It’s such an honor to work with producers who embody the soul of their region, and few families define the identity of their land as profoundly as the Rapuzzis of Ronchi di Cialla. This estate is not merely a winery, but a living archive of viticultural heritage.

In 1970, Paolo and Dina Rapuzzi were not winemakers but rather were selling Olivetti typewriters for a living. It turned out, however, that they were also visionaries — though nobody would have called them that at the time. They found an abandoned property just a few miles from the Slovenian border in the isolated valley of Cialla, in the Colli Orientali del Friuli, that had sat dormant since the Iron Curtain descended twenty-five years earlier. Paolo noticed olive trees on the property, a sign of an unusually warm and sheltered microclimate this far north in Italy, and that was enough. They bought it and got to work.

The prevailing fashion in Friuli at that moment was to plant French varieties — Merlot, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc — varieties that had filtered in during the Napoleonic wars and had since taken over. Paolo and Dina weren't interested in those. They wanted to work exclusively with the indigenous grapes that had defined this valley for centuries: Ribolla Gialla, Verduzzo, Picolit, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, and — most critically — Schioppettino. There was just one problem. Schioppettino had been officially declared extinct by the Italian government. Cultivating an unapproved variety was, technically, against the law. The Rapuzzis planted it anyway.

They found 60 surviving vines, propagated them, established the first modern planting of the grape, and then spent years lobbying the authorities to reclassify it. In 1976, they were awarded the prestigious Risit d'Aur prize for their preservation work, and that same year, the cultivation of Schioppettino was declared legal once again. The first official commercial vintage under the DOC was 1978. By 1989, Schioppettino had earned its own DOC designation within Colli Orientali del Friuli. The grape went from legally extinct to legally protected, almost entirely because of one family.

The depth of what they built here is hard to overstate. In 1995, Ronchi di Cialla was granted the designation Friuli Colli Orientali DOC — Sottozona Cialla, a legally recognized sub-zone that functions as a genuine monopole, placing the estate in rare company alongside properties like Sassicaia and Château Grillet. The disciplinary code of the Cialla governs permitted farming practices and limits the percentage of land that can be planted to vines, ensuring the valley's character is preserved in perpetuity. Ronchi di Cialla is the only producer in Italy making wine from all five of the valley's native varieties under a single estate.

Today, Dina and Paolo's sons Ivan and Pierpaolo run the estate, and they have carried their parents' philosophy forward with considerable depth of their own. Both brothers are trained entomologists (scientists who study insects and their relationships with humans, the environment, and other living organisms), and actual published scientists, and they have applied that expertise directly to the vineyard. Rather than using pesticides, they have introduced specific insect populations that create a functioning ecosystem capable of managing itself. The result is one of the most biodiverse agricultural environments in the region. The estate spans 28 hectares, of which 96% of the surrounding valley remains forested in chestnut, oak, and wild cherry. In 2015, the World Biodiversity Association formally recognized Ronchi di Cialla as Biodiversity Friendly. The estate produces roughly 115,000 bottles per year and maintains library vintages stretching back to the 1980s.

The vineyards sit on slopes between 500 and 650 feet in elevation, planted primarily in sandstone soils with a high proportion of limestone. The east-west facing orientation, combined with the valley's sheltered microclimate, produces conditions that are simultaneously Mediterranean in temperament and distinctly Alpine in their cool nights and late springs. Vines in the older blocks are being progressively densified to 4,500 plants per hectare using the Guyot method; newer plantings go in at no fewer than 5,000 vines per hectare. Farming is certified organic, and intervention in both vineyard and cellar is kept to a minimum. The soil here has a high pH which they feel helps the ageing potential of this wine.

This is a producer who didn't follow trends — they reversed extinction, rewrote wine law, and turned a forgotten valley into one of the most legally and viticulturally distinguished addresses in Italy. The wines are serious, singular, and built to last.

Ribolla Gialla
The Ribolla comes from a vineyard in Dolegna del Collio in the northeast of Lonzano. The average age of vines is 50 years. It macerates on the skins for a day followed by fermentation with wild yeast in temperature-controlled stainless steel. It is aged on the lees for at least three months with frequent batonnage.

Friulano
The Friulano comes from a vineyard in Dolegna del Collio in the northeast of Lonzano. The average age of vines is 50 years. It macerates on the skins for a day followed by fermentation with wild yeast in temperature-controlled stainless steel. It is aged on the lees for at least three months with frequent batonnage.

Ciallabianca
This is a blend of roughly 60% Ribolla Gialla, 30% Picolit and 10% Verduzzo from the Quercigh vineyard. The Ribolla Gialla and Verduzzo are harvested and fermented together. The Picolit is harvested about 10-15 days later. The wine is fermented in 10% new oak, with the rest being second to fifth passage for about 11 months. It is then aged in bottle for at least 20 months.

Rose di Cialla
The Rose is made from the Refosco Peduncolo Rosso grape. Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso is the highest-quality and most widely planted specific variety within the broader family of Refosco. It gets its name—which translates to "Refosco with the red stems/stalks"—because the vine's stem turns a distinct red color as the grapes ripen. It is considered the "star" of the Refosco family, prized for its finer tannins and balanced acidity. This wine comes from the Cernetig vineyard in the Cialla Valley. It is macerated on the skins for 18 hours, followed by very soft pressing. The free-run juice is fermented in stainless steel tank at controlled temperature.

Schioppetino – RiNera
This wine is sourced from two of their estate vineyards named Cjastenet and Puoje. The average age of vines is 20-50 years. There is no maceration on the skins, and the wine is fermented in stainless steel with wild yeasts. It is then aged for 12 months on the lees in stainless followed by a few months in bottle before release.

Picolit ‘Sol Dry’
This is their dry Picolit, as opposed to their sweet/fortified Picolit (below). The first vintage of this wine was 2001, and it is only made in the best vintages. It sees between one and two days of skin contact, and then is fermented with native yeasts in barriques, followed by 24 months of maturation in oak before bottling. The objective is to show that Picolit can also produce a serious white when fully fermented dry.

Pignolo
Often called ‘the Bordeaux of Friuli’ for its tannic structure and ability to age, Pignolo is a very difficult grape variety to cultivate. It is known for low yields and high quality, requiring meticulous, labor-intensive viticulture. The name itself means fussy or finicky in Italian, reflecting its temperamental nature in the vineyard. This wine comes from the Squarzulis and the Cernetig vineyards. After a 20-day maceration, the wine is fermented in 80% French oak barrels and 20% Slavonian oak for 30 months, and then is aged in bottle another two years.

Schioppetino di Cialla
This is sourced from the Cjastenet and Roncjs vineyards. The average age of vines is 50 years. It is aged in 10% new French oak barrels; the rest are second to fifth passage for 30-36 months.

Refosco Penduncolo Rosso
Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso is the highest-quality and most widely planted specific variety within the broader family of Refosco. It gets its name—which translates to "Refosco with the red stems/stalks"—because the vine's stem turns a distinct red color as the grapes ripen. It is considered the "star" of the Refosco family, prized for its finer tannins and balanced acidity. Their Refosco Penduncolo Rosso comes from the Roncjs vineyards. It is macerated on the skins for about 4 weeks with twice daily pump overs. Fermentation is in stainless steel with ambient yeast. The wine is aged in a mix of French barriques and Slavonian oak for 14-18 months. It is then aged an additional 50 months in bottle.

Ciallarosso
Ciallarosso is a blend of Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso and Schioppettino. It combines the structure of Refosco with the elegance of Schioppettino — essentially pairing Refosco's tannic backbone with Schioppettino's perfume and lift.  Ronchi di Cialla is the only winery permitted to make Ciallarosso, making the wine legally and geographically exclusive to them. The fruit comes from the estate vineyards of Cjastenet and Roncj. It is vinified in stainless steel with about two weeks of maceration. It is then aged in barrel for about one year, followed by one more year in bottle before release.

Verduzzo di Cialla
Verduzzo is a grape that is naturally high in both sugar and acidity, but the real key is its thick, tannic skin. That toughness allows Ronchi di Cialla to late harvest its Verduzzo rather than make a passito wine. As such, the wine is more off-dry than truly sticky-sweet, since they do not dry out the grapes to concentrate the sugars. They opt instead for something more balanced and versatile. The wine is fermented and aged for 12 months in oak barrels and another 24 months in bottle before release.

Picolit Cialla
This comes from the Picoliscjs vineyard in the Cialla valley. Half of the grapes are harvested late at the end of October, normally with some botrytis. The other half are harvested even later, at which point the grapes have dried slightly on the vine in the vineyard, concentrating the sugars. It is fermented spontaneously in French oak barrels and then aged in oak for at least 20 months. It then ages in bottle a minimum of 24 months before release. It has 50 grams/liter of residual sugar.