Italy – Petrussa Schioppettino di Prepotto 2011

Domaine and vineyard

Petrussa is one of those companies that have made the history of wine in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The company is based in the municipality of Prepotto (Udine), area of origin of the Schioppettino itself. The primary focus is to a model of integrated cultivation of vines with a very low environmental impact, where they try to protect the environment, the screws and the men who cultivates, produces grapes with no residual chemicals. There is no artificial control of inherbment.

All the works in the vineyards, throughout the year are carried out manually and cultural practices are decided after a careful study of the phenological phases in connection with the seasonal climatic.
The old vineyards were maintained and rearranged, converting the farming training method by double inverted to Guyot, with a charge for very low lives gems so as to produce the vine a few bunches but very high quality.

Petrussa produces its grapes on three distinct vineyards:

- Bivio Romanutti Vineyards (total area under 4.6 ha)

The soil is clay - loamy, slightly acidic, suitable for the production of aromatic white wines for enhancement, while for red varieties here they obtain bodied wines and the upper structure. Currently cultivated varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Tocai Friulano, Schioppettino and Verduzzo.

- Albana Wine property (total area under 2.2 ha).

The land, near the Judrio stream, is characterized by poverty in organic substances, crumbly, with pebbles deposited by the river in ancient times, sufficiently warm, very ventilated, dryness that allows the vine in autumn to accumulate in the berry the greater amount of substances.
It is not uniform, for this it often requires different crop-management techniques in the same plot.
The arrangement of the rows is oriented southeast. In this vineyard they are cultivated Schioppettino and Merlot grapes.

- Santo Spirito Vineyards (planted area 0.7 ha).

Thirty years old vineyard planted to Merlot, Tocai, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay in the high zone of the hills of Prepotto. Very sunny and subjected to the wind from the Balkans. The clay soil mixed to Ponca not rich donates vegetative-productive to the vine.

In the cellar the work is devoted to simplicity, respecting the maximum of the grapes and the work in the vineyard. They produce white and red wines with an equal percentage, wanting to exploit the different features that the different souls of the vineyards, to ensure final uniqueness and complexity of the wine.

The wine

Schioppettino grapes sees their origin, probably in the area of Albana. The story says that in 1282 Schioppettino was consumed on the tables of the most important families, a clear sign of the antiquity of vine which, at the same time preserves its modernity and relevance. Schioppettino is an elegant wine, aromatically expressed with hints of spices in general, where the white pepper and green prevail on the background of wild berries.

The Petrussa Schioppetino Prepotto 2011 is one schioppettino (or Ribolla Nera) in purity. The grapes are normally harvested in late September with manual collection and selection of the grapes in boxes. The maceration lasts for 10 days with frequent pumping over in the early days and decreasing frequency towards the end. Subsequently, the fermentation takes place in steel tanks at a controlled temperature 20/24 ° C for 8 days, with selected yeasts. The wine is aged in barrels for 18 months and completes its refinement with a passage of eight months in the bottle, without being neither fining nor filtration.

Tasting Note

Date	20 Gennaio 2016
Wine name	SCHIOPPETTINO DI PREPOTTO	Vintage	2011
Nation	Italia	Region	Friuli Venezia Giulia
AOC-DOC	COF	Grape Varieties	Schioppettino
Serving temperature	15-16° C	Alcohol	13,5
Price (in euro)	18	SO2 (in mg/l)	Nd

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Full
Color	Ruby red	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Quite consistent	Soft sensations	Warm, Quite Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Quite Tannic
		Flavors intensity	Intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavours	Red berries, pepper
Aroma intensity	Intense
Complexity	Quite Complex	Finish/Persistence	Quite Persistent
Quality	Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Red fruits, White pepper	Development	Ready
	Green pepper	Harmony	Harmonious

Food pairing

Red and white meat, game, mushrooms and young cheese, one among all Frico, typical Friulian product made with cheese and potatoes. It 'also ideal with pasta, especially if made with meat sauce or with vegetable soups. "Blecs" with duck sauce at Schioppettino, or tournedos of beef with the smell of oranges and currants in schioppettino sauce.

Work an autochthone grape variety in purity forces you to create a different taste from that standardized (but not necessarily bad) of the great international varieties. And get away from the standard means to create something that will not necessarily be appreciated by the consumer. Schioppettino is a wine that I like, has a taste all its own that speaks of the territory from which it comes. And Petrussa’s Schioppettino  is really good. And Petrussa is one of those wines that I like to give to friends wine lovers. Especially by foreigners, blanching in realizing that there is more than Merlot and Cabernet on the European wine scene. And that usually appreciate.

Official website: www.petrussa.it