The land

Friuli-Venezia Giulia sits in the far northeast corner of Italy, bordered by the Alps to the north, Slovenia to the east, and the Adriatic to the south. The climate is more continental than the rest of northeastern Italy, with cold winters and warm summers. The soils are dominated by ponca — a regional name for flysch, a layered marl-and-sandstone that gives Friulian wines their distinctive mineral spine. The region has historically been more about white wine than red, and the modern orange-wine movement (skin-contact whites, also called amber wines) was born here.

The appellations

Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC and Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit DOCG (the famous sweet white). Collio DOC — the most prestigious zone, on the Slovenian border. Friuli Isonzo DOC. Friuli Grave DOC. Carso DOC — the small zone on the Karst plateau above Trieste, the home of natural-wine pioneers like Edi Kante and Vodopivec. The ‘Venezia Giulia’ geographic mention covers IGT-level wines and includes many of the most ambitious modern Friulian bottlings.

Style of the wines

Whites: Friulano (the regional grape, formerly called Tocai Friulano until the EU forced a name change), Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio (the serious skin-contact ramato style), Sauvignon, Chardonnay. Reds: Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso (the regional dark, peppery red), Schioppettino, Pignolo, Merlot, Cabernet Franc. Picolit DOCG: the famous sweet white, made from a low-yielding grape called Picolit, often appassimento-style.

The orange-wine movement

Friuli is the birthplace of the modern orange-wine movement. Producers like Joško Gravner (in Oslavia, on the Slovenian border) and Stanko Radikon revived ancient methods of fermenting white grapes on their skins — sometimes for weeks or months — producing amber-colored, tannic, complex wines that have nothing in common with conventional white wine. The category is now followed by producers around the world but Friuli remains the spiritual home.

Vintages to know

2020 — outstanding. 2019 — exceptional. 2018 — generous. 2015 — superb.

Producers we know

Joško Gravner (the orange-wine pioneer), Stanko Radikon, Edi Keber, Vodopivec, Damijan Podversic, Borgo del Tiglio, Schiopetto, Livio Felluga, Jermann, Miani (the cult Friulano producer), Le Vigne di Zamò.