Venica & Venica farms a handful of single hillsides in Collio, the wedge of Friuli Venezia Giulia that presses against Slovenia, and this is one of them: Ronco del Cero, a named slope rather than a blended bottling. The grape is Sauvignon Blanc, grown at the northern edge of where it ripens properly, which is why the wines from here taste less tropical and more stony than Sauvignon from almost anywhere else.
- Sauvignon Blanc, from a single named hillside.
- Collio DOC, Friuli Venezia Giulia, north east Italy.
- 2023, a generous vintage across Friuli.
- Dry, medium bodied, high acidity, low tannin.
- 13.5% ABV, 750ml.
How it is made
Collio DOC is a white wine appellation, and the rules are built around the hills rather than the flat land: the vineyards sit on the marl and sandstone slopes that run up to the border, and the fruit is picked by hand from those slopes. The style here is deliberately reductive and cool, so the wine keeps its acidity and its aromatics instead of softening into something broader.
How it tastes
Grapefruit and green apple first, then elderflower, a green herbal edge, and a flinty note that comes from the soil more than the grape. The acidity is high and stays high through the finish, which is what holds the medium body in shape. Dry throughout, with no sweetness to round off the edges.
Where it comes from
Collio is one of the smallest and most respected white wine zones in Italy, a range of hills shared with the Slovenian side of the border, where the same slopes are called Brda. The marl here, locally called ponca, drains fast and forces the vines to work, and it is the reason the whites of this corner taste of stone and citrus rather than ripe fruit.
Good to know
Sauvignon Blanc is grown all over the world, but Friuli is the one Italian region where it is treated as a serious hillside wine rather than a fresh quaffer. The single vineyard name on the label, Ronco del Cero, marks it as a bottling from one site rather than a blend across the estate.
