In the small, rural winegrowing village of Isonzo in the southern plains of Friuli, about 12 miles from the Adriatic coast, Gianfranco Gallo makes some of the most unique, ageworthy and delicious white wines of... Read More

In the small, rural winegrowing village of Isonzo in the southern plains of Friuli, about 12 miles from the Adriatic coast, Gianfranco Gallo makes some of the most unique, ageworthy and delicious white wines of Italy at his Vie di Romans estate.

The Gallo family has been tending vines in this area for centuries, but it was not until Gianfranco took over the reins in 1978 that they began the journey to the world-class estate that it is today. During the 80s and 90s the wines of Friuli started to gain significant international recognition, but most of the famous growers were located in higher elevation areas farther north. In contrast, Isonzo sits at just 31 meters above sea level. Despite the low lying elevation, the glacial soils and the cooling influence of alpine and sea breeze gives the perfect climatic conditions for making ripe, detailed, tension-filled wines.

From the jump, Gianfranco began to farm organically and with a focus on achieving optimum ripeness. In the cellar, he is all about preserving the unique character of his terroir and not masking the fruit or minerality with too much wood or any other manipulation. Vie di Romans is perhaps most famous for their long-lived bottlings of Sauvingon Blanc, but they also honor this historical diversity of the region with Friulano, Malvasia Istriana and Riesling among others. Across the range, the wines are beautifully aromatic with great mineral drive and length.

Gallo is a grower who truly believes that with age his wines reveal their finest expression and he is famous for opening old bottle after old bottle for wine lovers lucky enough to get an appointment to visit the estate. We’ve tasted our fair share of these with significant age and can report that they definitely deliver the magic.