Written by Steve Dryden. Wine and Food Guide
Massive amounts of pure gold are being unearthed in the province of Gorizia in northeastern Italy along the Slovenian border. Within this “magical-like kingdom” of Austrian-Hungarian and Italian decent lies the wine region of Collio which produces distinct white wines with 14K gold color. Not only are these wines beautiful in color, but the flavors drawn from the rich mineral soils, are interpreted by the vines and fruit varietals into stunning white wines of elegance, finesse and distinction.
We’ve come to this beautiful wine producing region located between the Giulian Alps and the Adriatic Sea as two wine prospectors searching for bottled treasures of delight. Little did we know that we’d find gold in the vineyards, wines, and souls of the local artisan people: the chefs and winemakers. In fact, I was so taken aback with the region that I raced into Trieste to stake a claim, so I can return and explore this region for a seemingly endless amount of gems and jewels in the wine and culinary cultures blended together here over many centuries. We’re here with our newest project: Vino Mundo Productions, a collaboration between myself as a wine, culinary and travel writer and the talented filmmaker, Adrián Enrique Ruiz.
In addition, I’m here to trace my Austrian-Hungarian roots as a member of the Haider clan that moved to America from Vienna in the late 1890’s. My great grandfather, Michael Haider grew grapes and made wine near the famous Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles, California. As a vineyard manager and winemaker in Mexico, I’ve always wondered about my natural tendencies to indulge in farming, winemaking, along with the consumption of gourmet culinary delights, and an incurable urge for all things Italian. It only took a few minutes of exploration at my first stop in Trieste to fully understand the meaning of my Austrian-Hungarian heritage. The churches, the architecture, the promenades, the cuisine, the coffee, and of course, the great white wines from the Collio region.
Trieste is about an hour train ride from the province of Gorizia and the Collio wine region, and makes a great departure locale, especially if you’re looking for gold in the hills of northeastern Italy. Trieste is a gem in itself, a very charming and classic city, very much “off” the tourist maps, a real “dynamic destination” in my opinion. It’s no wonder that James Joyce lived and worked here for twenty years without ever mentioning what a “hidden treasure” he had discovered in the city, the people and the lifestyle. Sigmund Freud lived and wrote here too, but he was somehow able to avoid a “Freudian slip” and reveal the magical world he discovered here as well. Sometimes good things are better kept to yourself, but the secret about Italy’s emerging white wines is already being discovered around the world by serious wine lovers and connoisseurs.
The Collio wine region lies in the province of Gorizia and is also known as Friull Venezia Guilia or Friuli. There are six distinct regions within Collio: Gorizia to San Floriano del Collio, Mossa to Capriva del Fruli and Preval, Cormons, Dolegna del Collio and Farra d’Isonzo. These unique regions are blessed with high mineral content in the soils, many diverse habitats, hilly exposures and soulful, creative winemakers. This dynamic combination allows for wines of distinct flavor and richness. The white varietals that excel here are: Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, Tocai Friulano, Picolit, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Pinot Bianco. Some reds do great here as well: Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a few local varietals such as Pignolo and Refosco. For the most part, this is premium white wine growing country, blessed with an abundance of creative and innovation winemakers with a long history of winemaking traditions.
Four names you should know in the Collio DOG are Marco Felluga, his son Roberto Felluga and daughters Patrizia and Alessandra Felluga. In fact, the entire family is made up of “rock stars” in the wine and hospitality business in this region. Roberto is the fifth generation of Felluga winemakers and manager of Russiz Superiore, while sister Alessandra oversees the operations at Gradisca d’Isonzo, These are two of Italy’s top with wine producers of about 200,000 bottles annually from 60 hectares at Russiz Superiore and 650,000 bottles from 120 hectares at the Marco Felluga group. Roberto’s diverse wine portfolio contains excellent examples of wine from Collio Bianco, Tocai Friulano, Sauvignon, Pinot Blanco, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. I particularly enjoyed the rich flavors and deep structure of his Rosso Riserva, but in fact, all of his wines are of superior quality on a global scale.
Marco Felluga is a dynamic leader in the Collio wine region. He is and was the visionary and patriarch of this region, the one who first understood the unique significance and magic of the mineral rich terroir and the local grape varietals. His daughter Patrizia has now stepped in and inherited her father’s spirit of leadership, passion, determination, and vision. Her winery estate, Zuani, produces 40,000 bottles of superior wine from 14 hectares annually. She focuses her talent on growing limited yields of high quality fruit and making two specific wines: Zuani, a cask conditioned wine, released in the second year, and Zuani Vigne, processed in steel tanks. Both are O Collio Bianco wines of excellent quality. Her son Antonio and beautiful daughter, Caterina are well on the road to being the next generation of “super stars” from the Felluga family.
The only problem I encountered in the scenic wine regions northeastern Italy was that all the wines were of premium quality, and all the winemakers are unique individuals with an amazing diversity of talent and vino. Another important element in this equation is that this remote section of Italy isn’t ALL about wine, it’s also about Italian-Austrian-Hungarian culinary delights, a wonderful blend of people, classic traditions and beautiful scenery. Having said, that, I’ll be writing many more articles during 2011 to help you understand and discover one of Italy’s best kept secrets: their phenomenal white wines. Be looking for our documentary from Vino Mundo Productions: A White Christmas in Northeastern Italy, coming soon on a DVD near you.
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