Ronco Severo Pinot Grigio Ramato 2022

Ronco Severo is a small winery in Prepotto, in the Colli Orientali del Friuli of Friuli Venezia Giulia, where Stefano Novello has revived the family business and the region's winemaking traditions. This is a ramato, a coppery skin contact style of Pinot Grigio whose pink tinged skins naturally lend colour. The hillside vineyards of the Colli Orientali sit on marl and sandstone soils known locally as ponca, which give structure and a mineral edge, while the climate balances Alpine cool from the north against Adriatic warmth from the south, holding acidity through ripening. The wine is made with extended skin contact, the juice macerating on the skins to draw out colour, aromatic phenolics and firm tannic structure. It then ages twenty months in large foudres, big oak casks that allow slow oxygen exchange and build texture and savoury depth without overt wood flavour. Farmed naturally and made as a vegan wine, it shows a deep amber colour. The nose is dried apricot, orange peel and almond, with beeswax and dried herbs. The palate is dry and grippy, carrying walnut and an earthy depth to a long, savoury finish. Serve at 13 to 15 degrees in a white wine glass. It pairs well with roast pork and oily fish.