Can Pinot Grigio Age
The Second Edition of Collio Evolution 2026, the official event of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Collio took place in October. Members of the press, both Italian and foreign, were invited to visit wineries in Collio from the 21st to the 23rd. This was followed by tastings and master classes from the 24th to 26th of October in Gorizia and Cormòns. Some of the walk around tastings were also open to the public.
This year Collio Evolution spotlighted Pinot Grigio exploring beyond the grape variety as an expression of its territory. Pinot Grigio was at center stage to reveal its most authentic side: a wine that speaks of its territory and never fails to surprise.
Pinot Grigio came to Italy after the phylloxera plague in Europe in the late 19th Century. It most likely originated in Burgundy and is a genetic mutation of Pinot Noir. It is grown mostly in northeastern Italy. The best examples in my opinion come from Friuli Venezia Giulia’s Collio area.
The soil in Collio, known as Ponca, is made of stratified marl and sandstone of Eocene origin. It crumbles in the hand revealing tiny fossils. The hills of Collio originate from the rising of the sea bottom. The soil makes wines with characteristic minerality and salinity. These are unique wines from a unique soil which are unmistakable for their taste and aroma. Collio is known for its complex and structured white wines.
Photo thanks to Sebastian Salvini of Skok Winery.
Pinot Grigio takes its name from the gray-pink color of the grape skin. It has a straw-yellow color with fleeting grayish reflections and an intense, distinctive bouquet. Pinot Grigio is an international variety and the most planted white grape in Collio, but has been losing acreage as it has been replaced slowly by Malvasia and Ribolla Gialla.
Pinot Grigio is not a white grape as can be seen by looking at the bunches. The must of the grape is basically copper in color, of anthocyanin origin, that does not always persist through bottling. This has to do with the presence or lack of oxygen during fermentation.
Pinot Grigio is a complex and versatile grape variety. Today it is the main exported wine variety in Italy and fourth most cultivated grape.
Orange Wine to White Wine back to Orange Wine
Daniele Cernilli, founder of DoctorWine, led the press-only masterclass “The Evolution of Pinot Grigio in Collio.”
Orange wine goes back to the way Pinot Grigio was made during the time of the Republic of Venice. Ramato, meaning copper, was the term used to describe the color of the wine and some clones of Pinot Grigio can also be copper in color. The traditional vinification process led to the use of this name. The must remains in contact with the skins for 36 hours and this gives the wine a very distinctive coppery hue. The term “orange wine” is used to describe white wine where the juice has had skin contact. This style of wine did not sell on the foreign market.
It was not until the 1960’s that Santa Margherita, thanks to the latest vinification techniques, was able to produce a white wine changing the history of the grape forever. By the 1980’s Pinot Grigio from Italy became so popular that it is looked upon as an Italian grape in the eyes of the world. Today Pinot Grigio enjoys world wine popularity and is the number one grape varietal imported into the USA with over a 40% market share.
On the last day, there was a tasting of 87 Pinot Grigio’s. They could be tasted blind or with the label showing. I chose to see the label as I was interested in the older wines. We were given a list of wines and could check off the wines we wanted to taste 4 at a time. A member of the Associazione Italiana Sommelier (AIS) would then pour the wines for you.
Tasting older Pinot Grigio from 2018 to 1999
Muzic The winery was founded in 1927 by the great-grandparents of the present owners in San Floriano del Collio in the province of Gorizia (Friuli Venezia Giulia). There is hilly terrain of stratified Eocene marl and sandstone and there are 26 hectares of vineyards,
Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 1999 The training system is Guyot. Harvest takes place the first week of September. There is a soft pressing of grapes and cleaning by setting of the obtained must. Alcoholic fermentation for 8-10 days at controlled temperature (16-18°C). Aging on fine lees in steel vats with continuous batonnage from the end of the fermentation period for at least 4 months.
The 1999 vintage represents an early milestone decade of their formal bottling era, and select bottles remain securely stored in their historic 16th-century stone cellar for evolutionary tracking and special archival tastings. The wine has developed into deeply complex, savory white wine with rich aged aromas and flavors with hints of toasted hazelnut, beeswax, wild honey, and a distinct flinty or wet-stone minerality derived from the local ponca soil of Collio.
Colle Duga (Damian Princic) in the heart of Zegla – a location nestled in a remote corner of Collio near Cormons and close to the Slovenian border. This boutique winery founded in 1999 spans roughly 10 to 11 hectares of hillside vineyards situated directly along the Slovenian border. The estate is managed by the winemaker Damian Princic along with his wife Monica and their children.The vineyards grow on the unique regional soil mix called ponca. The Collio Pinot Grigio DOC from the 2018 vintage represents a richer, more structured, and complex style of Italian white wine. Hailing from the hilly Collio DOC region in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (near the Slovenian border) have remarkable depth and minerality. Color ranges from a brilliant straw-yellow to golden-yellow hues. With hints of yellow apple, pear, quince, acacia flowers, citrus, and crushed-stone undertones. This is a very impressive wine.
Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2018 Production area in the municipality of Cormòns (Gorizia) in the Zegla, Novali areas in the heart of the DOC Collio. The training system is Guyot and there are 4,500 to 5,200 plants per hectare. The manual harvest takes place in the middle of September. There is a destemming of the grapes with short skin maceration. The must obtained is decanted only with the help of the cold; one part ferments in French oak barrels, the remaining part ferments at a controlled temperature in steel tanks. The two types are assembled before bottling. Straw yellow color with coppery reflections, typical and intense aroma reminiscent of banana and linden flowers. On the palate full and velvety flavor, good persistence, excellent structure. 
Azienda Agricola Branko is situated in the prestigious Collio DOC district in the village of Zegla, near Cormòns. The estate is managed by the oenologist Igor Erratic and named after his father Branko. There are only 6/7 hectares of vineyards. The grapes are grown on a specific 3-hectare plot within the estate’s hillside vineyards in Zegla, near Cormòns.
Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2019 The vines are densely planted at roughly 5,500 vines per hectare and trained using the Guyot system to control yields and optimize fruit concentration from 100% estate grown Pinot Gris fruit. The bunches are carefully selected and hand-harvested in the early morning to preserve the grapes’ cool temperature and delicate fruit aromatics. The fruit bunches are carefully selected and handpicked. Following temperature controlled fermentation in stainless steel, approximately 10% of the wine undergoes maturation in French Oak barriques prior to being reunited with the parent vinification. This wine appears pale yellow in the glass while releasing intense aromas of sundried hay and stone fruits including green apple and peach. The wine brings a vibrant and crisp fruit finish to the palate.
Borgo Savaian is located in Cormons on stratified marl and sandstone soils benefiting from the temperate climate of the Upper Adriatic, with cold winters and hot, humid summers mitigated by the proximity of the sea. There is row training with Guyot pruning. The vineyards are at 70-100 meters and the exposure is southwest/southeast. Average age of the vines is 15 years. After a gentle pressing of the grapes, the must undergoes static decantation at 12°C, is inoculated, and then fermented at 18°C. The wine remains in stainless steel for 5 to 6 months before release.
Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2016 this is a well balanced wine with hints of melon, grapefruit, orange a touch of pear, and a long finish.
Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2007 this wine was showing it’s age but it was still drinkable.
Renato Keber Azienda Vinicola Renato Keber is located in the prestigious Zegla hills of Cormòns, within the Collio Goriziano wine region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The winery spans 15 hectares near the Slovenian border. The vineyards sit on gently sloping, southeast-facing hills composed of ponca. This nutrient-poor, mineral-rich soil imparts a signature saline complexity, structural depth, and intense age-ability to his wines. Keber uses extended lees aging and patient cellar maturation, frequently holding back his premium whites for several years before release to develop extraordinary complexity, structure, and terroir expression.
Collio Pinot Grigio Reserva DOC 2017 The training system is Guyot. Harvest is by hand with a careful selection of the grapes in early September. There is a delicate destemming of the grapes, light maceration on the skins, soft pressing and controlled temperature fermentation. Removal of the must from the lees takes place at low temperature. Aging on the yeasts for 12 months, 10% of the must is fermented in barrique. This is a full and complex wine with scents of mature fruits, acacia honey, herbs and a touch of white chocolate.
Azienda Agricola Franco Totos is a family-owned winery located in Novali, Cormòns, in the heart of the Collio Goriziano hills in Friuli-Venezia Giulia was founded in the early 1900’s. Situated near the border with Slovenia, between the Julian Alps and the Adriatic Sea. The vineyards grow on traditional ponca soil with a mild microclimate protected from cold northern winds. The training is fruiting cane Guyot. Harvest takes place in early September. There is a soft pressing of the grapes at a controlled temperature. White flowers, pear, citrus fruit, soft and balanced.
Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2015 complex full bodied wine with hints of citrus, fruit, apple pear and a touch of mint.
Collio Pinot Grigio DOC 2008
The wine was showing some age but still very drinkable with hints of apple, pear and candied citrus fruit.
Next time more on the White Wines of Collio