Our firm is based in Friuli, in the municipal district of San Floriano del Collio, only 5 km. far from Gorizia.
In this entirely hilly strip of land, which is very near the coasts of the Adriatic sea, our family has been producing wine since 1960, cultivating grapes on a soil composed of stratified sandstone and marl.
Our family business tills ten hectares of vineyard registred in D.O.C. COLLIO and two other hectares of vineyard in the D.O.C. FRIULI ISONZO zone, which is situated nearby.
All of the phases of production, such as vine pruning, which starts in autumn, manuring, summer antiparasitic treatments and grape harvest, are supervised by Mr Giovanni personally, who is the present owner of this firm, with the help of his father Luigi. Besides the work in the country, Mr Giovanni deals with the wineshop in all the evolutionary phases of wines. Occasionally, he is helped by a reliable enologist. The wineshop is equipped with stainless steel tanks, with a fixed cooling system. We also have cement tanks and wooden barrels (barrique) at our disposal. The overall wine production of our company ranges from 500 to 600 hectolitres per year, which are subdivided into various typologies, for a total of about 65.000 bottles.
The production of White Wines:
Grape harvest starts in the first decade of September, climatic conditions permitting. The grapes collected are put in plastic boxes, within a couple of hours, they will be submitted to soft pressing and then to white vinification. The must obtained is made ferment at the controlled temperature of 17-19°C with the addition of selected yeast. Wine, which is kept in stainless steel containers, is put on the market in 750-cc European Bordeaux bottles, in the month of May that follows grape harvest.
The above-mentioned procedure refers to the following sorts of wine:
COLLIO PINOT GRIGIO, COLLIO SAUVIGNON, COLLIO CHARDONNAY, COLLIO TOCAI FRIULANO, COLLIO RIBOLLA GIALLA.
As regards COLLIO " PICOLIT ", on the contrary, grapes are made wither on wooden racks for 60 days. Then, after vinification, wine is kept in durmast barrels for 12 months before being bottled and put on the market 18 months after grape harvest.
PRIMO LEGNO BIANCO (Table Wine). Made using a Chardonnay base with other local varieties including Sauvignon. Fermentation and refinement takes place in French oak barriques. It is then decanted in stainless steel where it is refined for a few months and subsequently bottled. It must rest in the glass bottles for at least 12 months before being marketed.
COLLIO BIANCO "Bric" is a marriage between Tocai and other varieties: It has a good elegant and soft structure, with delicate floral nuances that are due to a period of refinement on the yeast. The production of Red Wines:
Grape harvest generally starts in the first days of October. Then, stalks are removed from grapes before starting vinification with soaking, which usually lasts eight-ten days. During this phase, the repassing of must over the grape dregs is carried out three times a day.
The slow fermentation and refining of FRIULI ISONZO CABERNET FRANC take place in stainless steel containers.
FRIULI ISONZO MERLOT, on the contrary, is made ferment in stainless steel barrels. Then, a part of it remains in the same tanks and another part is refined in durmast barrels for 12 months, before being gathered and bottled.
COLLIO CABERNET SAUVIGNON, on the contrary, is wholly refined in durmast barrels for 12 months, at the end of fermentation.
All of the red wines are generally marketed 18 months after grape harvest.
PRIMO LEGNO ROSSO (Table Wine). Comes from a Merlot base which is selected and refined in small French oak casks for 12 months. It is further refined in glass for another year before being marketed.
When Venetian troops captured the hill of San Floriano in 1616, a contemporary chronicle reports, their booty was over "300 cart-loads of the finest wine..." Such is just one of the numerous historical accounts that confirm the centuries-old tradition of fine wine in Collio, and at San Floriano, where the Muzic wine estate is located. Its splendid hills are not far from the sea and enjoy outstanding exposure to the sunlight; vineyards have always flourished in this climate, as have fruit trees and even the olive.
The Contea, or earldom, of Gorizia was for centuries one of the southernmost territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Known as the "Nice of Austria," it supplied the central European provinces with its fruits and vegetables. With World War II, production of these crops was gradually abandoned, by the Muzic estate as well, in favour of winemaking, which was more in demand and remunerative. But the aromas of those vegetable and fruit gardens, which we cultivated up to the 1980s, are still perceptible in the bouquet and flavours of our wines.
A description of Collio that goes back to 1728 mentions wines "that merit their fame," and goes on to list "a great quantity of all kind of tree fruits, of the finest flavours, ...magnificent large asparagus, full-flavoured melons, inviting salads, radishes, and every kind of green."
This is Collio, or Brda in Slovene, Cuej in the Friulan dialect, famed as "the Garden of Gorizia."
It owes its qualities to its sandstone and marl soils, known as ponca. Its Consorzio di Tutela, or producers' quality consortium, founded in 1964, was among the very first in Italy to be granted DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) status.
Our striking cellar is one of the oldest in San Floriano, dating back to the 16th century and recently restored. By a stroke of luck it escaped damage during both World Wars. Its bare stone walls and vaulted ceilings welcome guests and friends for tastings, and in its small oak barrels mature our red wines.
Forming with it an artful complex is the modern, state-of-the art cellar managed by Giovanni, with the occasional assistance of a winemaking consultant. It houses temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks as well as large oak casks for ageing some of our wines.
Our annual production is over 60,000 bottles and is a perfect blend of tradition and innovation.
We produce the native-variety wines Malvasia, Ribolla, and Tocai Friulano, plus the dessert wine Piccolit, as well as the French varieties brought here in the late 19th century, both whites, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, and reds, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.