Collavini is a boutique, family-owned winery.  The estate comprises 173 hectares under cultivation with vineyards located in Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli.  The terrain is generally hilly and soil is marlstone (calcareous clay) with alternating layers of limestone sand.

Investment and technology, along with a love for Friuli and respect for the characteristics of the fruit, are the hallmark of Collavini’s approach to winemaking. The innovations embraced by Collavini have earned the winery a place at the highest echelon of the region’s winemaking excellence with further room for growth and success.

Investment and technology, along with a love for Friuli and respect for the characteristics of the fruit, are the hallmark of Collavini’s approach to winemaking. The innovations embraced by Collavini have earned the winery a place at the highest echelon of the region’s winemaking excellence with further room for growth and success.

The Collavini story began in 1896 in Rivignano, a small comune (municipality) in Italy’s Friuli region.  Founder Eugenio Collavini supplied wine to the noble families of Udine and to area wine shops. The baton then passed to Eugenio’s son Giovanni, who worked through two World Wars.  After World War II trade boomed.  At the same time, the science of oenology also advanced, bringing a new level of quality to wine in general. It was Giovanni’s son Manlio who noticed the first signs of major changes in the wine industry. He was one of the first to take Friulian wines abroad. In 1966, the winery relocated to Castello Zucco-Cuccanea in Corno di Rosazzo, which was built in 1560. Manlio was one of the first to believe in fermenting Pinot Grigio off the skins, employing this practice as early as 1969.  In 1971, he created Il Grigio, a trend-setting sparkling wine, which was later joined by Ribolla Gialla Brut. This eye toward innovation still guides Collavini both in the vineyards and the winery.  Today, Collavini is managed by Manlio and his sons Giovanni, Luigi and Eugenio.

The Friuli/Venezia-Giulia region is bordered by the Alps to the north separating it from Austria. Slovenia borders the region on the east, and Italy’s Veneto region forms the western border and part of the southern border with the Adriatic Sea. Friuli is a small region, only about two-thirds the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The northern half is very mountainous and gives way to flatter terrain and plains on the way to the sea. The climate is distinguished with very warm days and chilly nights that help maintain a balance in the grape between acidity and sugar levels and allows the grapes a long, slow growing season. In summertime, the average temperature is 73 °F (22.8 °C) with rainfall averaging 60 inches (1,530 mm). Harvest normally takes place in September. The soils of the region vary from the calcium-rich marl and flysch sandstone in the more hilly regions to the clay, sand and gravel in the valley.