Previews Tre Bicchieri 2023. The best wine in Friuli Venezia Giulia

Tre Bicchieri 2023: Friuli Venezia Giulia, land of the white wines

From year to year we risk repeating ourselves, but by now one can't help but think of Friuli Venezia Giulia as a territory that's particularly predisposed to the production of great white wines. It's a label that makes the region's producers proud, even if they say they're convinced that their reds, sweet wines and metodo classico spumante deserve greater consideration. The fact remains that, as with previous editions, once again the Tre Bicchieri awarded are to its whites. It is certainly not news that more than half are from the Gorizia Hills, a territory unanimously recognized for the singularity of its ponca-rich soils, a unique terroir that stretches all the way up the Colli Orientali and, partially, beyond, but whose attributes won't found anywhere else in the world.

Tre Bicchieri 2o23: the new award winners of Friuli Venezia Giulia

Among the winners, despite an increasingly competitive playing field, there are only two new names, one of which we welcome for the first time into the Tre Bicchieri club: it's Collio's Pighin, whose excellent Soreli (a blend of friulano, ribolla gialla and malvasia) is the culmination of years of commitment and dedication by Roberto Pighin and his team. The other "newcomer" is Valerio Civa, an entrepreneur in the world of wine who, after falling in love with Friuli, founded a new winery in the Colli Orientali a few years ago, and crafted an excellent Sauvignon on his gem of an estate in Bellazoia. Returning to the other awards, the Colli Orientali gave the usual excellent performance, and so did the passionate vintners of Friuli Grave, represented by Le Monde. An important aspect to underline is how many producers are exploring the aging potential of Friuli's great whites. One of the pioneers in this respect was the late Roberto Felluga, who left us prematurely. The award for his excellent Collio Bianco Disôre '18 is also a recognition of the role he played in this respect, and encouragement for his daughter Ilaria, who will now carry on his legacy. A final mention for their macerated wines, which in Gorizia's Karst plateau are now classics, and in some way are the "reds" in a circumstance dominated by whites. This isn't to say that the region's reds aren't interesting wines. Both those from native grapes, like schioppettino and refosco, and those from international varietals are often excellent... Their only problem is that they have such formidable competition so close to home.

Tre Bicchieri 2023: the best wines of Friuli Venezia Giulia

> Discover the Tre Bicchieri 2023 wines region by region