Step into a retail wine shop. Scroll through an online site. Open a restaurant wine list. What do you see? A selection of wines all grouped together by country of origin.
This is a system created by and for the people who sell wine. The retail store clerk. The sommelier. It reflects how they are trained. The course materials for all professional certifications are standardized in this way. It also reflects how the wine industry is structured. Importers and distributors are mostly small businesses built on personal relationships, language fluency, and a deep knowledge of the regions and producers they represent. As a result, they often build their portfolios on the wines from a single country. This classification scheme is so entrenched that few wine professionals think to question it.
There is no malice here, no conspiracy to thwart the desires of hopeful wine drinkers, no plan to complicate wine in order to protect the jobs of store clerks and sommeliers. But this blinkered approach ultimately works to the detriment of consumers.
Lumping every wine from a given country under one national banner encourages the mistaken impression that they are all very much alike, or at least more like each other than wines from elsewhere. The risk is that you might reject all wines with a common origin on the basis of a single negative experience. A single positive experience should lead you to seek out other similar wines. But would you be more likely to find a match from a different region a thousand kilometers distant or from a nearby vineyard inconveniently situated on the wrong side of a national border?
In the northeast of Italy one finds the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Within lies the province of Gorizia and the appellation Collio Goriziano. Its twin, Goriška Brda, is just across the border in Slovenia. The two even share a name. In English, both translate to “the hills of Gorizia”. This is a land blessed by Nature and a benevolent God, ideally suited to the production of world class white wine. The towering peaks of the Julian Alps rise to the north, holding back the coldest of the northern winds. Warm sea breezes blow in from the Adriatic to the south, helping to create the diurnal temperature variation so essential to preserving acidity and aromatic complexity in the grapes. The vineyards are planted on steep, terraced hillsides with sun-drenched southern exposures. The bedrock that lies underneath is Eocene flysch, a stratified mix of clay marl and sandstone formed by an ancient seabed some fifty million years ago. The soil is rich in minerals with good water retention, imparting an intense salinity and complex minerality.
The wines from Gorizia have been prized for centuries. Livia Augusta, wife of the Roman Emperor Augustus, lived to the extraordinary age of eight-six, attributing her longevity to drinking the wines from this region exclusively. A feudal land lease and tithe agreement dated 1336 allowed for the payment of rents in the form of barrels of wine in lieu of gold or silver coinage. A major land registry and tax reform initiative instituted by the Hapsburg Empress Maria Theresa resulted in the publication in 1786 of the Wine Classification of the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca. The region’s vineyards were ranked by market price and the perceived quality of their wines into nine categories or crus. This classification system predated similar efforts in Bordeaux and Burgundy by nearly a century.
The line that currently divides what was for many centuries one region was established in 1947, imposed on Italy by the victorious allies following the end of World War II. Gorizia was partitioned, with the new border literally bisecting some established vineyards. In practical terms today, however, that border no longer exists. Slovenia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, and joined the European Union in 2004. Both grapes and vineyard owners can move freely across the border once again, and the region is producing some of its best wines ever. Unfortunately the political boundary that once divided families and vineyards is functionally preserved by a system of wine sales and distribution that treats nation-states as the sole framework for exploring wine.
Humanity and wine have a shared history dating back thousands of years. Nation-states and national borders are a relatively recent phenomenon. As you seek out that next great bottle, I encourage you to consider those factors that often transcend national borders – geographical features, soil geology, climatic influences, and common grape varieties. If you enjoyed a Friulano from Collio, try a Jokat from Brda. It’s a good start.
WINE(S) OF THE WEEK
2021 Azienda Agricola Gradis’Ciutta Collio Friulano
2022 Blažič Goriška Brda Jakot
The Blažič is brash. Wild. Unrestrained. The Gradis’Ciutta is its calmer counterpart. Composed. Congenial. Possessed of a quiet generosity.
Sauvignonasse. Sauvignon Vert. Zeleni Sauvignon. Tocai Fruilano. Tokaj. Friulano. Jokat. This grape is known by many names. That last one is an inside joke. In 2005 the EU awarded Hungary the sole use of the name Tokaji for its admittedly famous sweet wine. Some winemakers in the region still haven’t gotten over it. “Jokat” is Tokaj spelled backwards.
Friulano is possessed of a lively acidity and rarely sees oak. Cooler sites and certain clonal variations may produce more pronounced aromatics.
WINE REFERENCE OF THE WEEK
Johnson, Hugh, and Jancis Robinson. The World Atlas of Wine. 8th ed., Mitchell Beazley, 2019
Yes. OK. After that tirade above it may seem odd for me to recommend a wine atlas. Credit where credit is due however. Within the pages for “Friuli” there is a lovely map of Friuli and western Slovenia which includes both Collio and Brda. Besides, maps are pretty. And not entirely useless. This is an essential reference book for your personal wine library. Hugh and Jancis are legends. They have both forgotten more than most people know about wine. Be sure NOT to run right out and buy the 8th edition; the 9th edition will be released in early October in the US and you only want to pay for this once.