Verduzzo is a white 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...

 grape

Grape

A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...

 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

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) of the Veneto region. The grape is used in varietal

Varietal

"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...

 and blended wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

s, many of which fall under the vino da tavola designation, that range in style from dry

Sweetness of wine

The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine to be sure, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Briefly: sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness; acids and bitter tannins counteract it...

 to late harvest wine

Late harvest wine

Late harvest is a term applied to wines made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual. Late harvest is usually an indication of a sweet dessert wine, such as late harvest Riesling. Late harvest grapes are often more similar to raisins, but have been naturally dehydrated while on the vine...

s.

Wine regions

Verduzzo is permitted in 5 of the Friuli DOCs-Colli Orientali del Friuli

Colli Orientali del Friuli

The Colli Orientali del Friuli is a Denominazione di origine controllata located in the Italian wine region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The region is located in the province of Udine and is sub-divided into three main sections; Ramandolo in the north, Cialla and Corno di Rosazzo]]...

, Friuli Aquileia, Grave, Isonzo, and Latisana as well as the overlapping Lison Pramaggiore DOC that is also located within the Veneto. Within the Colli Orientali del Friuli, the grape is used to make sweet wines in the Ramandolo DOC.

Wine

Verduzzo has the potential to create a wide variety of wine styles with dry styles produced in larger quantities than the sweeter style. The sweeter styles do generate interest among wine drinkers, particularly the late harvest 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...

s and passito wine style made by drying the grape to near raisin

Raisin

Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...

s. These sweet Verduzzos are medium bodied with a deep golden color and honey

Honey

Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...

ed aromas

Odor

An odor or odour is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction. Odors are also commonly called scents, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odors...

. The drier styles have a lighter body and more astringency due to less balance of the grape's sugars with its tannin levels.

Sub-varieties

Throughout Italy are several sub-varieties of Verduzzo that seem to be of mostly inferior quality to the Verduzzo Friulano grape but may offer other viticultural

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...

 or economic benefits such as greater disease resistance and higher yield

Yield (wine)

In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...

s. One exception is the Verduzzo Rascie which produces looser clusters that are less likely to rot as it hangs longer on the vine, making its slightly better for late harvest wines. Ampelographers have not yet determined if the Verduzzo Trevigiano, which appeared in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the 20th century, is related to Verduzzo Friulano but the Trevigiano varieties does produce higher yields but less aromatic and flavorful wine. Verduzzo Giallo is one of the better sub-varieties and does well with the sweeter wine. Verduzzo Verde is a rare, lower quality sub variety that is mostly found in the plain

Plain

In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...

s region of the Friuli.