One of the most anticipated wine shipments for my restaurant this year has been the 2007 Venica e Venica's from Collio in Friuli. Ever since last year's staff trip to Friuli, we've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of these nervy, precise, and aromatic white wines from this small family winery near the Slovenian border. They are here, and they were well worth the wait.

"You will not go wrong with any Venica wine you select, as all are laudable," said Fred Plotkin in "La Terra Fortunata," his thorough and authoritative book on the region. The brothers Gianni and Giorgio run this benchmark Collio winery with their wives and children, which was founded in 1936 by their grandfather Daniele. Gianpaolo (pictured to the right speaking with Chef Lachlan from Frasca at the Venica estate in July 2007) and his siblings are the future of Venica e Venica, and if the 2007's are any indication, it is an exciting future.

Precision and purity of flavor is the mantra here. Inox tanks are the preferred fermenting and aging vessels but the wines are by no means primary or one-dimensional. All of the wines have a certain density and focus about them which leaves me to believe that there is a great deal of attention and care going into the vineyards. In addition to the three wines listed below, please keep a lookout for their benchmark Sauvignon called Ronco delle Mele as well as their Tre Bicchieri winning Tocia Friulano: Ronco delle Cime.

Venica & Venica Collio Friulano 2007
Guava, orange peel, and lime blossom aromatics combine with bosc pear, bergamot, and mineral on the palate. The texture is fleshy while maintaining a clean, precise finish with lingering floral and mineral notes.

Venica & Venica Collio "Jesera" Pinot Grigio 2007
Gianpaolo told us that "Jesera" is a Slovenian word meaning "little lake." It has an attractive, pale salmon, almost copper hue which I wish we would see more often in Italian Pinot Grigio. On the nose there is strawberry, ripe cantaloupe, quince, and cottonwood, but the palate is serious business with intense, stony minerality and a very long, clean finish.

Venica & Venica Collio Ronco del Cerò Sauvignon 2007
This one is very pale straw, almost platinum in color. It features dried hay, fresh apricots, black currant bud nose with apricots, apples, and minerals on the palate. Finally, it expresses firm acidity and is dry with a long, lingering, clean mineral finish. It is the perfect summer sipper.

http://www.venica.it/