Vodopivec

Friuli, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region at the northeastern tip of Italy bordering on Slovenia, has built its reputation on white wines made from its traditional grape varieties, especially skin-contact wines. To the south of the region, the small region of Carso, in the region of Trieste, has earned its reputation with a few great pioneering winemakers - Paolo Vodopivec at the forefront - who are both ardent defenders of the identity of the terroir and daring innovators.

The family estate, located to the north of Trieste near Sgonico, was taken over by Paolo and his brother Walter in the 1990s. Its 6.5 hectares are entirely devoted the the rare grape Vitovska, highly local and best adapted - according to the winemaker - to the terroir's climate. Farmed organically and biodynamically, the vines are planted at a density of 10,000 plants/hectare, thus cultivated to naturally lower the yields. Vodopivec practices vinifications with maceration, allowing a complete expression of the terroir, an expression that is elevated by a long élevage in an underground cave that is considered an integral part of this same terroir. A quasi-metaphysical quest that results in three different cuvées of Vitovska.