The story of the Zorzettig family’s connection with wine begins more than 100 years ago, on the hills of Spessa di Cividale in the heart of Friuli’s Colli Orientali (Eastern Hills), an ideal place for viticulture thanks to its unique terroir and microclimate.

Those who approach our world are fascinated by the diversity reflected in our gestures and habits, and by a landscape that appears wholly unspoilt.

The Colli Orientali del Friuli area naturally lies in an optimal geographical position for winegrowing, protected as it is from the cold winds of the north by the Julian Alps, and influenced by the beneficial breezes of the Adriatic Sea.

There is an old Italian saying “Nela botte piccolo c’c’ il vino buono” — literally translated it says, “In the small barrel, there’s the good wine”. Zorzettig produces just over 60000 cases of wine every year, which pales in comparison to the large mechanically atomized producers that have annual production in the multiple millions of cases. The winery was established one hundred years ago and for the last seventy years they have bottled wine. Starting thirty years ago several improvements were brought about in vineyard management, which included the gradual requalification of native vineyards and the improvement of the winemaking and bottling techniques.

The old wine cellar, which dates back to 1780, has been completely renovated retaining the original stone features. Controlled temperature is maintained during every stage of the winemaking.

In 2010 a new cutting-edge bottling line was added to control the amount of oxygen present in the bottles in order to prevent premature oxidation, as well as nitrogen blanketing to preserve the wine.

An environmentally friendly attitude has been a crucial part of the everyday lifestyle for every generation of the Zorzettig family, well before it became popular with other wineries. Utmost respect for the land is a well-rooted value in their lives. It has taken eras for the soils and microclimates to develop into the wonderful hills of Spessa di Cividale as is known today.

To enhance biodiversity in the vineyards, they have once again introduced olives trees. Cultivation had completely disappeared in all of Friuli in favor of grape vines and in 2006 they planted fruit tree orchards which now host several bee hives and collectives.

In the last ten years they have developed a holistic vision of quality, and continually strive to improve the sustainable profile of the winery. They are committed to protecting and enhancing the environment, developing technology with an appeal to tradition coupled with organic viticulture where possible in order to offer an authentic quality product. Sulfites are kept to a bare minimum during the winemaking process here as well as the new winery comes online and begins to flourish along with the next generation.

Nature, authenticity, evolution, quality: these are the ‘touchstones’ that guide the philosophy and work of Annalisa Zorzettig, at the helm of the family business.