The Vino Vino Situation takes you all the way to Friuli, where Edi Keber and her son make an excellent Collio Bianco

il_los_angeles_logoFor the Italian version of this article,visit Il Los Angeles, the online magazine of the Italian community in LA

Collio Bianco takes its name from the charming area of Collio Friulano, close to the border between Italy and Slovenia.

This place isn’t known only for the production of great, bold wines. In the town of Cormòns, for example, you can taste the renowned slightly-smoked D’Osvaldo prosciutto, while enjoying a glass of wine at one of the many nice little nooks in town. But be ready… When it comes to drinking, it’s hard to keep up with the locals! 

The story behind Collio Bianco Keber is about family and traditions. Edi Keber has led the winery for years and marked the products with her personality and her vision. Now that Kristian, her son, is ready to take control of the production, we can expect their wines to acquire a new, distinctive connotation.

Keber only makes one white wine: Collio Bianco. Behind this courageous choice, there is the desire to represent only the territory and to work exclusively with native grape varieties. We’re talking Ribolla Gialla, Istrian Malvasia, and Friulano (also known as Tocai). The grapes are refined in pools made of concrete, in order to preserve their qualities. The combination of these three varieties makes it possible to produce every year a unique wine, whose taste can evolve in time.

A quick note about Tocai. There has been a dispute between Italy and Hungary because the word “Tocai” (the Italian grape variety) closely resembles the word “Tockaj” (the Hungarian dessert wine). As a result, the grape should now be called “Friulano” instead of “Tocai.” Obviously, people from Friuli still call their grapes by their original name!

RELATED: 20 Italian Wines You Should Try, One for Each Region

Even more in this case than ever, it is important to pay attention to the year of production of the Collio Bianco you’re enjoying. Every vintage is made differently from the others, in order to respect nature and what it has to offer. 

Because of its variability, it is actually hard to describe Keber’s Collio Bianco. But if there’s something certain, is that every year this wine is incredible. Always balanced, always bold, with a taste that evolves over the years. It would be a real luck to have the chance to try some old vintages!

RELATED: Interested in White Wine? Try Verdicchio from Marche, Italy’s “East Coast”

Instead of pairing it with food, this week I would recommend you trying different vintages (if you can get your hands on them!). Notice how different they taste from each other, compare them, and try to recognize the characteristics of the three grape varieties!

Enjoy your wine!

 

Wine-maker: Edi Keber
Name of the wine: Collio Bianco D.O.C.
Region: Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Type of wine: dry white wine
Grapes: Istrian Malvasia, Friulano, and Ribolla gialla
Price: about $25

 

Working in wineries across Italy, I get to see how much passion goes into each bottle. With the Vino Vino Situation, every week I present a great Italian wine at a reasonable price. These reviews are unsponsored and unsolicited. Salute!