FVG: Pinot Nero business network

Nine producers have come together to create the Pinot Nero Business Network to promote this varietal which has been present in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) since the middle of the 19th century.

It is not easy to bring together estates that, at least on paper, are rivals. However, more and more estates are becoming aware that it is a mistake not to join forces to create a critical mass and engage in a joint campaign on markets. And when aside from commercial considerations there is also a shared project, then everything becomes easier.

A case in point is what occurred three years ago in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia where nine producers from different winemaking areas formed a Business Network centered around the varietal Pinot Nero (Noir). The goal of the project is to promote this difficult grape that has been cultivated in the region for centuries now. The Network – made up of the Castello di Spessa, Conte d’Attimis Maniago, Masùt da Rive, Russolo, Zorzettig, Gori, Jermann, Antico Borgo dei Colli and Antonutti estates – began by backing a study carried out at the University of Udine to develop new Pinot Noir clones that are resistant to disease.

During a round table promoted by the FVG Pinot Noir Business Network and dedicated to the varietal, which was followed by a tasting of wines from the Network members, Professor Enrico Peterlunger, who teaches winegrowing at the University of Udine, explained the “technical” aspects of genetically improving grape varieties. Network members have set aside space in their vineyards to cultivate the clones developed by the university so they can be studied.Agronomist Carlo Petrussi, on the other hand, gave a history of the varietal in the FVG region starting with the first mention of the “red Burgundy Pinot” in Friuli in 1864 and including its “disappearance” during the phylloxera plague, the sporadic experiments carried out by private producers already in the 19th century, its decline in the 1970-80s and up to current studies aimed at identifying different “Friuli” clones, those that have adapted to the terroir, carried out in a 100-year-old vineyards in Buttrio.

“Our collaboration with the University of Udine,” explained FVG Pinot Nero Business Network President Fabrizio Gallo, includes offering scholarships to students majoring in winegrowing and winemaking for internships or thesis projects abroad, in areas where Pinot Nero is the subject of studies and increasing interest (with excellent results) like Oregon or New Zealand”. This because, as illuminated entrepreneurs, network members are convinced of the need to train young experts who in the future can contribute to the expansion of Pinot Nero and perhaps draw in other estates – there are 86 in the region that produce Pinot Nero wine – into the Network.

The tasting was a liquid panorama of nine different territories (different appellations and terroirs) and estate realities, differences determined by the ages of the vines, methods used, whether fermentation was in stainless steel or wood and how the wines were matured.

Antonutti presented a Pinot Nero Friuli Grave DOC 2017 that has a light color, fruity aroma and fresh and youthful mouthfeel. The Pinot Nero from Zorzettig was a 2016 Friuli Colli Orientali DOC that had a bolder color, spice and red fruit aromas and a fuller mouthfeel. The same appellation and same vintage for the ABC (Antico Borgo dei Colli) Pinot Nero that has notes of wild strawberry with some light underbrush sensations and a graceful and somewhat soft mouthfeel. Conti D’Attimis Maniago, which has been making Pinot Nero sis the end of World War II, brought a 2017 DOC Colli Orientali. This was a different wine, with spice sensations and notes of wild berry jam and a full and structured mouthfeel and a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Nemas 1 is the name of Gori’s Pinot Nero Friuli Colli Orientali and the 2015 had an unusual aroma of mushrooms and underbrush, although the bouquet remained fruit-based, with a very fresh, subtle and quite soft mouthfeel.Jermann’s Collio DOC Red Angel 2015 was an elegant Pinot Nero with notes of underbrush and citrus whiffs on a bed of red fruit with a flavorful mouthfeel. Unusual balsamic and incense aromas, along with those of ripe fruit and tobacco, distinguished the Grifo Nero 2015 from Russolo that had a warm mouthfeel yet at the same time a nice acidity. The Maurus 2015 of Masut da Rive, a Friuli Isonzo DOC, had some lovely red fruit notes that rose above those of humus and underbrush, plus a touch of citrus peel, while the mouthfeel was fresh and rounded. The tasting ended with a Collio DOC Casanova 2015 from Castello di Spessa that had an intense and fine bouquet of fruit with notes of currant and red fruits, hints of humus. The mouthfeel was fresh and elegant, quite full-bodied and pleasing.