences significant temperature differentials between day and night which contributes to the aromas and flavors of the wine.  The dry wind that blows along the river valley serves as a preventative against rot.  The soil is alluvial marl and sandstone covered by a thin layer of clay or gravel.

Schioppettino, a late-ripening variety: is blue-black in color; is thick-skinned; grows in long, large, winged bunches;  has a predilection for clayey, calcium-carbonate-enriched soils; and has a low tolerance for common vineyard diseases.

Like Lazarus, Schioppettino was raised from the dead.  References stretch as far back as 1282 but the variety fell victim to the ravages of phylloxera and then competition from international varieties.  By the 1960s, less than 100 Schioppettino vines were in existence and it was banned as an illegal variety.  Then along came Sig Pancho Rapazzi.  He founded a vineyard in Ciallo in the late 1960s and sought out every Schioppettiano vine that he could find to plant on his estate.  His efforts paid off when the Prepotto local council met in 1977 and one of the agenda items was "defense of Schiopettino at risk of extinction." The EEC regulation in 1978 added Schioppettino to the vine species authorized for cultivation in the province of Udine and the variety was listed as authorized in 1981.  The 1983 EEC regulation -- EEC 3582/83 -- included Schioppettino among the recommended varieties for the province of Udine.  DOC status was attained in 1987.  The producer association was formed in 2002 and its efforts led to the designation of the subzone Schioppettino di Prepotto in 2008.  The association's production requirements are indicated below.

After leaving the Bastianich Winery tasting, we headed into Cividade for a walking tour of the city and a Schioppettino tasting with the regional producers.  It was raining when we got into town so @aleskimethonen, a second blogger, and I found a small wine shop in which to hang out until lunchtime.  We arrived at the restaurant where the tasting was to be held at the same time as our larger group but were drier and in better spirits.  We entered the front section of the restaurant and then were led through a courtyard to a second section where tables had been set up in a u-shaped fashion to support the tasting.

As soon as we were all seated, they began to pour the wines.  While the wines were being poured the President of the Association welcomed us to Cividale and Prepotto.  As the wines were being poured I was struck by the intensity of the color.  I tasted the first four wines and was struck by the consistency of aromas and flavors with the only distinguishing characteristic being increasing weight on the palate as I went from right to left.  On the nose, blackberries, violets, and some spice.  On the palate medium-bodied and fresh with good extension on the finish.  I liked this wine.  Then they brought out the meal, which was capped with a wild boar offering,  and the wines truly excelled in this environment.

The wines tasted at this event were Stanig 2009, Grillo 2008, Pizzulin 2008, Vigna Lenuzza 2008, Vigna Petrussa 2008, La Buse dal Lof 2007, and La Viarte 2007.

"I unreservedly recommend the wines of Schioppettino di Prepotto. High-quality, fresh, food-craving wines of great consistency."

Colli Orientali del Friuli Sub-Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia

The agenda on the final day of the European Wine Bloggers 2011 post-conference trip to Friuli-Venezia Giulia called for: a visit to Bastianich Winery; a walking tour of Cividale del Friuli; and participation in a wine tasting and light lunch with members of the Schioppettino di Prepotto Producers Association.  All of the identified locations are contained within the Colli Orientali del Friuli, a region that competes vigorously with its southern neighbor Collio for the title of best zone in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine region.  The characteristics of the Colli Orientali del Friuli sub-region are detailed in this post.

Colli Orientali del Friuli -- the name translates to "eastern hills of Friuli" -- is a predominantly north-to-south, 2300-hectare strip of land that is located in the province of Udine and is famed for its rich, mineral-driven wines.  The region encompasses 14 communes that are arrayed in a crescent shape to the east of the capital city and is bordered by Friuli Grave to the west and Collio to the south.

As is the case for Collio, the region's climate is moderated by the Julian Alps and the Adriatic Sea.  It experiences hot summers and long autumns and the occasional hailstorm.  It is cooler and damper in the north adjacent to the alpine foothills.

The soil is similar to the soil of Collio, its southern neighbor.

Soil at Bastianich Winery, Colli Orientale del Friuli

Vineyards in the sub-region sit at elevations which average 400m and are terraced.  The vineyards are located in the row of hills bordering the Plains of Udine and run from Buttrico in the south to Tarcento in the north.  The best vineyards can be found in the south of the DOC in close proximity to the northern vineyards of Collio.

The DOC is permitted to produce red, white, and rosé wines which can be dry, off-dry, or sweet.  Sixty-four percent of the zone's production is white wine and 50% of the red is Merlot.  In addition to the DOC wines, three Colli Orientale del Friuli sweet wines have attained DOCG status: Ramandolo (Verduzzo), Colli del Friuli Picolit (Picolit), and Colli del Friuli Picolit-Cialla (Picolit from the Cialla zone).  Varietal wines must contain a minimum of 85% of the stated  variety with the remainder, if any, permitted varieties of the same color.

Colli Orientali del Friuli is sub-divided into three zones: Ramandolo, Cialla, and Corno di Rosazzo.  Ramandolo, located in the northeastern portion of the sub-region, is probably the oldest wine area in Friuli.  It is located in the hill country overlooking the town of Nimis and its steep slopes average 400 meters above sea level.  It is the coolest, and most rain-soaked, of the three zones.  Ramandolo has a DOCG classification -- Verduzzo di Ramandolo -- for wine grown from a local clone of the Verduzzo grape.  Cialla lies in a small valley that runs northeast to southwest in the middle portion of the sub-region and produces dry (Cialla Bianco and Rosso), off-dry (Picolit and Verduzzo), and sweet.  The southern zone, Corno di Rosazzo, is located in hill country and features east-, southeast-, and southwest-facing slopes.

Fulvio Bressan, Bressan Wines: Top-15 Winemaker (Self-Styled) in Collio and Isonzo DOCs

We had started out the first day of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia EWBC 2011 post-conference trip behind schedule and things worsened as the day progressed.  After a drive through the Collio hills, a brief trip over the border into Slovenia, and a stop at our hotel to check in, we made our way to Enoteca di Cormons for a scheduled tasting and dinner with Collio producers.

The event was being held on the floor above the shop and, after climbing a flight of stairs, we debouched into a room decorated with banners and pennants in the ceilings and with producers manning wine-endowed tables arrayed adjacent to the room walls.  The producers were gathered together in little groups but quickly moved to man their respective tables when we arrived.  The producers were all conservatively attired, both in color and style, save one; an orange shirt stood out starkly amidst this sea of conformance.  This was my first glimpse of Fulvio Bressan.

The President of the Consorzio stepped to a makeshift podium and welcomed us to the region and then asked each producer to introduce him/herself.  The producers did so in a clockwise fashion and in reserved terms (matching their attire) except for the one wearing the orange shirt.  This individual stood out in that his physical makeup stood in stark contrast to a producer group that was greyhound-like in appearance.  His self-introduction was confident and strong in contrast to the rather tepid introductions that preceded and followed his.  He was Fulvio Bressan of Bressan Wines.  This is no shrinking violet, I thought.  More of a Barnum and Bailey type.  At the conclusion of the introductions, the President declared the tasting underway.

I began to work the room in a clockwise fashion beginning with the producer directly in front of me.  After working my way through a number of wines, I noticed a congregation around Bressan's table and he appeared to be holding court.  One of the bloggers at Bressan's table was @aleksimethonen (my newest best friend) so I ambled over to see what the fuss was all about. When I got to the table, @aleksimethonen suggested that I taste the Pinot Nero.  It had a great Pinot nose but with added richness and depth.  Ripe red fruit, but balanced, and the absence of oak associated with Pinot.  Fulvio stated that he picked his fruit late in order to ensure full ripeness.

As Bressan buttonholed passing bloggers and poured them his wine, he kept up a steady stream of conversation, with one liners ranging from outrageous to outrageously funny.  As he poured wine into the glass of one taster he remarked, "my surname is on the bottle, you think I will put shit inside."  He confided that he was a ninth-generation farmer and one of only 15 serious winemakers in the region.  "Most of the others are here to make money," he says.  "I need to live but beyond that ..."

Bressan properties cover 25 hectares in DOCs Collio and Isonzo, 20 hectares of which are planted to vine.  Fulvio insisted that quality wines are made in the vineyard ("A cellar is only a place where you store the wine until it is ready to be bottled.") and that it begins with the soil.  The Bressan soil is topped by a 1-meter layer of gravel through which the roots penetrate as they search for water and nutrients.  The gravel aids in the ripening of fruit (by reflecting the sun's rays) but also allows water to pass through to the clay and marl levels where it is captured and held.

The vines in the Brerssan vineyards are mostly between 50- and 100-years old.  Grapes from vines that are younger than 7-years old never make it into Bressan wines.  Guyot training is used on the estate with one shoot and four or five buds for each vine.  Plant density is 5000 vines/hectare.

In terms of vineyard management, Fulvio says that he used to be biodynamic but isn't anymore.  He claims to have visited many "biodynamic" farms and seen weed killer being used.  "You can gain biodynamic certification but the certifying agency is not with you 24/7," he says.  "Only the producer knows what goes into the wine and a lot of the stuff that makes it into the wine is the shit they put into the ground."  Fulvio does some winter pruning (by hand), but does no green harvesting ("Old vines are self-regulating"), has no grass in the vineyard, does not irrigate, and sprays copper only when necessary.

Fulvio feels that you can't have high volumes and high quality.  "It is a tradeoff."  He produces 3.5 tons/hectare, well below the DOC Collio limit of 10 tons/hectare.  In addition, his viticultural practices of no green harvest and no grass put him in violation of DOC Isonzo requirements.  In light of the foregoing Bressan declassifies his wines and sells them as IGT.

"I drink coke because it is made by a professional chemist and it is even and consistent every time I drink it.  I don't drink much of today's wine because they are made by a bunch of amateur chemists."  No chemical manipulation of Bressan wines is practiced.

The vinicultural practices of the estate are illustrated in the figure below.  After the grapes have been pressed (Step 2), they are delicately pumped into temperature-controlled stainless steel vats.  Indigenous yeasts are used to jump start alcoholic fermentation (According to Fulvio, using synthetic yeasts would be akin to giving his wife to his best friend.).  The time between harvesting and the completion of final maceration is approximately four weeks.

Bressan Viniculture

At this time Fulvio turned to a discussion of oak casks.  "What is oak really required for," he asked.  It was a rhetorical question.  "It is for oxygenation of wine." he said, answering his own question.  "Why then do I want wood tannins in my wine?  Why then do I need coconut and vanilla in my wine?  These flavors are not of the vine." In order to ensure that these flavors do not make it into his wines, he never uses 'uncleaned' new oak.  I raised a querulous eyebrow.  I had never heard of cleaning new oak.  Fulvio described his new-oak-cleaning process for my benefit:

1. Fill the new oak barrel with a mixture of sea salt and well water and let sit for 10 days
2. Dump out that mixture and fill barrel with water; let sit for five days
3. Taste water after 5 days.  If still oaky, go back to step 1.  If no oak taste, the barrel is ready for use.

By this time the tasting was almost at an end.  I had spent most of the evening in dialogue with Fulvio and had not visited with all of the producers.  I looked around sheepishly and tried to quickly touch a few of them.

Fulvio's insights were extremely entertaining and his personality was captivating.  I had truly enjoyed our dialogue.

In addition to the Pinot Nero, Bressan produces the following wines.

Reds
Schioppettino
Pignol
Merlot
Cabernet Crown Domains
No. 3 Bressan
Ego
Rosantico

Whites
Carat
Pinot Grigio
Verduzzo

UPDATE: Since the publication of this article, Fulvio Bressan has posted ugly racial comments regarding the Italian Integration Minister on his Facebook page. After a number of defiant posts -- following a social media firestorm prompted by his comments -- Bressan apologized. Notwithstanding that apology, I have drunk my last Bressan wine. See my post here for the full details.

The Friuli-Venezia Giulia Wine Region: Contextualizing an EWBC Post-Trip

The European Wine Bloggers 2011 Conference (recently held in Brescia, Italy) program included two 3-day post-conference tours -- one to Chianti Classico and the other to Friuli-Venezia Giulia -- and, wanting to gain some additional insight into Italian white wines, I opted for the latter.  Twenty-two of the conference attendees were scheduled for the trip and they all showed up on Monday morning bright-eyed, bushy tailed, and ready to embark on this exciting adventure; but, of course, the bus was late.  Starting out late affected all of our activities for the remainder of the day.

It was a 4-hour ride to Villa Russiz and our first scheduled event:  a presentation of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia agro-food industry by ERSA, the body responsible for regional agro-food development and promotion. After some confusion as to where we should actually be, we were shepherded into a classroom where we were treated to a lecture on Friuli-Venezia Giulia by Claudio Fabbro, an Italian lecturer and wine historian.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the most north-eastern of the Italian wine regions, is bounded by Austria to the north, the Gulf of Trieste to the South, Slovenia to the east, and the wine region of Veneto to the west.  The region's location, as well as its history, has endowed it with a richness of diverse cultural influences.

Source: broker-wine.com

The Friuli-Venezia landscape can be divided into four major areas: (i) the mountainous region to the north which includes the Carnian and Julian alps with peaks in excess of 2000 meters; (ii) a hilly area that is south of the mountains and along the Slovenian border; (iii) the central plain which is characterized by poor soil which has been made fertile through irrigation; and (iv) the coastal flatlands which is low and sandy to the west of the Isonzo River and rocky to its east.

In general, Friuli-Venezia Giulia has a humid, temperate climate which varies according to the landscape; areas to the north experience an alpine continental climate while those in the south experience a Mediterranean climate.  The Alpine system protects the region from icy north winds but air movement from east to west causes low pressure systems which can bring summertime hailstorms and thunderstorms.  Being open to the Adriatic, the region experiences Sirocco winds which can bring heavy rainfall.

The climate is modified by the presence of the Adriatic Sea and the Alps resulting in warmer winter temperatures and cooler summer temperatures.  Mean temperature in the summertime is 22.8℃ (73℉) and mean rainfall is 1524 mm (60 inches). Vineyards to the north and east lie above the level of the fog that flows in occasionally from the Adriatic and this allows the grapes to take advantage of the increased hang time to promote phenolic ripening.  The diurnal shift is somewhat mitigated by maritime influences closer to the coast.  There is a constant breeze known as "la bora" flowing in from the Adriatic and this provides great air flow in the vineyards as well as serving as a deterrent to fungal outbreaks.

The soil in the region is calcium-rich marl and sandstone in hilly regions and clay, sand, and gravel elsewhere.

The region is noted for small, high-quality, family-run vineyards producing fresh, rich, fruity, textured wines from a large number of indigenous and international varietals.  As the figures below show, Italian wine production (millions of hectoliters) has been experiencing a slow, steady decline over the years while Friuli-Venezia production (thousands of hectoliters) has experienced an 11% percent increase 2009 over 2008 and a 5% increase 2010 over 2009.  In 2010, Friuli-Venezia production represented 2.6% of all Italian wine production.

Italian Wine Production (Source: ERSA Presentation)

Friuli Venezia Wine Production (Source: ERSA Presentation)

Friuli Venezia DOC and DOCG Wine Production (Source: ERSA Presentation)

Friuli is best known for its white wines grown on south-facing slopes of the region's terraced vineyards (ronchi).  As shown in the charts below, the top five non-native varieties are better represented in the region's wines than Tocai Friulano, the leading indigenous varietal.  The distribution of varietals in the region can be directly traced to rulership influences over the span of its history.

Source: ERSA Presentation

Indigenous Grape Varieties (Source: ERSA Presentation)

This, then, would be our "theatre of operations" for the next two and one-half days.  During that time we would be visiting wineries and meeting winemakers from the various sub-regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.  At the conclusion of the lecture I felt that I had had a baseline briefing which prepared me for any eventuality.  But I was wrong.  I was not prepared for the hurricane that was Fulvio Bressan.