Collio

Collio is where Friulano is taken most seriously. On the marl-and-sandstone hillsides of Gorizia, hard against the Slovenian border, the grape gives a dry white with more weight and grip than its reputation suggests: ripe pear and yellow apple, white peach, cut herbs, and the bitter-almond bite on the finish that is the variety's signature. It was labelled Tocai Friulano until the European Union reserved the name for Hungary's Tokaj and Italy had to stop using it on 31 March 2007. The grape never changed — only the word on the bottle.