Ciao Tozi friends!
Join us on a wine discovery, as we highlight some of Italy’s best producers every month featuring a delicious menu of a variety of wines from light and sparkling to rich reds available by the glass. This September we’re showcasing the Friuli Region.
Ribolla Gialla – Tenuta Stella
Tenuta Stella is a small organic winery located in the hills of Collio, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, known for producing high-quality local wines. The estate covers 15 hectares and focuses on native grape varieties with a strong commitment to sustainability and traditional methods.
Their Ribolla Gialla is made from 100% Ribolla Gialla grapes, fermented with natural yeasts in steel tanks, and aged for 10 months partly in stainless steel and partly in French oak. The result is a wine that beautifully combines freshness, minerality, and elegance.
This wine has a bright golden colour with floral and fruity aromas such as apple, peach, white flowers, alongside subtle vanilla, citrus and white pepper notes. On the palate, it’s fresh and vibrant, with a pleasant acidity, light creaminess, and hints of spice and minerality. The finish is clean, dry, and long-lasting.
Very versatile at the table, it pairs well with seafood starters such as our Tuna Tartare, Grilled Octopus, light pasta dishes like our Paccheri with Fresh Devon Crab and even with hearty vegetable soups like our lovely Castelluccio Lentils Soup (both live from 10th of September).
Vitovska – Skerk
Sandi Skerk runs a small, natural winery in the Carso region, continuing the work of his father Boris. Like many producers in the area, Sandi focuses on local white grape varieties and uses natural methods, including wild yeasts and skin contact during fermentation.
His Vitovska is not a full “orange wine,” but more of a rich skin-contact white, with a deep golden colour and softer texture. Unlike many others in the region who use amphoras or concrete, Sandi ferments and ages his wines in oak barrels, which give them a smoother, creamy character and make them more approachable.
The wine is deep and expressive, reflecting the unique Karst terroir; rocky, rich in limestone and iron, and influenced by strong sea winds. On the nose, it offers fresh herbal and floral notes like linden, beeswax and green tea. On the palate, it’s full-bodied and waxy, with salty minerality and great intensity.
Ideal with our Selection of Cured meet and cheeses and mushroom based dishes like our Mushroom, endive and black truffle salad (live from 10th of September.)
Schioppettino –Bressan
This wine is made from 100% Schioppettino grapes, grown on very old vines (some over 120 years) in limestone and iron-rich soil at 40/120 meters above sea level. After a long 30 days skin fermentation, the wine is aged for 48 months in large oak, chestnut, and wild pear barrels, followed by time in steel tanks and bottle before release.
Winemaker Fulvio Bressan, part of the 9th generation of his family’s winery (est. 1726), follows strict natural farming , no chemicals, pesticides or irrigation. His approach is traditional and deeply rooted in respecting the land. Schioppettino is known for its peppery aroma, it also shows floral notes, herbs, and bright red and blue fruits, balanced by high acidity and a medium body.
Goes well with our fantastic Bigoli with Duck and Girolle ragout or Pork shoulder (both available from the 10th of September )
Teran – Skerk
Skerk Teran is a natural red wine made in Friuli Venezia Giulia from 100% Teran grapes. The winery follows traditional, low-intervention methods with no added sulphites, filtering, or clarification. Grapes grow in red, iron-rich soil and are harvested by hand with fermentation taking place in wooden barrels using native yeasts, and the wine is aged for 24 months in large oak casks.
This Teran has a deep ruby colour and offers aromas of ripe cherry, plum, spice, dark chocolate, and a hint of pepper. On the palate, it’s elegant and complex, with silky tannins and flavours of violet, sweet cherry, and a touch of liquorice.
A genuine expression of the Friuli region, this wine is perfect with Rib of Beef, Selection of Cheeses and even with chocolate desserts like our Chocolate Delice.
