Nec-otium “Cav. Luigino Balozio” Cuar Friulano Colli Orientali del Friuli 2024
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The Land
These wines come from the Colli Orientali del Friuli, the range of hills in Italy's far northeast that runs up to the Slovenian border, long regarded as one of the country's greatest white-wine terroirs. The Cuar vineyard sits around Corno di Rosazzo, on the region's signature soil, ponca: layered marl and sandstone laid down on an ancient seabed, poor and fast-draining, that gives Friulian whites their minerality and cut. The climate is a meeting point of cool Alpine air from the north and warmer Adriatic breezes from the south, which lets white grapes ripen slowly and hold their acidity. Friuli's eastern hills are, by wide agreement, one of the two or three finest white-wine zones in Italy.
The Wine
100% Friulano from the Cuar vineyard. Friulano, once called Tocai, is the signature white grape of Friuli, and on ponca it makes a wine of quiet substance rather than showy aromatics. It is vinified in the classical Friulian way, focused on purity and freshness. Expect ripe pear, yellow apple, almond, and white flowers, with the grape's telltale note of bitter almond skin on the finish, over a broad but dry, mineral, faintly salty palate. There is a gentle waxy weight here balanced by real freshness. This is the wine locals drink with lunch, and a benchmark by which Friulano is judged.
The People
Nec-otium is a Friuli négociant project with an unusual philosophy: each wine is grown and vinified in the cellar of the grower who farmed it, so every bottle stays true to its own place and hands. It comes from the world of Ronco del Gnemiz, one of Friuli's benchmark estates, run by Serena Palazzolo and Christian Patat. The Cav. Luigino Balozio wines are a project of the next generation of that family, farmed and made in the Colli Orientali with the same commitment to precise, mineral Friulian whites the family is known for.
Food Pairing
Friulano is the classic partner for Friuli's own prosciutto di San Daniele and Montasio cheese, and that is the place to start. Beyond that, pour it with roast chicken, with frico, the crisp Friulian cheese-and-potato dish, with pork or veal, or with brothy soups and risotto. Its almond note and dry weight also handle richer fish. Serve it cool but not cold. The kind of white that makes an everyday lunch feel like a proper meal.
We ship wine to most states with a $100 minimum order for shipping. We don't ship spirits nor beer.
Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
Friulano is a native white grape of northeastern Italy, especially tied to Friuli-Venezia Giulia, where it’s been grown for centuries under various names. Once called Tocai Friulano, it was renamed after a legal dispute with Hungary over Tokaji. The grape thrives in the region’s marl and sandstone soils, producing wines with notes of almond, pear, and fresh herbs, often with a gentle, bitter finish. Depending on site and winemaking, Friulano can range from crisp and lean to broader, more full-bodied styles with texture and depth.
Friulano
"Unknown" farming method indicates that the specific vineyard practices used to produce the wine have not yet been clearly identified or verified. Due to limited publicly available information, complexity of research, or lack of transparency from certain wineries, it can sometimes be challenging to accurately categorize each vineyard's farming practices. Our team is actively working to research and update our records to provide the most accurate information on every wine we offer. We understand the importance of transparency and sustainability and strive to categorize and communicate farming methods as quickly and comprehensively as possible.
