Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The soils of the appellation belong to the «Flysch di Cormòns», made up of alternating layers of marl (calcareous clay) and sandstone (calcified sand), known in Friulian as «ponca».
• Ponca crumbles quickly into flaky fragments that then decalcify and change colour until they dissolve into clay soil, and the marls contain 40-60% limestone.
• The easy erodibility of the marl soils forced winegrowers to terrace the hills to plant vineyards while avoiding the wearing away of the slopes, making terraces a feature of the area.
• The vineyards are planted at between 100 and 400 metres above sea level, mostly on terraced hills, with some plantings on flat or gently sloping ground.
• The ring of the Julian Prealps to the north of the hill zone shelters it from cold northerly winds, while the proximity of the Friulian plain and the sea, less than 40 km away as the crow flies, moderates temperature swings.

• Count Fabio Asquini of Fagagna wrote a marketing treatise on Picolit wine over 250 years ago and, though himself a teetotaller, undertook large-scale trade in it in 1762 to the principal courts of Europe.
• The wine's revival, after the long decline that followed Count Asquini's death, is largely due to the work of the Perusini family, owners of the Rocca Bernarda estate in Ipplis di Premariacco.
• Harvesting generally takes place late, with slight overripening on the vine or light drying on racks in vintages where climatic conditions allow it.

• Picolit wine is yellow in colour, often bright gold, old gold, or almost amber after some years of ageing.
• The nose is elegant and recalls a honeycomb full of wildflower honey, with a broad bouquet offering a range of aromatic nuances of field flowers.
• The palate is described as sweet-yet-not-sweet, of noble breed, aristocratic, extremely long in its constantly shifting sensations.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A0938
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Tutela Vini Friuli Colli Orientali e Ramandolo