Bastianich, grandi vini del FriuliThe Bastianich winery was founded in 1997 near Cividale del Friuli, in the heart of the designation Colli Orientali del Friuli. This name is well known to us, we are talking about the famous showman Joe Bastianich, who became famous as a judge of the TV program Masterchef. A strong personality is that of Joe, who spent his childhood in the New York restaurants run by his father Felice and his mother Lidia, a talented chef who deserves credit for having created a real recognized phenomenon of the American culinary scene.
It is from the passion for the world of wine and the desire to reunite with the roots that in 1997, mother and son, veterans of work experience in New York and the great entrepreneurial spirit, decided to start their own wine production in their land of origin, Friuli. So in 1997 the Bastianichs planted the first vineyards in Cividale del Friuli and in Buttrio, areas of the Colli Orientali del Friuli denomination, a very popular area, probably the best in Italy for the production of white wines. The first vineyard is located on the hills of Buttrio and Premariacco, in the southernmost area of the denomination and therefore the warmest.
The heat and the presence of the sea allow a good ripening of the grapes giving more full-bodied and structured wines. The second vineyard, located on the hills of Cividale del Friuli, is influenced by the bora, the cold wind from the north. This determines good temperature variations between day and cold nights, giving the wines great elegance and a good aromatic set. However, perhaps the most significant element of the terroir of this area, the one that gives the Collio wines the most typical character is the "ponca" of which the land is made: we have predominantly clayey marls ("ponca" in the Friulian language) alternating with sandstone layers (calcified sands). The soil is rich in limestone and mineral salts such as potassium and phosphorus. Particular and delicate terroir, it gives the wines the unmistakable aromatic mineral kit, together with a great elegance.
