Miani’s Friulano Filip and Buri: 1991-2014

BY IAN D’AGATA | JANUARY 17, 2017

If there is a better set of white wines made in Italy than Miani’s Friulano, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Ribolla Gialla and seldom-made Malvasia, I have yet to encounter them. Simply put, Enzo Pontoni’s wondrous, world-class wines have few peers. Unfortunately for collectors, however, they are made in homeopathically small quantities (only 1,200 bottles a year of the Ribolla Gialla, for example) and finding them requires serious effort. 

The Pontoni home base is in Buttrio, in the Friuli Colli Orientali denominazione. The estate takes its name from Enzo’s mother Edda Miani. The Pontonis had always made wine, along with rearing livestock, but only began estate-bottling in 1981. Enzo Pontoni started working at the estate as a small child, as was commonplace in Friuli farming families in the old days. Eventually Pontoni took over full-time in 1989 when his father Nello passed away. In order to devote himself completely to winemaking, Pontoni gave up his career as an engineer.

Enzo Pontoni in his simple unassuming  cellar at Miani

Miani’s vineyards are located mostly in the Buttrio and Rosazzo areas of the Colli Orientali, both of which are blessed with slightly warmer microclimates than other viticultural zones of Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG). Originally, the estate consisted of just 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of vines, but today it spans 20 (49.4 acres), of which 11 (27.2 acres) are owned and 9 (22.2 acres) are rented, including some very recently planted parcels. About half of the estate is planted to youngish vines (i.e., around ten years old) and the other half to very old ones (50+ years). Pontoni grows Ribolla Gialla, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Tocai Friulano, and Refosco del Peduncolo Rosso organically. He has recently increased his plantings of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.