September 18
Taking it all in . . .
Morning walk
There is a vast system of hiking trails in this region. Many of the major sections have been segmented into smaller hikes, and some of these have been broken down even further to accessible, fairly easy, round-trip walks that take you out in the fields and woods and can be done in a couple of hours. After breakfast we did one of these smaller walks that had a small village about halfway through. Beautiful walk along the edges of fields, woods, and river. We stopped at the village for a rest break and a Fanta, and then continued our walk back. Lovely.
Mitja Sirk Visit
We had an early afternoon tasting visit with Mitja Sirk who I first heard about in a post by @Saul_Mutchnick. Saul was kind enough to write Mitja an introductory email about my interest in visiting. We found Mitja washing out crates from finishing up his harvest the day before. A young man, both serious and friendly. His English is excellent, which was great for me. After a friendly introduction chat, he sat us at a small table and laid out a map of the winemaking region of FVG, with geographical features and wine growing areas highlighted. He took us through a very thorough and interesting education of everything geographical, geological, meteorological, and incidental that affected grape growing, selection and wine making. Fascinating! He was introducing personal aspects of his own development and choices as a wine maker as we transitioned to a tasting of his wines . He seems to be a believer in letting the vintage characteristics have their say in the wine. He concentrates on Friulano and we tasted three examples. His basic Bianco which is all Friulano, but a blend from eight distinct and geographically diverse vineyards, and two single vineyard bottlings, Meden and Ca Savorgnan. All were beautiful and enjoyable,with balanced mineral, herbal, and fruit, the Ca Savorgnan was at a different level. A wow wine! (BTW, we introduced Mitja to the expression “wowser!” ‘an interesting note is that because of the territorial diversity among the eight vineyards in the Bianco, the wine is only entitled to the lowest possible designation - Vino Bianco Europeo.
Overall in terms of winemaker engagement, education, and enjoyment of the wines our visit with Mitja was one pf our all time best ever. Mitja’s “other” job is sommelier at La Subida’s Michelin starred restaurant, where we will have a tasting menu dinner on the 20th and let Mitja help us with the wine selection.
Back to Cividale for a break
On the way back to Cividale, a major accident occurred just minutes ahead of us that had the route closed down. No formal detour was set up, yet so we scrambled between following other cars and our gps. We passed a sign for a winery that reminded me of someone @TGigante We eventually stopped at a gas station where we got info on an alternative route back to Cividale. Alls well that ends well.
Back to Cormons for an evening white wine tasting event.
Coincidentally, Cormons is having their annual wine harvest festival on September 19, 20,21. The Festa dell’Uvo is a big deal with a lot happening, including themed evening wine tasting events. The one we attended this evening was sort of a prequel to the festival and the theme was the diversity in white wine (bianco) blends. Six wines were featured with a bonus wine at the end. Some small bites were also served by a creative “slow food” chef. About 40 people at small outdoor tables on a beautiful evening. There were a few winemakers scatted at the tables and they were given the microphone to say something about their wines. The whole event was in Italian, but Jacqueline translated for me. Overall not much education about the wines for my level of understanding Italian. The highlight of the wines for me was the 2018 Edi Keber Collio Bianco. Since we had enjoyed a glass of their 2022 in Trieste a couple of nights before, I boldly introduced myself to Kristian Keber. He was very friendly and kind to speak English. Kristian has taken over much from his father Edi. The winemaking under the Edi Keber label is almost entirely this Collio Bianco, which is a blend of Friulano, Malvasia, and Robolla Di Gialla. Delicious wine! As my wife took a photo of Kristian and me , I might have been meditating about how good this wine was.
Ending a great day back in Cividale. Temporary sculpture installation in the piazza outside our apartment is powerful and casts a wonderful shadow at night.
. . . Buonna note
