Talking about Mario Schiopetto means, besides talking about the great wines of Collio, to tell the story of modern Italian enology. Thanks to great men, just like Mario Schiopetto who worked and believed in his ideas, Italian wine is now considered great again as a consequence of a formidable process of innovation and improvement of quality. Mario Schiopetto comes from a family which produces wines since three generations. Son of Giorgio, owner of the historical tavern “Ai Pompieri” in Udine, Mario Schiopetto received from his father the great passion for wine, fine wine, and he will later be considered as the real father of the Enology in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Mario Schiopetto travels in the main wine countries of Europe, in the historical wineries of France and Germany with the clear intent of learning the secrets of great quality wines: an experience that will be useful to realize his project, the one of making Friuli's wine great. During his journeys abroad he learns the modern and important techniques useful for the production of excellent and quality wine, however he knows this is not enough to make great wines.

	The Schiopetto family. On the lower left, Mario Schiopetto

 The territory where Mario Schiopetto intends to realize his ambitious dream is in the Gorizia's Collio, one of the great wine areas in Friuli Venezia Giulia, and he understands from the beginning the technical notions he learnt abroad must be patiently adapted to the nature of his land, an unique and particular place. Mario Schiopetto is an autodidact with an excellent capacity of intuition and in 1965 he finally is successful in realizing his ambitions and rents an old winery in Gorizia from the bishop's see that he will later buy in 1989. In his winery he applies from the very beginning principles of simplicity, technology and sensibility for his territory while continuously improving his knowledge acquired during his journeys abroad. His indisputable and deep knowledge is passed to his sons Maria Angela, Carlo and Giorgio who run the winery successfully today, located in the hills of Capriva del Friuli, in the province of Gorizia. The winery currently have 30 hectares of vineyards (about 74 acres) located nearby the historical palace of the bishop's see, as well as Blumeri estate which is located not far from the wine area of Colli Orientali del Friuli, at Oleis, in the hills of Rosazzo.

 The production of the winery is based on a philosophy which supports the idea there is nothing to invent, but everything to be understood. According to Mario Schiopetto «Good wine is the most genuine expression of the territory as well as the expression of men which created it. In order to make good wine the respect for nature and men is the first and fundamental requisite». The sensibility, according to the winery's philosophy, «takes its origin from an ancient and uninterrupted dialog with nature. A unique treasure, a richness of the soul», a principle Mario Schiopetto always believed in even before establishing his famous winery in 1965 and that he understood when he was a kid and listened to the wine “gurgling” in the casks of his father's tavern. This principle subsequently developed in the 1950's by traveling all over Europe and visiting the best wineries. In France and in Germany Mario Schiopetto acquired an unique patrimony of experiences who then decided to donate to Friuli, his beloved land, by establishing his winery. That's how he started to put into practice what he learnt during his journeys by applying the concepts to the unique land of Gorizia's Collio, while believing of not having invented anything but just tried to understand his land, the climate and the character of his hills by simply observing the harmony of nature. On these simple principles is still based the activity of Mario Schiopetto's winery. By applying and using the great experience of the father Mario, not only founder of the winery but also father of the wine culture in Friuli, before him, his father Giorgio, very appreciated host in Udine in the beginning of 1900's, today are his sons who inherited the huge and precious heritage of the winery. Maria Angela, Carlo and Giorgio continue today the impressive job of their father which is based on ancient traditions and is always origin of stories to be told, made of sensibility and respect, of love for tradition and of that genuine passion for wine which always characterized Mario Schiopetto.

A view from Mario Schiopetto's vineyards

 The winery is located in the hills of Capriva del Friuli and the new cellar was built by following the hints and the sensibility of architect Tobia Scarpa, therefore originating an union of technique, order and rationality. The new winery was personally designed by Mario Schiopetto and its construction started in 1989, giving the priority to a better management of work places, therefore trying to apply a logic of usability instead of aesthetics. The structure was designed in order to allow a practical course of the wine production phases, from grapes to the finished product. The new winery was completed in 1992 and its “heart” is represented by the yeasts room, a fundamental element of the winery's philosophy and of the productive process. Here it is done the multiplication of autochthonous yeasts, according to the many wine styles, needed for the fermentation process. Moreover other modern technologies have been adopted in order to reduce the possibilities of error and therefore to follow the ancient art of the production of excellent wines.

 The historical vineyards of Mario Schiopetto's winery are located at Capriva del Friuli, in the province of Gorizia, and here are cultivated the grapes Tocai, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc in an ideal environment that allows them to give their best. In 1996 the winery bought Blumeri estate, which is located few kilometers north-west from the historical headquarter, in the fertile hills in Rosazzo, at Oleis. This place, with a magic and sweet name, has a particular historical tradition both to vine and olive. The new estate was chosen by Maria Angela, Giorgio and Carlo, sons of Mario Schiopetto, because the soil has a composition similar to the ones in Capriva del Friuli, of course the climate is different and however suited to favor the maturation of red grapes. Vineyards in Olesis have been restored and destined to the production of important wines and its name, Blumeri estate, derives from an ancient carnival tradition of Colli Orientali del Friuli.

 The selection of wines of Mario Schiopetto's winery is pretty vast and the production is made both with local and international grapes. Among typical grapes there is Tocai Friulano, the famous white berried grape of Friuli Venezia Giulia vinified alone for Tocai Friulano and Pardes wines, the latter fermented and aged in cask for about 10 months. Among mono varietal white wines there are Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon, all fermented and aged in steel tanks. Among other white wines, Mario Schiopetto produces Blanc des Rosis, “historical” wine from Tocai Friulano, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Malvasia and Ribolla grapes; Mario Schiopetto Bianco, produced with Chardonnay and Tocai Friulano of which a part ferments in cask; Amrità Pinot Blanc, produced with the homonymous grape, fermented and aged for about 10 months in cask; Tarsia Sauvignon, fermented and aged in cask for about 10 months. Among red wines there are Rivarossa, produced with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes, aged for 14-15 months in barrique; and Blumeri Rosso, produced with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso grapes, aged for 14-15 months in barrique.

 This section is reserved to wine producers who want to publish news and information about their business, to announce new products or just for communicating to its customers information and promotions about their products and activity. Send news to be published at our e-mail address.