The Collio – street of wines

The Collio is the hilly land in the province of Gorizia stretching along the Slovenian border from Dolegna del Collio and the course of the river Iudrio down to the river Isonzo and the hilly outskirts of Gorizia. The nature of the soil, its protected position - due to the Julian Alps blocking cold temperatures from the north - along with the mild weather from the nearby Adriatic sea has favoured vine-growing.

Today, in the Collio many precious and fine wines are produced, which are sought after all around the world. Wines are also produced in the fertile plain crossed by the river Isonzo, from which they take their name. For this reason the Collio has always been an area privileged for growing grapes and making wine (viticulture). The hills are uninterrupted by rows of vines that follow the softness of the contours and link scattered woods and fields.

The particular environmental conditions have favoured the development of viticulture since the beginning of time.

The advent of the Romans gave a major impulse to viticulture due to the introduction of new techniques that gave grapes of better quality. The production of wine, around the third century A.D., was already very well established and subsequently continued during the period of the Serenissima (the ruling kings and dukes) and the domination of the Hasburgs. The Collio was in fact a wine producing zone greatly valued at the time of the Austrian Empire.

The modern system of viticulture started in the second half of the 19th century, thanks to Count Teodoro Latour, who substituted some local vines of poor quality with better ones from France and Germany. During the fourth Congress of Austrian Winemakers (Congresso Enologico Austriaco) it was take the decision to restore the vineyards destroyed by the vine louse, by grafting American vines onto some European plants. This permitted production to thrive again, thanks also to the modifications of the agricultural techniques and technological processes, and above all to the ability of the majority of the business.

This particular situation was common throughout the area, and in 1964 the workers of the area formed the institution of the "Consorzio per la Tutela del Vini del Collio" (Consortium for the protection of the Vines of the Collio). This consortium established regulations concerning production and commerce, and in 1968, due to a decree from the president of the Italian Republic, became known as the "Denominazione di Origine Controllata" Collio Goriziano - Collio (the demarcation of controlled origin, Collio Goriziano). This demarcation was limited to white and red wines produced in the vineyards of the hilly area of the eight communities of: Gorizia, Capriva dei Friuli, Cormòns, Dolegna dei Collio, Farra d'Isonzo, Mossa, S. Lorenzo Isontino, and S. Floriano del Collio.

The high level of quality achieved, appreciated both nationally and internationally, is also partly due to the activity of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Collio. The members must, according to the regulations of self discipline, verify the origin of the product and undertake the chemical analysis before the elected staff can issue the mark of quality. This helps to stimulate the member producers to maintain standards even higher than those that the prestigious wines of the Collio call for. Before 1992 the consortium had a labelling system to verify the clarity and the regularity the wine to clearly inform the customers. But the issuing in 1992 of the law 164/92 (regulations on wine origins) redefined the consortium control methods. However, the mark still remained a symbol for the image, quality and tradition of the Collio.

The fertile ploughed plane of the Isonzo is also a large producer of exquisite wines that receive their own demarcation from the name of the same river. Tourists who are interested and passionate for winemaking can savour such wines at the various small establishments belonging to the Botteghe del Collio (Collio workshops), which can be identified by an external iron sign. This emblem groups a selected group of restaurants and trattorie, where the service is impeccable responding to the requests of refinement that the wines of the Collio demand.

The wines are served in glasses of every type, at the correct temperature and in a calm atmosphere for a pleasant drink. In the more slightly larger trattorie, located along the Wine Road, which winds throughout the pleasant countryside of the hills of S. Floriano at Dolegna, one can discover the local peasant cooking; poor, but no less appetising for those who love simple, genuine and rustic things. Typical plates of the Gorizian style of cooking include the "musetto" (a type of boiled sausage), the "brovada" (white turnips grated and left to ferment in dregs of pressed grapes), the goulash, and the very fragrant omelette of herbs. The vegetables are also very tasty, particularly the potatoes in "tecia" or the fresh combination of chicory and beans. The desserts occupy a particular space in the Gorizian cooking, especially the delicious "gubana" and the local honey.