On the last day of our Colli Orientali del Friuli trip, the wine gang took a car ride up to the tippy top of Ramandolo.
What is Ramandolo (rah-MAHN-doh-loh)? It’s the name of a town. It’s also a tiny appellation, the most northern in Friuli, home to only a couple dozen producers.
The Ramandolo DOCG, established in 2001, is a sweet white wine made from dried aka passito grapes. The star player in this grape situation is Verduzzo, an interesting little grape mainly because of it’s high tannins. When applied to a sweet wine, these tannins keep it interesting. Jeremy said it best when he described Ramandolo last year:
“…the best wines allowed the bitterness of the tannins and the sweetness of the residual sugar to play a gorgeous counterpoint harmony in the glass. Where I often find even some of the best dried-grape Moscato to be one-dimensional (think Sicily, think Piedmont), these wines — when done right — show depth and seductive character.”
Most are aged in barrique, but some not, like Giovanni Dri‘s very enjoyable 2008 Ramandolo below.
Look at that color! Ramandolo = liquid gold.
PS- my travel buddy Chris made an awesome map detailing the course of our Friuli adventures. Check it out!