From: Colli Orientali del Friuli
Varietal: Pinot Grigio
Taste: This lovely Pinot Grigio is a crisp, mineral-rich white wine offering a refreshing and intense fruit sensation. Wildflowers and rose water merge seamlessly on the nose with bright aromas of white peach, pear, and spring flowers. On the palate, zesty flavors of ripe apple and pear lead, followed by layered nuances of peach, apricot, and pear. Produced by Giampaolo Venica, this Pinot Grigio features enticing notes of pineapple, passion fruit, mango skin, and honeysuckle. Sourced exclusively from dry-farmed, organic plots owned by young farmers in Collio, the wine benefits from the region's significant diurnal shifts, imparting freshness. Via Alpina, Giampaolo Venica's second label release captures the essence of the northern Friuli region, close to the borders of Austria and Slovenia. Aged for four months in stainless steel, this organic, dry-farmed Pinot Grigio is the perfect white for any gathering, offering complexity and easy drinking. It represents the vibrant character of high-altitude wines from Collio.
Pairing: The 2022 Via Alpina Pinot Grigio Colli Oriental Del Friuli is a versatile wine, best served chilled between 8-10°C. As a light Italian white wine with a refreshing touch of acidity, it pairs harmoniously with a range of dishes. Kick off your meal with aperitifs or ready-sliced meat starters. For mains, consider fish dishes, light soups, delicate pasta or rice creations, and white meats. Enhance its crisp profile with cheeses like Brie, Feta, Ricotta, Mozzarella, or Gruyère. It also complements grilled asparagus, fresh seafood like oysters, pasta dishes with a mild cream sauce (check out the recipe below), and for dessert, consider creme brulee or fresh stone fruits. However, avoiding pairing with overly rich, meaty dishes is a good idea. Enjoy a completely different experience with fondue, salads, crudos, or simply as an aperitif.
Pasta Primavera With Asparagus and Peas
By Melissa Clark
About. "This Pinot Grigio from Giampaolo Venica is produced from dry-farmed, organic fruit purchased from young growers across Collio. Notes of pineapple, passion fruit, mango skin, and honeysuckle ooze from the wine’s clean and focused palate."-Importer
Giampaolo Venica is a winemaker and fourth-generation winemaker at Venica & Venica in Fruili, Italy. The estate was founded in 1930 by Venica's great grandfather, Daniele, who purchased a small house and plot of land in Dolegna del Collio. The estate has grown into a wine resort and hospitality center where visitors can learn about the history of the Collio and the wines.
Venica is known for using diverse microclimates to create a mosaic of Friulian white. He has watched remarkable changes happen in the Friuli over the last few decades. He describes the Friuli as a region that has changed significantly in recent decades, and which is still in flux today.
Other family members involved in the estate include Gianni, Giorgio, and Marta.
About Venica & Venica. Since 1930 the Venica family has served as a vinous ambassador for the Friulian hills of Collio in northeastern Italy. Daniele Venica, like most of the inhabitants of the Collio, lost his land during World War I. Around the same time most of the vineyards of the Collio, then operated by monks, became abandoned as well. In the years after the war, Daniele was able to raise some money to purchase a small house and hill with some vineyards in Dolegna del Collio in 1930, and the story of Venica & Venica begins.
For years, Daniele and his son Adelchi continued to develop their land, planting vines and buying abandoned vineyards to strengthen their ability to sustain their family by making wine and selling off small amounts in the Friulian cities of Udine and Cividale. Over the next several decades, Adelchi’s sons Gianni and Giorgio Venica took over the family business and embraced their philosophies of viticulture, to respect the land and the ways that wine can communicate the terroir and environment of these very special sites in the Collio.
Dolenga is the northernmost village of the DOC Collio, where the climate is cooler and the vineyards are rich in biodiversity. The subsoils composed of sandstone marls represent some of the best areas in Italy to grow white grapes of incredible aromatics, complexity, and acidity. Venica & Venica is world-renowned for the aromatic white wines they produce from the indigenous grapes of the Collio – Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon and Friulano. Friulano was known as Tocai Friulano until a European Union ruling in 2007 forced the change to avoid confusion with Tokaji from Hungary. The winery also produces dynamic red wines utilizing Merlot and Cabernet Franc and from local varieties Refosco and Schioppettino.
The most well-known vineyards owned by Venica & Venica are recognized as being some of the top Crus in Friuli. Ronco delle Mele (Sauvignon), Jesera (Pinot Grigio) and Ronco delle Cime (Friulano) are consistently sought-after as the benchmarks for each grape variety in the region. For the Venica family, the care of their vineyards aligns with their goal of sustainability. In 2011, the winery partnered with the Italian Ministry of the Environment to start V.I.V.A. Sustainable Wine, a research project with the aim of recognizing and certifying wines “Sustainably made in Italy.”
Today, the fourth generation of the family, led by Giampaolo Venica, has grown the Venica & Venica estate into not only one of the most well-known wine producers in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, but also into a wine resort and hospitality center where visitors can discover the history of the Collio and the wines they produce. Venica & Venica makes extraordinary wines of place and expression that are sought-after by some of the top restaurants and sommeliers across the world, representing some of Italy’s greatest examples of wines with potential to improve with long cellaring.
Via Alpina is the second label release for Giampaolo Venica, a Friulian vigneron. Via Alpina wines are produced from dry-farmed, organic fruit purchased from young growers across Collio.