Wine region: Italy, Friuli

The compact region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, commanding the northern Adriatic Sea with borders Austria and Slovenia, continues to set the pace with modern Italian white wine. Drawing from worthy native varieties and the choicest of the international array, Friulians have applied studied vineyard techniques and avant-garde enology to the production of highly distinctive whites, as well as some eminently attractive reds.

Friuli has two DOC zones of exceptional status in Collio Goriziano, or simply Collio, and Colli Orientali del Friuli, adjacent areas that follow the border of Slovenia from Gorizia west and northwest to Tarcento. The exchange of air currents between the Alps and the Adriatic has created a highly favourable habitat for vines on the terraced slopes called ronchi. Carso is a unique zone in the hills above the seaport and regional capital of Trieste. The other six DOC zones cover low hills or plains, but quality there can be convincing, most notably from Isonzo, which rivals Collio and Colli Orientali for the class of certain wines.

Friuli has built a glowing reputation in Italy and abroad for white wines made by relatively small wineries and estates. The whites had long been dominated by Tocai Friulano, a variety related to Sauvignon Vert or Sauvignonasse. But recently the European ruled that Tocai must change its name so as not to be confused with the Tokay or Tokaji of Hungary, which is the name of a wine but not a vine.

Friuli’s Malvasia Istriana, Ribolla Gialla and Verduzzo also can be intriguing, as can such admirable foreign varieties as Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco and the ever popular Pinot Grigio. The Friulian style is towards the exquisitely fresh and fruity, with delicate fragrance and flavour that express clear varietal character. Many producers consider their whites to be too pure and linear to benefit from wood aging.. But there are a growing number of exceptions to the rule, in white wines that gain depth and complexity from blending, oak aging and other artistic touches.

Friulian reds were traditionally light and fruity, best to drink within two to five years of the harvest. That style applied to the predominant Merlot and Cabernet Franc, as well as to Pinot Nero and the worthy native variety of Refosco. But certain winemakers have heightened structure and nuance by blending Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and other varieties and aging the wine in small oak barrels.

Friulians have shown an encouraging tendency to revive varieties that had been neglected. Foremost among the legends is Picolit, a white that ranked as one of Europe’s finest sweet wines around 1800, when it was favored by the Hapsburgs and other royal families. Despite low yields, Picolit has been coming back. So has Verduzzo, which makes refined dessert wines in a place called Ramandolo in the Colli Orientali. Ribolla Gialla, a native of Collio, has benefited from new methods that make it into a dry white of character.

Among the reds are Refosco, also known as Terrano, which can be made either light and fruity or into a durable wine for aging. Though rare and odd, Franconia and Tazzelenghe make distinctive reds, but perhaps the Pignolo and Schioppettino varieties have the most intriguing potential.

The homespun cooking of the Friulian hill country presented historical contrasts with the more refined Venetian-style fare eaten along the coast. Over time, though, the two cuisines have reached a happy union in dishes accented, often rather sharply, by the tastes of Austrian and Slavic neighbours, who remember Trieste as their gateway to the Mediterranean.

In Alpine Carnia and the vine-draped hills of Udine and Gorizia, the open hearth fogolar with conical chimney is used for grilling beef, lamb, kid, poultry, sausages and mushrooms. The indispensable polenta goes with cheese, meat stews, blood puddings and game: hare and venison often cooked in salmì (highly seasoned wine sauce) and a mixed flock of fowl, including woodcock, duck and little birds called uite.