The Colli Orientali del Friuli is a Denominazione di origine controllata

Denominazione di Origine Controllata

Denominazione di origine controllata is a quality assurance label for food products, especially wines and various formaggi . It is modelled after the French AOC...

(DOC) located in the Italian wine

Italian wine

Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...

 region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The region is located in the province of Udine

Province of Udine

The Province of Udine is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capital is the city of Udine....

 and is sub-divided into three main sections; Ramandolo

Ramandolo

Ramandolo is an Italian sweet white wine from the village of the same name which is situated in the hills near Nimis in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is made from a local variety of the Verduzzo grape called Ramandolo and is a DOCG wine.-External links:**...

 in the north, Cialla and Corno di Rosazzo]]. The climate and soil is very similar to the neighboring DOC of Collio Goriziano

Collio Goriziano

Collio Goriziano or Collio is a Denominazione di origine controllata located in the Italian wine region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The DOC is located in the province of Gorizia near the border with Slovenia. Some Slovenian wine from the region of Goriška Brda also carry the designation of Collio...

 and the two region share many winemaking similarities as well. The main distinction between the Colli Orientali del Friuli and Collio Goriziano lie in the increased red and dessert wine

Dessert wine

Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert.There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines drunk after it...

 production of the Colli Orientali del Friuli. The region also includes within its boundaries the three Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...

 Ramandolo and the two passito wine DOCGs of Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit and Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit-Cialla.

History

Viticulture

Viticulture

Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

 has existed in the area since the time of the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

. In 1866, during the Risorgimento, the region was reunited with Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. In the 1970s, the white wines of the region began to receive international attention due to innovations in winemaking

Winemaking

Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

 techniques that produced fresher, more vibrant white wines. In the 1980s, winemakers in the Colli Orientali del Friuli focused on increasing the quality of their red wine production. Following in the footsteps of the "Super Tuscan" producers, Friuli winemakers decided to produce red wines outside of DOC regulations under the vino da tavola designation. Fuller bodied white wines made from Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 and Pinot bianco fermented

Fermentation (wine)

The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...

 in oak were also sold under vino da tavola to distinguish them from the crisp, lighter white wines that Colli Orientali del Friuli is typically associated with.

Grapes and wine

The white wine production of the Colli Orientali del Friuli is dominated by the Friulano

Friulano

Friulano is the name of a firm cow's milk cheese made in Canada named after the Friuli region of Italy. It is rindless and interior-ripened with a yellow surface and interior. It is salty and tastes slightly of hazelnut...

 grape which accounts for nearly a third of the region's vineyard plantings. Other important white wine varieties include Sauvignon blanc

Sauvignon blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...

, Pinot grigio, Verduzzo

Verduzzo

Verduzzo is a white Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. It is also found in significant plantings in the Piave Denominazione di origine controllata of the Veneto region...

, Pinot bianco and Ribolla Gialla

Ribolla Gialla

Ribolla Gialla is a white Italian wine grape grown most prominently in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is also found in Slovenia, where it is known as Rebula, and on the Greek island of Kefalonia where it is known as Robola. In Friuli, the grape thrives in the region...

. The Picolit

Picolit

Picolit is a white Italian wine grape grown predominately in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is allowed in the Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita wines of Colli Orientali del Friuli. The grape is most commonly associated with sweet dessert wines often...

 grape is the primary grape for sweet wines and is the main grape behind two of the regions DOCGs. Red wines account for around 35% of the region's entire production and is centered around the towns of Buttrio

Buttrio

Buttrio is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 60 km northwest of Trieste and about 10 km southeast of Udine....

, Cividale del Friuli

Cividale del Friuli

-External links:*...

 and Manzano. Merlot

Merlot

Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

 is the leading red wine variety followed by Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, Pinot noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

, Pignolo, Refosco

Refosco

Refosco is a very old Italian family of dark-skinned grape varieties native to the northern Italian areas of Friuli, Gavi, Trentino, Istria, and Karst Plateau. It is considered autochthonous in these regions....

, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso

Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso

Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso is a red Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is a variety in the Refosco family and derives its name from its red stems...

 and Schioppettino

Schioppettino

Schiopettino is a red Italian wine grape grown predominately in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is believed to have originated between the comune of Prepotto and the Slovenian border where records of the Schiopettino wine being used in marriage ceremonies date to 1282...

.

Other DOCs and DOCGs

In addition to the main Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC, there are two smaller DOCs centered around the sub-regions of Cialla and Corno di Rosazzo. The Colli Orientali del Friuli Cialla DOC is noted for its dry white wines and produces sweet and off dry wines from the Picolit and Verduzzo grapes. Dry red wines are produced in this region from the Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso and Schioppettino grapes. The Colli Orientali del Friuli Rosazzo DOC of Corno di Rosazzo is noted for its significant plantings of Ribolla Gialla which is believed to have originated in the region in the vineyard of the local abbey

Abbey

An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...

over 1000 years ago. Sweet wines made from the Picolit and dry wines from the Pignolo grapes are also common in this region. The dessert wines from the Picolit grape made in the passito style has two DOCG regions in the Colli Orientali del Friuli, the Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit-Cialla DOCG is centered around the commune of Cialla while the Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit DOCG encompasses most of the region.