Le Monde Wine Tasting Dinner in Cumbria

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Wine Tasting

Le Monde

Le Monde Wine Tasting Dinner in Cumbria At a recently held Le Monde wine-tasting dinner in Cumbria, we imagined ourselves in Italy, specifically the area of Friuli known as Friuli Grave. This territory is sandwiched between the Alps to the north, with Venice and the Adriatic coast to the south. It’s an enormous flat plain created over millennia by alluvial …

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Gravner New Solutions Announcement

Paul Howard Articles, Biodynamic, Blog, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Sustainability

Enokube Gravner new Solutions

Gravner New Solutions Announcement In Part 2 of my previous three-part article about Joško Gravner, published over the summer of 2024, I mentioned that Gravner was experimenting with new maturation technologies to complement his use of Qvevri amphorae. However, a promise was not to reveal these commercially sensitive details until Gravner’s formal announcement. Hence, today’s press release officially heralds these …

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Two More Bright Stars From Tenuta Stella

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Organic, Sustainability

Tenuta Stella

Two More Bright Stars From Tenuta Stella I wrote an article on Tenuta Stella in the Collio Gorizia in June 2024. This featured their excellent Malvasia Istriana wine. You can read about that here. I also promised a further article about two other wines from this excellent organic winery at that time. These are equally bright stars, namely their Friulano …

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Amber is Gravner’s Colour: Joško Gravner, Part 3

Paul Howard Articles, Biodynamic, Blog, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Sustainability

Gravner Amber Wines

Amber is Gravner’s Colour: Joško Gravner, Part 3 Part 1 of this article (Back to the Future) describes how Joško Gravner’s Amber wines originated. Then, Part 2 (Qvevri Revolution) delved into his revolutionary use of Qvevri, which had never been seen outside their Georgian homeland. Consequently, in Part 3 (Amber is Gravner’s Colour), it’s time to focus on the wines …

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Qvevri Revolution: Joško Gravner, Part 2

Paul Howard Articles, Biodynamic, Blog, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Sustainability

Gravner and new Qvevri

Qvevri Revolution: Joško Gravner, Part 2 In Part 2 of the article on Joško Gravner, we will delve into his truly unique and revolutionary use of Qvevri. This technique wasn’t seen beyond Georgia until he adopted it in Italy. In Part 1 of this article (Back to the Future), we witnessed Joško Gravner’s remarkable resilience and innovation. After losing an …

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Tenuta Stella – a Bright Star in the Collio Heavens

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Organic, Sustainability

Tenuta Stella

Tenuta Stella – a Bright Star in the Collio Heavens Tenuta Stella is a young, certified organic Italian winery. It’s in the far northeast of Italy, in the crescent-shaped Collio DOC at Dolegna. Dolegna is one of the five unofficial subzones in the Collio DOC, being closest to the Alps and featuring some of the highest elevations. It also has …

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Joško Gravner, Part 1: Back To The Future

Paul Howard Articles, Biodynamic, Blog, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Sustainability

Gravner 1901 Fondatore

Joško Gravner, Part 1: Back To The Future As we approach the 100th Anniversary of Biodynamics in June 2024, I couldn’t help but wonder how best to celebrate this Centenary. But then came an invitation to visit Joško Gravner in the Collio Goriziano region of Italy, which borders Goriska Brda in Slovenia. This visit was a long-held wish from when …

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Yuletide drinking – a dozen wines for Christmas 2023

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Calabria, France, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Greece, Italy, Lombardia, Organic, Portugal, Puglia, Spain, Sparkling Wine, Sustainability

Yuletide Card 2023

Yuletide drinking – a dozen wines for Christmas 2023 I hope you like my Yuletide card to you all! Like last year, I remain mindful that living costs stay off the scale. However, unlike the previous year, there’s no overall price cap, but each category includes a “budget” wine. No compromises have been made regarding excellence and value in recommending …

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Distinctively Different Collio Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Pinot Grigio - distinctively different

Distinctively Different Collio Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio This final report from the Collio DOC features two world-famous grape varieties. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio are now household names. Both enjoy huge recognition and commercial success worldwide. Accordingly, both of them have also become popular in the vineyards of Collio DOC. Here, the hillside terroir and Ponca soil create excellent varietal …

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Friulano – Friuli’s Favourite, Collio DOC

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Organic, Sustainability

Friulano

Friulano – Friuli’s Favourite, Collio DOC Of all the many authorised grape varieties in the Collio DOC, only Tocai Friulano is grown by all, accounting for a relatively large 15% of the vineyard area. Some of the most outstanding examples of varietal Friulano wines are from the hillsides of the Collio DOC, and it’s usually an essential contributor to the …

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