TIPICAMENTE FRIULANO Friuli Venezia Giulia Region at the
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TIPICAMENTE FRIULANO Friuli Venezia Giulia Region at the
TIPICAMENTE FRIULANO Friuli Venezia Giulia Region at the LONDON INTERNATIONAL WINE FAIR 17 - 19 MAY 2011 Tipicamente Friulano and the wines of Friuli Venezia Giulia will be presented from Tuesday 17 to Thursday 19 May 2011 at the London International Wine Fair 2011 in a collective coordinated by ERSA, the Regional Agency for Rural Development of Friuli Venezia Giulia. A dozen of wineries, representative of the regional territory, will hold the Friuli tasting desks (area B60 D60), there are also two common locations that will assemble the seven Friuli’s DOCs. Inside the area there will be a tasting room for a total of 16 sites with a rich programme that will be attended by experts, journalists, sommeliers that will be guided through the paths of sensory analysis of Friuli wines, paired with some regional excellent-food: the San Daniele ham, the Montasio cheese. Tipicamente Friulano is everything that this land, so generous and proud, can generate. From its farmlands, mountains, seas. Every product grown and processed in the farms and firms of this territory is Tipicamente Friulano. On top of that, Friuli Venezia Giulia can also boast a food and agricultural heritage that is intact and authentic, genuinely rich in history. In two words, Tipicamente Friulano. Tasting Programme FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA, STAND B60 – D60 Tuesday 17th May H 14.30: DOC Friuli Annia e Latisana Wednesday 18th May H 11.30: DOC Friuli Isonzo H 14.00: DOC Colli Orientali of Friuli H 16.00: Collio Bianco Thursday 19th May H 11.30: DOC Friuli Aquileia H 14.00: DOC Friuli Grave Servizio promozione, statistica agraria e marketing Via Sabbatini 5 - 33050 Pozzuolo del Friuli (UD) Tel. 0432.529219, fax. 0432.529202 A little history Tocai Friulano, Hungarian Tokaji , Tokay d’Alsace, Sauvignonasse or Friulano? The history of Tocai friulano is a rather complex one, and one that is easily confused with that of Hungary’s Tokaj. According to some historical documents, it seems that the Tocai friulano variety was imported from Friuli into Hungary at the time of the Kingdom of King Béla IV; other documents attest that the same king called on Italian and French experts to produce a wine called “Furmint”, which is the name of the variety most prevalent in Hungary’s Tokaji, which is a blend of different grape varieties. A third hypothesis is that in 1623 Aurora Formentini, a local noblewoman who married Count Batthyány and went to live in Hungary, bringing along the grape variety typically grown in S. Floriano, also known at the time as Formint, that later became associated with the name Tokaji, in taking the name of the area in which it had been planted. In reality the origin of the Tocai friulano grape variety is very different and recent studies have finally shed light on this subject. Beginning in the ’70s at the Enological school of Conegliano there began a clone selection process of the variety which led to the realization that the Tocai friulano variety shared similarities with the Sauvignon variety, something that had already been documented many decades earlier by other luminaries who didn’t quite have the technological aid that modern day scientists can rely on. Subsequently, Dna analysis revealed that the Tocai friulano variety is in fact the same as France’s Sauvignonasse, once very common in the area of Bordeaux but now almost extinct form French soil. Sauvignonasse probably arrived into Italy via imports from France, perhaps at the same time Sauvignon was also imported, at the time in the mid XIXth century when the French varieties were being first imported into Friuli Venezia Giulia. And clearly, Hungarian Tokaj and Friuli’s Friulano wines have nothing in common. Friulano is always a dry wine, fresh and usually light, with a delicate aroma and flavours highly reminiscent of almonds; the Hungarian version exists in many different styles and degrees of sweetness from dry (Szàraz) to off-dry (éder), but is most famous, throughout history, for its intensely sweet, dessert-wine style version. From Tocai to Friulano: what’s in a name? In 1993, the European Community outlawed the use of the word Tocai beginning with the 2007 vintage for all such wines made in Friuli, on the basis that the word Tocai is really too similar to “Tokaji”. In fact, France had already stopped labelling its wines made with Pinot gris as Tokay d’Alsace. Interestingly, though the Italian wine is now called simply Friulano, the name of the grape variety remains Tocai friulano. Characteristics of the Tocai friulano grape variety The cluster is semi compact, cylindrical, with one or most often two wings. The thin skinned berries are round and contain generally two pips. It is a late ripening variety, and prefers dry soils that do not run too deep, such as those in seven of Friuli’s DOCs: Collio Colli Orientali del Friuli Friuli Annia Friuli Aquileia Friuli Grave Servizio promozione, statistica agraria e marketing Via Sabbatini 5 - 33050 Pozzuolo del Friuli (UD) Tel. 0432.529219, fax. 0432.529202 Friuli Isonzo Friuli Latisana The wine Friulano is most often drunk young and fresh, characterized by a pale straw yellow-green hue and a very refined aroma and flavour profile. The aromas run from thyme to chamomile to hay, white flowers and minerals. There is also often a hint of almond, which is usually much more evident on the palate, where depending on the ripeness of the grapes the wine can taste of fresh white flowers but also of riper yellow and tropical fruit. It can also be oak aged, though care has to be taken not to allow the oak to dominate Friulano’s delicate characteristics. Wine and food Friulano is perfect as an aperitif, and is in fact the wine that will be most often served in a tajut, Friuli’s typical small trattoria glass. It is excellent on light antipasti and both vegetable and fish main courses, and of course, oak aged versions can stand up to white meat as well. It’s food-match made in heaven though is undoubtedly with prosciutto di San Daniele, as the acidity of the wine will delicately cleanse the fattiness of the wonderfully sweet meat, and its almond notes will bring out the nuttiness of the prosciutto as well. If you want to try it on the wonderful hearty local cuisine, then don’t miss out on a glass of Friulano with “frico”, a fried cheese wedge that is heavenly, or with “cialsons” , the most famous of which are from the Carnia sub-region of Friuli, ravioli styled pasta that can be filled with herbs or even plums and raisins, depending if they are meant as a main course or as dessert. Last but not least of course, the region’s many fish preparations, such as mussels, crab, or simple white fish … maybe fished right out of the lagoons of Marano or Grado. Servizio promozione, statistica agraria e marketing Via Sabbatini 5 - 33050 Pozzuolo del Friuli (UD) Tel. 0432.529219, fax. 0432.529202