Ribolla gialla in the hands of legendary Italian wine label Schiopetto offers a great introduction to this popular Friulian white wine.
It was a happy accident that I stumbled upon this bottle of Schiopetto Ribolla Gialla, from Mario Schiopetto’s Pompiere Line (Fireman’s Line), on a recent hunting expedition at Back Room Wines in downtown Napa Valley. Remarkably, I think this is the first Ribolla Gialla wine from Italy
I was actually introduced to the grape via the Arnot Roberts bottling, and later Massican’s Annia blend, which is 51% Tocai Friulano, 33% Ribolla Gialla, 16% Chardonnay.
Ironically, I went to Back Room Wines because I wanted to get my hands on some smaller production wines from our local California winemakers, but ended up buying all Italian producers. So that mission kind of backfired.
But! Finding this bottle still made the trip a success!
A Brief History of the Ribolla Gialla Grape
Ribolla Gialla is an Italian grape variety from Friuli Venezia-Giulia, an area that straddles the Italian-Slovenian border. More specifically, this region is known as the Gorizia Hills, a micro-region whose topography spills between western Slovenian and the Colli region of Friuli.
This white wine grape has a long history in Italy. The earliest known reference dates back to the 13th century. From these ancient documents, we know that this grape was a favorite of Venetian nobility. Once that first sip hits your palate, you will understand why.
What does Ribolla Gialla taste like?
Tasting notes for this wine almost always include references to high acidity, light body and pronounced notes of citrus, crisp apple, and sneaking floral aromas.
If a winemaker chooses to make a skin-contact wine, the profile will be more savory and the texture more tannic. These orange wines are a staple in Friuli, where old school producers age their juice in all sorts of cool amphora, which is a clay vessel used to age wines.
Mario Schiopetto: Friulian Revolutionary
Mario Schiopetto is a monumental figure when it came to modernizing Friuli’s approach to white wine. Just how influential was he? Well, if we want to start name-dropping, Mario Schiopetto was part of a famous group of Italian winemakers who wanted to improve the state of Italian wine in the 1960s and 1970s.
The group included a who’s who of wine: Piero Antinori, Giacomo Bologna, Maurizio Zanella, Biondi Santi Franco and Biondi Santi Jacopo, Niccolò Incisa della Rocchetta and Angelo Gaja.
You know, just a few low-key, casual guys…
For Mario’s part, he traveled through France and Germany in search of modern winemaking techniques that could benefit Friuli’s native grapes. He came home inspired by the use of stainless steel tanks, cultivated yeasts, and the pneumatic press. The ensuing wines were cleaner and less weighed down. Not relying on oak-aging; just allowing the grape to do its thing.
Where is Ribolla Gialla Grown?
This grape is most widely planted in Friuli Venezia-Giulia, it’s home region. Friuli’s favorite white grape is also found in Slovenia, where it is called Zlata Rebula, and on the Greek island of Cephalonia, where it is called Robola.
Whatever you do, just don’t confuse this grape with Ribolla Nera, that’s another name for Schioppettino, a red grape from the same region.
The grape does best in nutrient poor soil. Left to its own devices in nutrient rich soil, and in flatland vineyards that receive a lot of sun, the grape loses its panache and acidity. The most successful plantings occur in the well-drained slopes of DOC Collio or DOC Colli Orientali del Friuli, and in what is locally called ‘ponca’ soil.
The doc wines have that designation for a reason!
The bottom line: smaller clusters + smaller yields = great wine grape for this variety.
Review & Tasting Notes
I opened this bottle mid-summer. We’re talking 85 degrees, cloudless skies and bright California sunshine. This was an on-the-whim bottle, and my intention was to have just one glass. What I didn’t want to do was break into a more expensive bottle that I may or may not finish in the next few days.
At $18.99, this is a price point I wouldn’t feel guilty about pouring a glass or two and forgetting about. Long story short, I knew from the first sip that this was a bottle I wanted to finish.
The wine is crisp, it’s minerally, and it’s a little creamy, which gives it a great mouthfeel. The acid was like one of those old school Kool-Aid commercials where the Kool Aid man breaks through a wall and saves the day. So thoroughly enjoyable.
The palate was filled with citrus notes, grapefruit pith and ever so faint floral notes. This is exactly the kind of bottle I’d keep on hand if I had a larger group of friends over, and needed to stick to budget friendly options.
Low-Intervention California Winemakers Love Ribolla Gialla
There are a handful of California winemakers experimenting with this grape in Napa Valley, Lodi, and Sonoma County.
First things first, California’s plantings of Ribolla Gialla are so small that they aren’t registered in the annual Acreage Grape Report. So, we really should give credit where credit is due to the winemakers who continue to buy these grapes, support varietal diversity in wine, and do a pretty decent job teasing out the grape’s beautifully acidic and mineral-driven qualities.
Here are a few California producers that should be on your radar:
- Arnot Roberts, Vare Vineyard, Napa Valley
- Matthiasson, Bengier Vineyard, Napa Valley
- Wiley Wines,, Bengier Vineyard, Napa Valley
- Miro Cellars, Lodi, California
- Massican Annia, Napa Valley, California – Tocai Friulano 51%, Ribolla Gialla 33%, Chardonnay 16%
- Grassi, Napa Valley
- Grassi, Sparkling Ribolla Gialla, Napa Valley
One thing to note: Bengier Vineyard was formerly called ‘Vare’ Vineyard. The vineyard changed hands in 2014. Older bottlings will still be labeled ‘Vare’.
Other noteworthy Italian and Slovakian ribolla producers include:
- Miani
- Josko Gravner
- Sašo Radikon
Now, go and get yourself a bottle of this wine!
FAQs for a better understanding of this grape
Is Ribolla Gialla like Pinot Grigio?
Yes and no. Ribolla Gialla is a high acid grape like Pinot Grigio, but the grapes are actually from different countries. Ribolla Gialla is a grape indigenous to Italy, while Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris), is a mutant clone of Pinot Noir, and hails from France.
Is Ribolla Gialla an orange wine?
This grape is used to make both white wine and orange wine (skin-contact). Natural winemakers love working with this grape.