Friuli-Venezia Giulia: In Search of an Identity Part II
All Eyes on Orange

BY LAURA BRUNO | OCTOBER 02, 2024

Macerated white wines were at the forefront of my mind on the way to Friuli.

I was fascinated by the production method, seemingly rich history and personalities behind their execution. To my knowledge, these were the defining wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia—cult classics characterized by their idiosyncratic style and exclusivity. I championed macerated wines in the early stages of my career. I preached to guests and colleagues the historical significance of making white wine as it always used to be.

A handmade sign straddling the Italian/Slovenia border advertises an “Orange Wine Tasting".

I would acknowledge but discount claims of flawed production in the name of 'rock and roll': if you don't like it, you don't get it. My passion for the wines fueled my excitement to visit what I saw as the mecca of their production. No less than a day into my travels, I learned that macerated white wine from Friuli had a much different story than the one I’d been told and had been retelling. What I thought was a tale of history and tradition is actually one of art, accident and masterful marketing.

The hype surrounding macerated wines from Friuli has created some of the tension plaguing the producers I wrote about in my last piece, Friuli Venezia-Giulia: In Search of an Identity. As the dust settles around orange wine and its producers in Friuli are still riding a high, we should have an objective conversation about the inception and production of the style that has unintentionally become the face of Friuli and the darling of the natural wine world.

Overhead view of the rolling hills of Oslavia within Collio.

Modern Day: Oslavia

Friuli-Venezia Giulia is a patchwork of cultures and traditions fragmented by a war-torn past. Oslavia, a non-governmentally recognized village in the eastern foothills of Collio, is a Slovenian enclave. Fewer than 200 people call Oslavia home, yet it is the epicenter of macerated white wine production. The area has a clear, unapologetic tie to Slovenia despite residing entirely on the Italian side of the border.

The terroir in Oslavia is similar to the rest of Collio. The area has Ponca soils (a mix of marl and sandstone), sees intense rainfall, and is directly influenced by the Mediterranean Sea and the nearby Alps. In contrast to the rest of Collio, Oslavia has a notably windy microclimate and topography that mimics an amphitheater. The air feels different in Oslavia than in the rest of Collio. It is the most culturally aligned area I have visited throughout my trip. That alignment extends beyond culture and into wine production.

Within Oslavia, a group of recognizable producers has formed a society aptly named the Associazione Produttori Ribolla di Oslavia, a collection of seven wineries dedicating either all or a significant portion of their production to the preservation of Ribolla Gialla through maceration. In contrast to the rest of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the association has a singular mission, aligned values, a champion grape and a concise identity. Not all, but many of the major players in the orange wine movement are members of this association. Blockbuster producers such as Radikon, Fiegl, Prinčič and Gravner are active. Major non-member producers like Damijan and Franco Terpin also focus on similar vinification.

A halo hanging over fermenters at Damijan.

The group loves Ribolla Gialla and bonds over a shared perspective that maceration is key to best expressing the varietal. Outside of Oslavia, many disdain the grape. It can be difficult to ripen and can lack character. Ribolla has fallen further out of favor due to high-yielding plantings in the lowland plains, where Ribolla Gialla production has been watered down to fuel demand for cheap bubbles. Producers in Oslavia dismiss the grape’s floundering reputation, instead championing the variety as significant and speaking passionately about their work. They see their plantings as an act of historical preservation. They believe the grape’s misrepresentation comes from a mismatch of terroir. Producers in Oslavia feel that their township’s unique composition of Ponca soils is a superior landscape, providing ideal conditions for bringing Ribolla Gialla to life.

The mission sounds incredible: a Slavic minority fighting within a larger wine-producing region to solidify Ribolla Gialla's dominance as an essential and precious indigenous variety. It’s a noble cause pursued through even more noble means: embracing the ‘ancient’ winemaking technique of maceration.