From the dramatic hills of Cormons in eastern Friuli Venezia Giulia, we are pleased to introduce the work of Nikolas Juretic.
Born in a family of growers native of Cormons, Nikolas studied art and oenology before various experiences in different wineries and most recently with vine master pruner Simonit & Sirch. This prolific collaboration brought him around the globe for about a decade, teaching people how to give their vines as much longevity as possible through sensible pruning.
In 2018, Nikolas rents a small cellar in the old town of Cormons, where he starts to vinify the grapes from his family vineyards. Located in the Collio area, just next to the border with Slovenia, vines up to a hundred fifteen years old grow in the crus of Montona, Pradis and Bosc di Sot on unique soils locally named Ponca or Flysch – a mix of sandstone and marl, rich in limestone. With the help of his parents, Nikolas farms two hectares mainly of Tocai Friulano, Malvasia Istriana and Ribolla Gialla, following organic, biodynamic and permaculture principles.
In the small cellar, home to a handful of concrete vats and wooden barrels, Nikolas processes perfectly ripe grapes without de-stemming, fermented spontaneously and left to mature on their lees. The resulting wines are elegant, soil-driven and complex, balanced by a beautifully tense structure that leads to exceptional length.
We visited Nikolas on a sunny, quiet morning in June last year, walking around the beautiful hills surrounded by forests and chatting about the history of this land. As a wine region, Collio had a moment of fame in the past decades that has demoted changes and evolution of style, similar to what happened in the Valpolicella or Chianti. With a thoughtful farming approach and clever winemaking, Nikolas and a few other young producers are changing this trend and bringing fresh air to this region.
Our trade tasting next Monday at Casa Fofó will be the sole occasion to taste these incredible wines.
