La Viarte

From a young age Giuseppe Ceschin had a great passion for wine, studying enology as soon as he was old enough and traveling around Italy gaining experience working for wineries in various regions. With the support of his wife, Carla, he followed his dream to Friuli, where the couple worked for thirteen long years before seizing an opportunity to purchase 35 hectares in Prepotto, near the border of Slovenia. The land was a long way from ready, but the Ceschins saw their future in it and dedicated the next decade to the hard labor of building terraces and planting new vineyards. In 1984 the family finally celebrated their first harvest and the realization of their dream. They chose the Friulian word for springtime as the name of the estate since it was the beginning of a new era in their lives.

Giuseppe and Carla’s son, Giulio, says that he “grew up with their dream, breathing their passion, which helped me discover the fascinating world of wine.” Giulio and his wife Federica expanded La Viarte to 41 hectares, including 17 hectares of forest that they conserved to maintain the area’s ecological balance. After several decades managing La Viarte, Giulio decided to sell the estate to Alberto Piovan, bringing in outside management to ensure the long-term financial health of the property. Alberto has continued the focus on local heirloom varieties, such as Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, and Schioppettino, and has embraced the passion, perfectionism, and technical capabilities of the Ceschin family. He has shown both his talent and his creative side in bringing exceptional new wines to market recently, such as a lightly sparkling, gently sweet Verduzzo, and deep, complex, incredibly age-worthy Pignolo Riserva. He is also producing some of the best Refosco, Cabernet, and Merlot in Friuli. With the investments Alberto has made in the vineyards and in the talent of his team, this estate is going to continue to be a lot of fun to follow in coming years.

Technical Information

Wine	Blend	Vine Age	Soil Type	Vineyard Area*
Bianco delle Venezie “Incò”	30% Friulano, 30% Sauvignon 30% Riesling 10% Pinot Bianco	16 years, 29-36 years	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	3 ha
Friuli Colli Orientali Pinot Bianco	Pinot Bianco	29 - 36 years	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	2.46 ha
Friuli Colli Orientali Pinot Grigio	Pinot Grigio	16 years. 33 - 34 years	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	2.84 ha
Friuli Colli Orientali Sauvignon	Sauvignon	16 years, 32 - 33 years	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	4.14 ha
Friuli Colli Orientali Ribolla Gialla	Ribolla Gialla	32 - 35 years	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	1.39 ha
Friuli Colli Orientali Friulano	Friulano	32 - 35 years	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	2.97 ha
Friuli Colli Orientali Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso	Refosco	Planted in 1983, 2006	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	1.5 ha
Friuli Colli Orientali Schioppettino del Prepotto	Schioppettino	5 - 7 years, 29 years	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	3.57 ha
Friuli Colli Orientali Merlot	Merlot	15-30 years	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	1.3 ha
Friuli Colli Orientali Rosso Pignolo Riserva	Pignolo	Planted in 1984 and 2001	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	.68 ha
Tazzelenghe	Tazzelenghe	Planted in 1983	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	.90 ha
Bianco delle Venezie “Siùm”	50% Picolit, 50% Verduzzo	30 - 35 years	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	1.71 ha
Venzia Giulia “Arteus”	40% Riesling Renano, 40% Chardonnay, 20% Tocai Friulano	Planted in 1975, 1976, 1929	Eocene Marl and Sandstone	N/A
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

• Vines are sustainably farmed, the equivalent of lutte raisonnée in France.

• Guyot training

• Vineyards face east-southeast

• All grapes harvested by hand

• White wines do not undergo malolactic fermentation

Dry Whites:

• Yields: “Incò” 50 hl/ha

Pinot Bianco 25 hl/ha

Pinot Grigio 50 hl/ha

Sauvignon 30 hl/ha

Ribolla Gialla 55 hl/ha

Friulano 40 hl/ha

• Fermentation and élevage in stainless steel

• Seven-month élevage with the lees stirred twice a week

• One month of bottle aging before release

• Friulano was formerly known as Tocai Friulano

Friuli Colli Orientali Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso:

• Grapes destemmed and sorted before vinification

• Maceration lasts 15 days

• Aged one year in 225-L French oak barriques ranging from first to sixth passage; the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation during this period

• Aged in bottle for 20 months

Schioppettino di Prepotto:

• Yield: 30 hl/ha

• Grapes destemmed and sorted before vinification

• Maceration lasts 15 days

• One year in 225-L French oak barriques ranging from first to sixth passage; the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation during this period

• Aged for several months in stainless steel and one year of bottle aging before release

Friuli Colli Orientali Merlot:

• Wine ages for 12 months in French oak barrique (15% new, remainder 2 to 6 years old)

• Bottle aged for 20 months

Friuli Colli Orientali Rosso Pignolo Riserva:
• Grapes destemmed and sorted before vinification
• Maceration in open-top wood tanks for 12 days
• Aged two years in 225-L French oak barriques (50% new, 50% second passage); the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation during this period
• Aged in bottle for 2 - 3 years

Tazzelenghe:

• An indigenous red Friulian variety; the name means “cuts the tongue”

• Yield: 20 hl/ha

• Grapes destemmed and sorted before vinification

• Maceration lasts 15 days in temperature controlled stainless steel cuve

• Aged for 12 months in new oak barriques, then 6 months in stainless steel

• 2 years of bottle age before release

“Siùm”:

• Late-harvest sweet wine

• Manual harvest with several passages through the vineyards in order to pick the grapes at exactly the right moment

• Grapes are left in a naturally ventilated drying loft for three months before vinification

• Picolit and Verduzzo are vinified together

• Fermentation in used 225-L French oak barriques lasts 10-12 months

• One-year élevage on the lees and two years of bottle aging before release

Venzia Giulia “Arteus”:
• Vines planted at 150 - 180 meters above sea level, SE hillside exposure
• Fermentation in stainless steel tanks, with a small portion in barrique. Grapes are fermented separately
• After fermentation, wine is blended and aged for 7 months on fine lease in stainless steel and barriques for 7 months
• Wine ages in bottle for 1 month before release

MISCELLANEA

“Incò”:

The name “incò” (in-CO) is Friulian dialect for “today.” Giulio chose this name because this easy-drinking wine is meant to be enjoyed young.

Schioppettino di Prepotto:

The native Schioppettino (skyoh-pet-TEEN-oh) is also known as Ribolla Nera. It produces very long bunches of grapes that ripen from the top down when a vine overproduces, so when yields threaten to be too high the tips of the bunches are cut off to keep maturation uniform (a specially adapted style of green harvesting).

This distinctive variety was recently granted its own appellation, Friuli Colli Orientali Schioppettino di Prepotto, and is only found in the small zone of Prepotto and the neighboring Isonzo. Giulio estimates that there is a total of just 70 hectares planted to Schioppettino.

“Siùm”:

The name “siùm” is Friulian dialect for “dream.” The label reads: “… when love calls you, follow it, and when its wings envelop you, abandon yourself to your dreams.”