Have you already heard about the Puiatti family? They are on the wine scene more than 50 years now started with Vittorio, Giovanni’s father in the northeastern region of Italy, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia. The winery is situated in Farra d’Isonzo in the sub-region of Collio. Today Giovanni has changed the concept to produce smaller quantities but with passion and a unique philosophy of his. The wines made have lesser alcohol content and no oak aging or fermentation, only uses stainless steel tanks and bottle aging to keep and show the purity and true characteristic of the grape varieties on his land.
First I would like to talk a little bit more about the region itself. Collio is on the north eastern border of Italy with Slovenia and it has been reunified with Italy only after the First World War. The region is famous for its high quality white wines which gives the majority of the production. This predominantly montanious region has the oldest established and best vineyards, perfect to grow Friulano, Malvasia, Picolit, Pinot Bianco or Grigio, Sauvignon blanc, Rhine Riesling and Ribolla Gialla as white wines and some Pinot Néro, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon as red wines. Of course we can find some delicious sparkling wines made out of this varieties in Collio too.
Villa Parens is the imagination and hard work of Giovanni who (as I already mentioned) took over the vineyards from his father Vittorio who started from the 1970s, building a vineyard of 80 hectares and a winery of 800.000 bottles. He brought great innovations that revolutionized white wines and Pinot Noir. Giovanni decided only 6 years ago to focus on exclusivity and began his avant-gardist project in the nineteenth-century family property, Villa Parens, whose name proceeds from the Latin word “parens”, to honor his “ancestors”. Only four varietals, one indigenous (Ribolla Gialla) and three classics (Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Néro), in a precious family estate vineyard on the hills (Ruttars) – one of the most valuable cru – reconverted to a sustainable and reasoned viticulture. He believes that the owner must be the winemaker, to take care of every single detail in person, from the vineyard to the label, and to pursue responsible farming and winemaking techniques, to make a sensible difference and identity. He never mentions the word quality, he speaks of style, philosophy, emotions, pleasure.
He has different ranges in his portfolio, started with the Ruttars cru wines which are varietals from the 4 varieties I have mentioned above under the Venezia Giulia IGP designation.
The sparkling wines made with the traditional method (second fermentation in the bottle). The Blanc de blancs NV is 85% Ribolla Gialla and the rest 15% is Giovanni’s secret. He produces two vintage sparklings from Pinot Néro as well, a Gran Rosé and a Gran Noir.
For the collectors you can find some special release Library Vintages which have been aged much longer in the bottle to gain more complex aromas and flavour characteristics.
And for the real enthusiasts there is the Tribute Edition but only in exceptional years. These wines are not horribly expensive wines but highly enjoyable and great quality wines really showing the true potential of the region, the vineyard and the grape varieties.
“Passion, leads me beyond the limit, continuously searching for something I can’t describe, doesn’t exist, that I can’t wait.” Giovanni Puiatti
The Author
