Ronco del Gelso

Ronco del Gelso’s History and Philosophy

In Friuli it is now normal to come across capable and expert producers; the style of the wines, once almost exclusively obtained with clean musts and cold fermentation techniques that translated into wines of excessive similarity, has evolved over time. The most important companies have in no way abandoned the varietal character and freshness as their goal, but have added to these characteristics a new breadth and body, a fullness and length that the wines of two decades ago had neither sought nor achieved.

These particularities have been made possible thanks to the modern oak aging techniques and the skills of some extraordinary men. Giorgio Badin , who built his family business in the Isonzo DOC , the flattest part of the municipality of Cormons , is one of these men. Once the Isonzo had not been considered worthy of a prominent position in the hierarchy of Friuli , but a generation of skilled and competent producers showed that it was a mere prejudice, partly based on theory, without evidence, that only the slopes can give good wine. If this were the case, the winemakers would have to abandon both Bordeaux andChateauneuf-du-Pape . It is true, however, that the producers of the Isonzo face land that is completely different from that of the Collio ; mainly composed of sand and gravel, which retain very little water so the careful use of irrigation is fundamental for success.

The wines of Ronco del Gelso

Badin is a master in this art, and his knowledge of the vines grown in his native region, both clones and biotypes, is second to none. Added to this is a masterful hand in the cellar – as demonstrated by his unrivaled Riesling and a Gewürztraimer- style dessert wine – and the exceptional reputation of the house is easily explained. Also demonstrated by its use of oak: the small barrels of the past have been supplanted by beautiful oval oak barrels that give life to wines of far greater subtlety, complexity and elegance.