Italiano
Pinot Grigio, from Friuli with love
Pinot Grigio is a variety which for years has been the standard bearer of Italian white wines abroad. We selected three wines from Friuli, as always with an affordable price.
When in the early sixties Santa Margherita di Portogruaro launched on the market its Pinot Grigio nobody could have imagined it would have been for decades the most "fashionable" white wine in our country. Sixty years later we must recognize to this winery the merit of having started a renewal in the way of making and proposing wine.
On the wave of its success, in Veneto, Friuli and Alto Adige there was a rush to plant vineyards of Pinot Grigio: in this way red varieties were eliminated in many areas, and in general all white wines of those areas made a great leap forward, both in quality and image and, last but not the least, in terms of sales.
After all, this grape (a genetic mutation of Pinot Noir and therefore having a coppery red color although it is almost always used for white wines) does not have the credentials of its noble rival, Pinot Blanc, nor the typicality of, say, a Friulano. However it has certainly imposed to the general public a different style of drinking. Fruity and fragrant whites, graceful but not without a certain structure, were born in its wake.
In the Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli it expresses itself with great richness and texture, while in Alto Adige its greater acidity makes it more long-lived. This grape variety, almost a red in appearance, is often vinified in contact with skins until it takes on the characteristic coppery color that makes it a rosé.
We are proposing three wines from Friuli, two whites and one coppery, which - as is typical of this column and of our guide Wines for every budget - combine quality and a price lower than 15 euros.
And lets start with Torre Rosazza, in Colli Orientali del Friuli. Since many years it is the pride of Genagricola's wineries, owned by Assicurazioni Generali, and in the course of time, despite many changes of direction, it has always shown that in the foreground there are vineyards, territories and men who take care of all that. Therefore we are almost always in front of products of high quality value. Vineyards are in Oleis, an excellent cru of Manzano, the winery's headquarter is in the nineteenth-century Palazzo De Marchi.
The winery's headquarter in Vistorta is spectacular because of the Venetian villa, the huge and wonderful park made in the sixties with the English landscape architect Russel Page, the big barchessa, once a winery (now moved to an equally beautiful building in Cordignano, in the bordering Veneto region). Brandino Brandolini d'Adda, a true country gentleman, passionately guides the whole winery, helped in the vineyard and in the cellar since 1994 by Alec Ongaro and benefits of the friendly advices of French George Pauli and Samuel Tinon.
Finally, the historical winery of Conti Formentini since many years has been acquired by Gruppo Italiano Vini, which gave it an important base, made of the production of the winemakers once associated to Steverjan cooperative winery in San Floriano. Today it offers well made wines with an excellent quality/price ratio.
FCO Pinot Grigio 2020 Torre Rosazza
95/100 - € 15,00
100% Pinot Grigio grapes. Stainless steel on the yeasts for 6 months. Bright straw yellow color. Very varietal and typical aromas of summer pear, then yellow peach, fresh almonds and hints of aromatic herbs. Warm and savory taste, enveloping, neat and very persistent finish.
Friuli Pinot Grigio Ramato 2020 Vistorta Conte Brandolini d’Adda
93/100 - € 11,50
100% Pinot Grigio grapes, 12 hours on the skins. Matures in cement vats. Light copper yellow color. Fruity and floral aromas. Rich, wide and balanced taste, savory. Abundant notes of fruits and citrusy in the finish.
Collio Pinot Grigio 2020 Conti Formentini
92/100 - € 14,00
100% Pinot Grigio grapes. Stainless steel on the yeasts for 6 months. Lively straw yellow color. Typical aromas of Williams pear, alfalfal and hints of white peach. Warm and savory taste, agile and balanced taste. Adequate length in the finish.
