Friuli-Venezia-Giulia

Best known for its white wines, Friuli lies in the northeast corner of Italy. Also known as Friuli-Venezia Giulia, it’s a region bounded by Austria to the North and Slovenia to the East, sitting between the North Italian Alps and the Adriatic Sea – all of which help create the crisp, lively wine styles that characterise this varied region.

Innovation epitomises the mood in Friuli, and, consequently, Friulian wine producers have succeeded in creating light, aromatic whites like no other region in Italy since the 1960s. 60% of production is attributed to these Friulian white wines which capture fresh, varietal fruit in a bottle.

A significant proportion of Friulian red and white wines are produced from international grapes, including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling. Friuli is sometimes considered a region foreign to Italians themselves. Fortunately, with over 30 grape varieties flourishing between the sun-soaked slopes of the alps and the cooling Adriatic, there are countless native varietals celebrated by the best Friulian wine producers. While Friuli has historically struggled to establish an identity as clear in expression as its wines, our producers prioritise putting the region’s unique landscape, climate and grape varieties at the heart of every bottle. I Clivi, a young estate from Mario Zanusso, employs a ‘less is more’ organic approach to winemaking, producing Friulian white wines from Friulano and Malvasia that reflect the mineral and expressive terroir on which his grapes are grown, while Ronchi di Cialla ensure Friulian red wines from Refosco and the saved-from-extinction-Schioppettino can speak for themselves – and for Friulian wines in general: characterful, naturally concentrated and effortlessly elegant.

Sourced from the most highly regarded sub-regions of the area, such as Collio and Colli-Orientali, our selected Friulian wine producers work with low yields – focusing intently on quality, biological diversity, and respect for their region.