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Collio Bianco
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Classification: DOC (Denominazione d'Origine Controllata) / Quality wines produced in a specific region).
Color: Straw yellow of varying intensity.
Region of production: The Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in the far north-east corner of Italy (the Gorizia area).
Minimum alcohol content: 11%
Grapes used: Blends of local grapes (Chardonnay, Malvasia Istriana, Müller Thurgau, Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio, Riesling italico, Riesling renano, Ribolla gialla, Sauvignon, Tocai friulano and Traminer aromatico). |
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The area in which Collio DOC wines (Denominazione d'Origine Controllata) / Quality wines produced in a specific region)are made extends along the band of hills that runs northward from the town of Gorizia along the border between Italy and Slovenia. In the distant geological past this area used to be covered by a sea that deposited sediments of clay and sand millions of years ago, creating a fertile soil highly suitable for growing wine grapes. It is probably the fortunate combination of rich soil and a mild climate that renders the Collio denomination wines so mellow and delicate.
The main pride of the area is the fragrant white wines, including the Collio goriziano. The wine producers masterfully blend the grapes in various proportions, imbuing the final product with different tonalities, notes and flavors, depending on the percentages and combinations of local grapes employed. The basic characteristics of the grapes ensure a wine that is dry, mellow and pleasantly fresh. The perfect balance of the Collio Bianco wine is the characteristic that makes it so versatile - great with everything from antipasti to main courses.
Served at a temperature of 8-10 °C, while still young it goes especially well with shellfish salads, raw seafood, shrimp cocktails and antipasti featuring various mollusks. In order to obtain the 'riserva' designation, the Collio wine must be briefly aged "in barrique", that is, in a wooden cask. This process refines the wine, bringing out all its complex, aromatic notes of mature fruit, while fortifying its structure and alcohol content (12%). It should be drunk at a slightly higher temperature (between 12 and 16 °C) and served with a first course of fish, like Spaghetti with lobster and artichokes. Thanks to its outstanding intensity, persistence and bouquet, provided by grapes like Traminer and Malvasia, it is ideal for dishes flavored with aromatic herbs and spices; recipes like rabbit in white wine and tarragon or curried chicken.
Always drunk from a tulip-shaped glass, the various types of grape that have been brought together to make the Collio Bianco blend harmoniously to create flavors and bouquets that are never completely the same, but it is always silky against the tongue and palate, imbued with a full roundness that lingers pleasantly in the mouth for a long time. Thanks to its solid character and rich bouquet, this wine is excellent with fish poached in a light sauce or roast Guinea hen.
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