Vino sfuso (s-foo-zo) is a beautiful thing. What is it exactly? It’s bulk wine or, rather, wine by the liter. Genius. One of the many things that Italy does better. Or at all.
Many winemakers offer their fresh, young wine straight out of the tanks. Stop by their cantina and fill up your glass jugs or plastic 2 liter bottles. Any which way, you can load up your car full of wine and head home all for about 10 bucks. It’s great everyday wine for simple meals at home and sitting ’round the fire.
The photos above are of Franco Clementin of Fattoria Clementin in Terzo di Aquileia. He offers two sfuso wines, one white (tocai friulano) and one red (merlot.) Franco’s main work is for his bottled wine under the label Broili. The wines are lovely and a true expression of the Friuli region and its best varietals; refosco, traminer aromatico, verduzzo…and the standout for me was the cabernet franc. It was herbaceous and seriously “earthy” without any heaviness. Full of tarragon and grass and cedar. Light but very expressive. [There are many French varietals grown in Friuli and they have been growing there for a very long time. So much so that Friulian wine has become synonymous with not only the autochthonous grapes refosco and schioppettino but of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.]
Ahhh, wine by the fire. A perfect night if you ask me. And with a trunk full of vino sfuso…too good to be true.
{ 4 comments }
