The Collio Goriziano: Vineyards and Border Flavours

There is a corner of Friuli where the hills roll with the grace of the Piedmontese Langhe but without a single tourist coach on the horizon. The Collio goriziano is a blessed strip of land extending between Gorizia and the Slovenian border — a succession of rounded ridges where the vine has reigned for centuries. Here some of Italy's finest white wines are produced — Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Collio Bianco — in a landscape that looks as if it were painted by a patient watercolourist.

The journey through the Collio ideally begins in Cormòns, the area's wine capital. Piazza Libertà, with its Habsburg arcade, tells a story of the borderlands: Italian, Slovenian and Friulian are spoken here with equal ease, and the names on shop signs mix Latin and Slavic roots. The Enoteca di Cormòns on the main square is the perfect starting point: over two hundred local labels to taste at the counter, guided by the passionate advice of staff who know every vineyard and every winemaker in the territory.

From Cormòns you climb into the hills. The road to San Floriano del Collio winds through ordered rows of vines alternating with small oak and cherry woods. San Floriano is a handful of houses around a church with a pointed bell tower, with views spanning out to the Julian Alps. From here departs one of the Collio's finest trails: the Sentiero dei Ciliegi, a two-hour walk crossing vineyards, cellars and rural hamlets where time seems frozen in the 1950s. In spring the blossoming cherry trees create a white and pink canopy that rivals the Japanese hanami.

Visiting the cellars is the heart of the hillside experience. Don't expect the polished tastings of the grand maisons: here you knock on the farmer's gate and descend into the cellar with the producer, who tells you about the vineyard vine by vine. Cellars not to miss: Raccaro in Cormòns, where the Friulano reaches heights of mineral elegance; Princic in Pradis, for the macerated Ribolla Gialla that was the flag of orange wines before they became a trend; and Gravner in Oslavia — the legendary Josko Gravner, who vinifies in Georgian terracotta amphorae, producing wines that divide critics but leave no one indifferent.

Oslavia deserves a long stop. This tiny borgo a few kilometres from Gorizia was completely destroyed during the First World War — the hill was a stronghold contested between Italians and Austro-Hungarians — and the ossuary crowning the ridge holds the remains of over fifty thousand soldiers. The visit is moving and necessary: walking between the vineyards knowing that beneath those orderly rows the earth is still saturated with shrapnel and memories puts every glass of wine in a different perspective.

For dining in the Collio, the choice runs from rustic trattorie to restaurants that have elevated border cuisine without betraying it. La Subida in Cormòns is an institution: the menu changes with the seasons and ranges from crispy frico with polenta to Slavic-tradition ćevapčići, through risottos of wild herbs. All accompanied by a wine list that is an encyclopaedia of the territory. For something more informal, Osteria Al Ponte in Gradisca d'Isonzo serves traditional Friulian dishes at honest prices in a lively setting where local regulars debate harvests and football with equal passion.

Gradisca d'Isonzo, just outside the Collio but too close to ignore, deserves at least a couple of hours. The fifteenth-century Venetian fortress has been restored and hosts quality temporary exhibitions. The historic centre, with its Renaissance palaces and craft workshops, has a discreet charm that makes no bid for the tourist's applause.

The Collio goriziano is a territory to travel slowly — best by bicycle or on foot, pausing at every cellar, every viewpoint, every borgo that appears around a bend. It doesn't have the numbers of the Langhe, the crowds of the Chianti, or the prices of Franciacorta. It has something rarer: the authenticity of a place that produces excellence without feeling the need to shout it to the world. Those who love wine and silence will find their paradise here.

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