Ronco Severo Refosco dal Pendulo Rosso

The DOP Colli Orientali del Friuli comprises, in whole or in part, small municipalities in the province of Udine, in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, near the border with the Republic of Slovenia. This wine-growing area is influenced by the protection of the Alps to the north, the cool breeze from the Adriatic Sea to the south and the sandstone soil known as “ponca” or “flysch” that gives structure and personality to its wines. One of the producers who has managed to make the most of these intrinsic characteristics is Stefano Novello, a winegrower who, once he took over the Ronco Severo winery, converted the entire family estate to organic and enhanced the characteristics of the terroir, working closely alongside the vineyard throughout the process so that the fruit speaks for itself.

In his winery, in the village of Prepotto, he produces a wide range of limited production wines that are a marvel. His Ronco Severo Refosco dal Pendulo Rosso is the fruit of Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso vineyards, a native variety that gets its name from the intense red colour of the stalk that holds the clusters. The vines are not treated with pesticides or synthetic chemicals and they undergo some water stress for better performance. Once the grapes are slightly overripe, they are harvested by hand and sorted into boxes. In the winery, fermentation begins spontaneously thanks to the yeasts present on the skins and no external oenological products are added. The wine is then aged for 20 months in Slavonian oak barrels. Finally, it is bottled during the waning moon without filtering.

Known by natural wine lovers and mainly for his white wines, Stefano surprises us with this red wine made with Friulian red wines’ queen variety. Ronco Severo Refosco dal Pendulo is a wine with significant structure and alcohol content, but without being excessive.