The Gorizia Hills ( it, Collio Goriziano or ''Collio''; sl, Goriška brda or ''Brda''; fur, Cuei) is a hilly microregion in western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies on the right bank of the

Soča The Soča ( in Slovene) or Isonzo ( in Italian; other names fur, Lusinç, german: Sontig, la, Aesontius or ') is a long river that flows through western Slovenia () and northeastern Italy (). An Alpine river in character, its source lies ...

(''Isonzo'') river, north of the Italian town of Gorizia, after which it is named. The region has around 120 square kilometres and 7,000 inhabitants, mostly ethnic

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...

, with a small number of Friulian speakers in its westernmost part (in the municipality of

Dolegna del Collio Dolegna del Collio ( sl, Dolenje; Standard Friulian: ; Southeastern Friulian: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Gorizia in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Gori ...

). Today, the majority of the region is in Slovenia, with around 60% of the territory and 80% of the inhabitants. The Slovene part of the Gorizia Hills lies entirely in the

Municipality of Brda The Municipality of Brda (; sl, Občina Brda, it, Comune di Collio) is a municipality in western Slovenia. It is located in the Slovenian Littoral region, extending from the Italian border to the Soča River. It is bounded by Sabotin Hill () t ...

. The Italian part lies within the boundaries of the

Province of Gorizia The Province of Gorizia ( it, Provincia di Gorizia, fur, Provincie di Gurize; sl, Goriška pokrajina) was a province in the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of Italy, which was disbanded on 30 September 2017. Overview Its capital was t ...

, and it's divided among the municipalities of

San Floriano del Collio San Floriano del Collio ( sl, Števerjan; fur, San Florean dal Cuei) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Gorizia in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Gorizia, on th ...

Cormons Cormons or Cormòns ( sl, Krmin, german: Kremaun) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about west of Gorizia, on the border with Slovenia. Cormons borders the f ...

and

. The region is predominately a white wine producer with Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana,

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For ne ...

, Pinot bianco,

Pinot grigio Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...

and Sauvignon blanc being the leading

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

s. Red wine is produced under the ''Collio Rosso'' designation and is usually a blend of Merlot,

Cabernet franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being use ...

and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Leban ...

.M. Ewing-Mulligan & E. McCarthy ''Italian Wines for Dummies'' pg 132-140 Hungry Minds 2001 In Italy, the Gorizia Hills are designated ''

Denominazione di origine controllata The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica ti ...

'' (DOC) and belong to the

Italian wine Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted for ...

region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The DOC is located in the

province of Gorizia The Province of Gorizia ( it, Provincia di Gorizia, fur, Provincie di Gurize; sl, Goriška pokrajina) was a province in the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of Italy, which was disbanded on 30 September 2017. Overview Its capital was t ...

near the border with Slovenia. Some

Slovene wine Slovenian wine is wine from Slovenia. Viticulture and winemaking has existed in this region since the time of the Celts and Illyrians tribes, long before the Romans would introduce winemaking to the lands of France, Spain and Germany. J. Robinso ...

from the region of Brda also carry the designation of ''Collio'' due to their vineyards overlapping across the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

border.

History

The history of the Gorizia Hills has been influenced by its close

- Friulian, Slavic and

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

ties. Historically part of the

Patria del Friuli The Patria del Friuli ( la, Patria Fori Iulii, fur, Patrie dal Friûl) was the territory under the temporal rule of the Patriarch of Aquileia and one of the ecclesiastical states of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1420, the Republic of Venice acquir ...

, then later the

County of Gorizia The County of Gorizia ( it, Contea di Gorizia, german: Grafschaft Görz, sl, Goriška grofija, fur, Contee di Gurize), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of ...

, it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy after the First World War. After the Second World War, the majority of the region became part of Yugoslavia, and only a small strip of territory between the villages of

and

remained in Italy. The boundaries of the traditional wine region thus extended further eastward into what is now Slovenia. In the 1970s, the ''Collio Goriziano'' was one of the Italy's leading white wine producers and was pioneer in producing fresher, more vibrant white wines using winemaking methodology that focused on minimizing

skin contact Maceration is the winemaking process where the phenolic materials of the grape—tannins, coloring agents ( anthocyanins) and flavor compounds—are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the must. To macerate is to soften by soaking ...

and oxidation.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 187 Oxford University Press 2006

Geography

The name ''Collio'' is taken from the

word ''Colli'', which means 'hillsides' and describes the terrain of the ''Collio Goriziano'' region. The Slovene name ''Brda'' has the same meaning. The Gorizia Hills extend from the

Judrio Idrija ( it, Judrio or ', fur, Judri, Venetian Slovene dialect ''Juruda'') is a border river between Slovenia and Italy. It separates the Gorizia Hills from the Slavia Friulana. It emerges under the Kolovrat ridge and flows southwest towa ...

river in the west where it borders the

Colli Orientali del Friuli The Colli Orientali del Friuli is a ''Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC) located in the Italian wine region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The region is located in the province of Udine and is sub-divided into three main sections; Ramandolo ...

DOC to the Slovene border on the east. The region continues into Slovenia, where it is entirely included in the

, which extends from the Italian border to the

(Isonzo) River. To the south is the Isonzo del Friuli DOC, also in the Gorizia province. Most of the region's vineyards are centered on the '' comune'' of

. The soil of the region is composed of

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

and

flysch Flysch () is a sequence of sedimentary rock layers that progress from deep-water and turbidity flow deposits to shallow-water shales and sandstones. It is deposited when a deep basin forms rapidly on the continental side of a mountain building ...

sandstone.

Viticulture and winemaking

The ''Collio Goriziano'' is the fourth-largest DOC in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia in terms of areas planted. It is also the 4th leading producer in terms of volume, trailing the Friuli Grave, Isonzo and Colli Orientali del Friuli region in production. Over 85% of the ''Collio'' production is in white wine

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see V ...

. While still low in comparison to the rest of Italy, the yields in the ''Collio Goriziano'' are higher than the 3.5

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s an acre average of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia. In the ''Collio'', the yields average around 4.4 tons/acre (77

hectolitre The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...

s/ hectare) though some quality conscious producers have lower yields. Winemaker Mario Schiopetto was one of the first to incorporate

German wine German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of German wine is produced in the state of Rhineland-Pala ...

making techniques like cold fermentation to white wine production in the ''Collio Goriziano''. Today, winemaking on the region is very technologically advance with refrigerated fermentation tanks,

pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek ‘wind, breath’) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air. Pneumatic systems used in industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A centrally located and ele ...

wine press A winepress is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during wine making. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts controll ...

es, and

centrifugation Centrifugation is a mechanical process which involves the use of the centrifugal force to separate particles from a solution according to their size, shape, density, medium viscosity and rotor speed. The denser components of the mixture migrate ...

bottling systems. The objective of most Gorizia Hills winemakers is to maximize the fresh fruit and pure varietal characteristic of the grape. To that extent, oak influence is not widely used in this region though some winemaking are experimenting with its use and different blends of grape varieties to produce more

complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

wine.

References

{{Authority control Landforms of Friuli-Venezia Giulia Hills in the Slovene Littoral Hills of Italy

History

Geography

Viticulture and winemaking

See also

References