Last week I went back to Italy to visit my parents and I thought it would be a good idea to take my husband on a tour of Collio, the hilly part of Friuli on the border of Slovenia.

It’s a beautiful part of the world – rolling hills, flourishing vineyards, hearty food and glorious wine. Even though it is not second to the Tuscan hills or the Piedmont wine valley, is not a very well-known area. Hopefully this post will help promote it.

A couple of days before leaving the UK, I consulted the website http://www.collio.it to find a cantina that offered wine tasting. I came across ‘Il Carpino‘ completely by chance, but I was attracted by the location (right on the border with Slovenia, a couple of miles from the pretty town of San Floriano) and by the fact that they offered wine tasting experience without setting a minimum number of participants.

I was also impressed when I received an almost instant email reply to my enquiry from Ana Sosol, who, together with her husband Franco, runs the business. So with the appointment booked for 11:30 on Saturday, I was really looking forward to introducing my husband to the wines from Collio.

When we arrived at the venue, Ana and Franco welcomed us very warmly. We sat on the veranda admiring the sun shining on the green hills surrounding their house and vineyards.

Ana gave us a bit of history of the vineyard and their family run business, explaining how the soil ‘ponca‘, rich in minerals, gives the wine of Collio the sharpness and vibrant quality that is typical of its wines. The vineyard produces around 75,000 bottles a year, mainly white wine, and their market is manly abroad (60%). Ana also spoke very good English, which my husband obviously appreciated!

When Ana had to leave us to speak with other guests, Franco took over. I particularly like the choice of wine pairing – always a young and an old vintage of the same type.

So here are some photos with description of each wine:

1) Ribolla Gialla: probably the King of Friulian whites, this rather rare wine (produced only in Oslavia, the area we visited) is recognisable for its distinct sharpness and aromatic taste. We had two vintages: a just bottled very crispy 2015 and a fuller, golden 2012. Both outstanding.

2) Pinot Grigio: I bet many of you will be surprised by the dark-yellow colour of the older vintage (left) – this is actually the ‘real’ Pinot Grigio, as Franco explained, produced according to the traditional method and without any addition of chemicals. Definitely a ‘meditation’ wine, in contrast with the more classic and fruity one (right) which many of you will be familiar with.

3) Cabernet-Sauvignon: a relatively light red wine, I was left with a lovely raspberry and blueberry after taste in my mouth.

4) Rubrum:
 a very rare Merlot, usually produced every 3 years (the last time was in 2009). A bit pricey compared to the other wines but definitely worth to buy few bottles to keep for special occasion – a round wine perfect with a good plate of pasta or some meat

After all this wine, we decided to buy 24 bottles to bring back to the UK (note that Il Carpino offers delivery service but watch out for the import cost!) and Ana and Franco kindly offered us some frico (traditional cheese-based dish from Friuli), Montasio (local cheese) and even a glass of Prosecco di Valdobbidene (the real deal) that their friends brought with them.

It was then time for lunch so we headed to the trattoria nearby where we could enjoy some spaetzle with speck, accompanied by more local red wine.

On the way home, we stopped to visit the castles of San Floriano and Gorizia, as well as the breathtaking view of the Collio’s hills.

It’s a real shame that this little slice of paradise is not very well known – beautiful scenery, friendly people, superb wine and yummy food – what else could you ask for?

Maybe it’s a problem of marketing and promotion for a region often forgotten but full of treasures, both artistic and culinary. That’s why I think people from that region should be a bit more proactive and sponsor the local products and sites.

I then thought ‘well, why don’t I start doing that then?’

So if you would like to find out more about Friulian wines or holiday destinations, feel free to contact me by leaving a comment.