Refosco Wines

The name of the red wine Refosco DOC of Friuli comes from a very old tradition that still today is kept by the  population. The Refosco denomination comes from the word “ràp” branch (bunch) and “fosc” which means dark so “Ràp Fosc”. The vine is also called Refosco and it is native of the Triveneto. It is a very ancient vine in fact there are some documents dated 1347 in the annuals of Udine where is described, together with the Ribolla Gialla, as one of the most prestigious and expensive vines. More than a vine it should be described as a family vines. By the way the Refosco DOC represents the most important and widespread vines used in the production of quality wines. The Refosco with the red peduncle.  This name comes from the peculiar peduncle (that part that connects the stalk of the grapes with the three) which has an intense crimson color. This wine is especially spread in the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia in the Piave area where the bunches become quite big and compact with very resistant and dark berries. It is a very productive vine so the quality of this wine stands out for the cultivation methods and the wine making process. You can find the most prestigious wine in our online wine shop Uritalianwines for a great price. Another reason for the quality of this wine is the production territory which has some wonderful geological and superficial qualities.

The Refosco vine prefers calcareous and clay grounds with good exposition and it is not very sensible to the frosts. In the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia there are 8 DOC produced with single variety wine making (85% - 100 %), and the Refosco name on their labels. The wines are: Carso, Colli Orientali del Friuli, Friuli-Annia, Friuli-Aquileia, Friuli-Grave, Friuli-Isonzo, Friuli-Latisana, Lison Pramaggiore.

Traditionally the Refosco is a fresh wine to be drunk immediately after the alcoholic fermentation. It has simple scents, floral and fruity with a little winy aroma. The most typical version, you can find in the DOC Friuli-Acquileia; in this area there is a variegated ground from the gravel to a calcareous and clay one which is perfect for the Refosco DOC together with the sweeter climatic conditions due to the proximity of the sea and dryness of the Bora wind.

The farmers are lucky because they have a perfect and characteristic fruit that, if simply refined in steel, gives a simple but particularly fine and harmonic wine.

On the contrary in the DOC Colli Orientali del Friuli is produced a more intense and structured wine. 

This territory is full of marl, ideal to give essence and refinement to the wines, and there are used some planting layout of the vines very dense and with severe pruning. Often the grapes are picked over matured and aged in wood barrels. There it takes place also the maleolactic fermentation which permits the development of some fine aromas and winter dry fruit which are the organoleptic characteristics of this wine.

For this reason the result is a Refosco with a great structure and extraction with a deep ruby red color, a complex fruity, spicy and toasted scent always in evolution with the passing of time. The taste of this wine is fresh and sapid with a good balance between the softness and the alcohol. It has between the 13,5° and 14° of alcoholic degrees. The DOC Colli Orientali are more prestigious than the Aquileia ones. This means that already in the normality this vine is excellent than it has be improved more and more in its quality and longevity that it can be compared to the most important Italian typologies.

The Refosco DOC is produced with a 100% single variety of the Refosco with the red peduncle. It is cultivated on overcame grounds mostly clay and sandy in flat lands in the proximity of  the cost where the temperate climate uses the low thermal excursion and the Bora wind to dry the vineyards by removing humidity and mold. In general is a vigorous vine with an optimal constancy. It gives big dimensional grapes with a pyramidal shape with wings. The optimal cultivation method is the sparse one to permit the winds to remove the humidity and to dry the leafs and the bunches during the fructification period. The berries have fine, dark and deep blue colors peel, wonderful and hardly to be reproduced artificially. The bloomy surface in very intense and characterized by an high concentration.

The harvest is strictly hand made during the second week of September by local workers after the selection of the best bunches. The wine making process previews a destemming of the grapes which later are put fermenting in contact to the peels for about 10 days under temperature control. The separation from the peels takes place with a light pressure and the wine obtained remains in a stainless steel tank until it passes across different pouring. Then it has to rest for at least one year to aromatize all the tannic and polyphenol components coming from the grapes maceration.

 Aesthetically this red wine

The Refosco DOC is an excellent wine in terms of quality in every production typologies. It has a warm ruby red color. It tends to be more violet in the aged versions.

The scent of this red wine

It has some elegant fruity flavors such as the black berry, the strawberry and the underbrush which are typical of such a wine as the Refosco. There are some evident flavors of dry fruit like nuts and bitter almond.

The taste of the Refosco

The taste reminds the same flavors of the scent so freshness and fruits with an equilibrated but important presence of tannins typical of this vine. In this case the almond flavor comes out in the aftertaste.

It is perfect with the local course and with aged cheeses such as the Montasio and the Sauris tasty ham. It has to be served at 16°C in a Burgundy wine glass that permits to concentrate its aromas on the top of the glass where it is lightly taken in.

It is suggested the match with rich main courses and also with red roasted meat, chickens, game particularly fat such as the boar salami.