Collio Goriziano
Encyclopedia
Collio Goriziano or Collio is a Denominazione di origine controllata
(DOC) located in the Italian wine
region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The DOC is located in the province of Gorizia
near the border with Slovenia
. Some Slovenian wine
from the region of Goriška Brda also carry the designation of Collio due to their vineyards overlapping across the Italian
border. The region is predominately a white wine
producer with Friulano
, Ribolla Gialla
, Malvasia Istriana, Chardonnay
, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon blanc
being the leading varietal
s. Red wine is produced under the Collio Rosso designation and is usually a blend of Merlot
, Cabernet franc
and Cabernet Sauvignon
.
and Austro-Hungarian ties, and it was annexed to Italy only after the first World War
. After second World War
, the vast majority of the Collio/Brda region became part of Yugoslavia
, and only a small strip of territory between the villages of San Floriano del Collio
and Dolegna del Collio
remained in Italy. The boundaries of the traditional wine region thus extended further eastward into what is now present day Slovenia
. Even today, some Italian winemaker
s still produce Slovenian wines under the "Collio" designation from vineyards in the Goriška Brda region across the border. In the 1970s, the Collio Goriziano was one of the Italy's leading white wine producers and was pioneer in producing fresher, more vibrant white wines using winemaking methodology that focused on minimizing skin contact
and oxidation.
word Colli which means hillsides and describes the terrain of the Collio Goriziano region. The Slovene name Brda has the same meaning.
The region extends from the Judrio river in the west where it borders the Colli Orientali del Friuli
DOC to the Slovenian border on the east. The Collio (Brda) geographical region continues into Slovenia, where it is entirely included in the Brda municipality, which extends from the Italian border to the Soča
(Isonzo) river.
To the south is the Isonzo del Friuli DOC, also in the Gorizia province. Most of the region's vineyards are centered around the comune
of Cormons
. The soil of the region is composed of calcareous
marl
and flysch
sandstone
.
in terms of areas planted. It is also the 4th leading producer in terms of volume, trailing the Friuli Grave, Isonzo and Colli Orientali del Friuli region in production. Over 85% of the Collio production is in white wine grape varieties. While still low in comparison to the rest of Italy, the yield
s in the Collio Goriziano are higher than the 3.5 ton
s an acre
average of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia. In the Collio, the yields average around 4.4 tons/acre (77 hectolitres/hectare
) though some quality conscious producers have lower yields.
Winemaker Mario Schiopetto was one of the first to incorporate German wine
making techniques like cold fermentation to white wine production in the Collio Goriziano. Today, winemaking on the region is very technologically advance with refrigerated fermentation tanks, pneumatic wine press
es, and centrifugation
bottling systems. The objective of most Collio winemakers is to maximize the fresh fruit and pure varietal characteristic of the grape. To that extent, oak influence is not widely used in this region though some winemaking are experimenting with its use and different blends of grape varieties to produce more complex wine.
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) located in the 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...
region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The DOC is located in the province of Gorizia
Province of Gorizia
The Province of Gorizia is a province in the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of Italy.-Overview:Its capital is the city of Gorizia. It belonged to the Province of Udine between 1924 and 1927 and the communes of Sonzia, Plezzo, Bergogna, Caporetto, Tolmino, Circhina, Santa Lucia d'Isonzo,...
near the border with Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. Some Slovenian wine
Slovenian wine
Slovenian wine is wine from the Central European country of Slovenia. Viticulture and winemaking has existed in this region since the time of the Celts and Illyrians tribes, long before the Romans would introduce winemaking to the lands of France, Spain and Germany...
from the region of Goriška Brda also carry the designation of Collio due to their vineyards overlapping across the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
border. The region is predominately a white 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...
producer with Friulano
Friulano
Friulano is the name of a firm cow's milk cheese made in Canada named after the Friuli region of Italy. It is rindless and interior-ripened with a yellow surface and interior. It is salty and tastes slightly of hazelnut...
, Ribolla Gialla
Ribolla Gialla
Ribolla Gialla is a white Italian wine grape grown most prominently in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is also found in Slovenia, where it is known as Rebula, and on the Greek island of Kefalonia where it is known as Robola. In Friuli, the grape thrives in the region...
, Malvasia Istriana, Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
being the leading 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...
s. Red wine is produced under the Collio Rosso designation and is usually a blend of Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, Cabernet franc
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
and Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
.
History
The history of the Collio Goriziano region has been largely influenced by its close SlavicSlavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
and Austro-Hungarian ties, and it was annexed to Italy only after the first World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the vast majority of the Collio/Brda region became part of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, and only a small strip of territory between the villages of San Floriano del Collio
San Floriano del Collio
San Floriano del Collio is a comune in the Province of Gorizia in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 40 km northwest of Trieste and about 6 km northwest of Gorizia, on the border with Slovenia. , it had a population of 807 and an area of 10.6 km². It is...
and Dolegna del Collio
Dolegna del Collio
Dolegna del Collio is a comune in the Province of Gorizia in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 50 km northwest of Trieste and about 15 km northwest of Gorizia, on the border with Slovenia...
remained in Italy. The boundaries of the traditional wine region thus extended further eastward into what is now present day Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. Even today, some Italian winemaker
Winemaker
A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes:*Cooperating with viticulturists...
s still produce Slovenian wines under the "Collio" designation from vineyards in the Goriška Brda region across the border. In the 1970s, the Collio Goriziano was one of the Italy's leading white wine producers and was pioneer in producing fresher, more vibrant white wines using winemaking methodology that focused on minimizing skin contact
Maceration (wine)
Maceration is the winemaking process where the phenolic materials of the grape— tannins, coloring agents and flavor compounds— are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the must. Maceration is the process by which the red wine receives its red color, since 99% of all grape juice is...
and oxidation.
Geography
The name "Collio" is taken from the ItalianItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
word Colli which means hillsides and describes the terrain of the Collio Goriziano region. The Slovene name Brda has the same meaning.
The region extends from the Judrio river in the west where it borders the 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]]...
DOC to the Slovenian border on the east. The Collio (Brda) geographical region continues into Slovenia, where it is entirely included in the Brda municipality, which extends from the Italian border to the Soča
Soca
The Soča or Isonzo is a 140 km long river that flows through western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps in Slovenia, at an elevation of around 1,100 metres...
(Isonzo) river.
To the south is the Isonzo del Friuli DOC, also in the Gorizia province. Most of the region's vineyards are centered around the comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
of Cormons
Cormons
Cormons is a comune in the Province of Gorizia in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 45 km northwest of Trieste and about 12 km west of Gorizia, on the border with Slovenia...
. The soil of the region is composed of calcareous
Calcareous
Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...
marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
and flysch
Flysch
Flysch is a sequence of sedimentary rocks that is deposited in a deep marine facies in the foreland basin of a developing orogen. Flysch is typically deposited during an early stage of the orogenesis. When the orogen evolves the foreland basin becomes shallower and molasse is deposited on top of...
sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
.
Viticulture and winemaking
The Collio Goriziano is the 4th largest DOC in the Friuli-Venezia GiuliaFriuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
in terms of areas planted. It is also the 4th leading producer in terms of volume, trailing the Friuli Grave, Isonzo and Colli Orientali del Friuli region in production. Over 85% of the Collio production is in white wine grape varieties. While still low in comparison to the rest of Italy, the 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 in the Collio Goriziano are higher than the 3.5 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s an acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
average of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia. In the Collio, the yields average around 4.4 tons/acre (77 hectolitres/hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
) though some quality conscious producers have lower yields.
Winemaker Mario Schiopetto was one of the first to incorporate German wine
German wine
German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...
making techniques like cold fermentation to white wine production in the Collio Goriziano. Today, winemaking on the region is very technologically advance with refrigerated fermentation tanks, pneumatic wine press
Wine press
A wine press is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during wine making. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts controlled pressure in order to free the juice from the fruit...
es, and centrifugation
Centrifugation
Centrifugation is a process that involves the use of the centrifugal force for the sedimentation of mixtures with a centrifuge, used in industry and in laboratory settings. More-dense components of the mixture migrate away from the axis of the centrifuge, while less-dense components of the mixture...
bottling systems. The objective of most Collio winemakers is to maximize the fresh fruit and pure varietal characteristic of the grape. To that extent, oak influence is not widely used in this region though some winemaking are experimenting with its use and different blends of grape varieties to produce more complex wine.