The Gorizia Hills ( or ''Collio''; or ''Brda''; ) is a hilly microregion in western

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

and northeastern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It lies on the right bank of the Soča (''Isonzo'') River, north of the Italian town of

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

, after which it is named. The region covers around and has about 7,000 inhabitants, mostly ethnic

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...

, with a small number of Friulian speakers in its westernmost part (in the municipality of Dolegna del Collio). 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 Italian part lies within the boundaries of the province of Gorizia, and it is divided among the municipalities of San Floriano del Collio, Cormons, and Dolegna del Collio. The region is predominately a white

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

producer with Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, Chardonnay, Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio, and Sauvignon blanc being the leading varietals. Red wine is produced under the ''Collio Rosso'' designation and is usually a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.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 classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

'' (DOC) and belong to the Italian wine region of

Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...

. The DOC is located in the province of Gorizia, near the border with

. Some Slovene wine from the region of Brda also carries the designation of ''Collio'' due to their vineyards overlapping across the Italian border.

History

The history of the Gorizia Hills has been influenced by its close Italian- Friulian, Slavic, and Austro-Hungarian ties. Historically part of the Patria del Friuli, then later the County of Gorizia, it was annexed to the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the majority of the region became part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and only a small strip of territory between the villages of San Floriano del Collio and Dolegna del Collio remained in Italy. The boundaries of the traditional wine region thus extended further eastward into what is now

. In the 1970s, the ''Collio Goriziano'' was one of the Italy's leading white wine producers and was a pioneer in producing fresher, more vibrant white wines using winemaking methodology that focused on minimizing skin contact and

oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

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

Geography

The name ''Collio'' is taken from the Italian 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 River in the west, where it borders the Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC, to the Slovene border on the east. The region continues into Slovenia, where it is entirely included in the Municipality of Brda, which extends from the Italian border to the Soča (Isonzo) River. To the south is the Isonzo del Friuli DOC, also in the province of Gorizia. Most of the region's vineyards are centered on the ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' of Cormons. The

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

of the region is composed of calcareous marl and flysch

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

Viticulture and winemaking

The ''Collio Goriziano'' is the fourth-largest DOC in the

in terms of areas planted. It is also the fourth-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. While still low in comparison to the rest of Italy, the yields in the ''Collio Goriziano'' are higher than the 3.5 tons per

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

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

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

), although some quality-conscious producers have lower yields. The winemaker Mario Schiopetto was one of the first to incorporate German/ Austrian winemaking techniques like cold fermentation into white wine production in the ''Collio Goriziano''. Today, winemaking in the region is very technologically advanced, with refrigerated fermentation tanks, pneumatic winepresses, and centrifugation 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, although some winemakers are experimenting with its use and different blends of grape varieties to produce more complex 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