In the late-1990s, the most talked-about red wines from Friuli-Venezia Giulia were “Bordeaux” blends and varietal wines from the Cabernets (Sauvignon and Franc) and Merlot. Those “international” reds helped draw consumer attention to the region in general, enabling producers to redirect attention to their first loves: long-forgotten indigenous grapes such as Pignolo, Refosco, and Schioppettino. As with so many native Italian grapes, Schioppettino was grown in a very prescribed geographic area—a few hamlets around the Friulian city of Cividale, and that’s about it. In the mid-1970s, the local government was content to let it go extinct, but, thanks to a handful of committed producers, the variety is now enjoying a renaissance. It produces very distinctly aromatic, spicy reds with great structure, and this modern expression from Cividale gets it exactly right.
Where it grows:
Cividale del Friuli is one of the key winemaking towns in the Friuli Colli Orientali DOC—a zone which hugs the border with Slovenia and, along with neighboring Collio, is the source of Friuli’s best wines. As in Collio, the soils are a calcareous (i.e. limestone-rich) marl-and-sandstone mix known locally as ponka. Over the years, the slightly cooler Collio has solidified its reputation as the source of Friuli’s—and perhaps all of Italy’s—most aromatic, structured, delineated white wines, while the Colli Orientali has quite a few important reds to complement its equally impressive lineup of Whites.
How it’s made:
100% Schioppettino is fully de-stemmed, pressed, and fermented in temperature-controlled concrete tanks. Maceration on skins during primary fermentation lasts about 10 days, then the wine completes malolactic fermentation in stainless steel. The wine is aged in a combination of concrete tanks (80%) and 500-liter oak barrels (20%) for about 18 months before bottling.
Who makes it:
Winemaker Emilio del Medico (Le Vigne di Zamo) teamed up with longtime collaborator Joe Bastianich and Gruppo Meregalli (an important Italian wine distributor) to create the Ronc dal Diaul label, sourcing fruit from 10 hectares of organically farmed vineyards around Cividale. Native Friulian varieties—not just Schioppettino but Friulano, Malvasia, Ribolla Gialla, and Refosco—are the focus, with an emphasis on highlighting varietal character and keeping oak usage moderate.
What it tastes like
In the glass, it displays a deep ruby core moving to a magenta rim, with aromas of black/blue/ purple fruits (blackberry, boysenberry) mixing with scents of lavender, violet, tar, turned earth, and a distinctive cracked pepper note that calls Northern Rhône Syrah to mind. It is medium-to medium-plus in body, with grainy tannins and great freshness, hinting at Bordeaux from St-Julien one moment and a Mourvèdre-based red from Provence the next.
