Italy · Collio & Brda Hills (Gorizia)

Torre Rosazza

Aromatic, oak-free whites from a large hillside estate in Colli Orientali del Friuli, anchored by Friulano and a rare commitment to indigenous Friuli varieties.

The producer

Torre Rosazza farms 90 hectares of hillside vineyard in Colli Orientali del Friuli, the hilly appellation in northeastern Italy where the Alps begin to level toward Slovenia and the Adriatic plain lies just south. Owned by Genagricola, the agricultural arm of the Generali insurance group, since 1979, the estate runs on a single cellar principle: stainless steel throughout, no oak, no oxidative handling. Riccardo Cottarella has overseen production since 2014, and under his direction the Pinot Grigio has collected three Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri awards and a Wine Spectator Top 100 placement.

Friulano is the grape the estate is built around. Grown on marl and sandstone hillsides above the Natisone valley, it is cold macerated, fermented at a controlled 16 degrees in steel, aged four months on noble lees, then refined in bottle for two more months before release. The nose shows wild flowers, jasmine, pear, and a thread of saffron; the palate is round but fresh, with a bitter herb note on the finish that is characteristic of the variety grown here. The range also includes Sauvignon Blanc, Ribolla Gialla, and, at the edges, the native reds Pignolo and Refosco alongside Picolit, the appellation's rare late-harvest sweet wine.

Known for

Friulano, Pinot Grigio, and native Friuli varieties from 90 hectares of hillside vineyard in Colli Orientali del Friuli. Stainless steel throughout; no oak in the range.

Notable facts

The story

The Vines Nobody Wanted

Through the 1980s and into the 1990s, most estates in the Colli Orientali were pulling out their native red varieties and replanting with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The international grapes sold reliably; Pignolo and Refosco did not, or not easily. Picolit, the rare late-harvest white, required yields so low and labour so intensive that most growers could not justify keeping the vines. Torre Rosazza, under Genagricola ownership, kept all three in commercial production through that entire period. No public announcement, no pivot flagged for the press. The vines stayed in, the harvests continued, and when Friuli's native varieties began attracting attention again in the 2000s, Torre Rosazza had the planted hectares and the vintage experience that estates who had cleared those varieties could not quickly recover. The estate is now one of the largest single-estate producers of all three in Italy, not because it foresaw a trend but because it never followed one.

From the atlas

Torre Rosazza

At A Glance

The Producer

Torre Rosazza farms 90 hectares of hillside vineyard in Colli Orientali del Friuli, the hilly appellation in the far northeast of Italy where the Alps begin to level into Slovenia and the Adriatic plain lies just south. The estate is owned by Genagricola, the agricultural arm of the Generali insurance group, which acquired it in 1979 and has run it since as a single-estate winery rather than a prestige showcase.

The cellar philosophy is uncomplicated: stainless steel throughout, no oak, no oxidative handling. Everything the winery does is aimed at keeping the aromatic character of the grapes as clear as possible from harvest to bottle. Riccardo Cottarella took over as winemaker in 2014 and has maintained that direction across whites and reds alike.

Friulano sits at the centre of the range. It is the grape most associated with Colli Orientali, formerly known as Tocai Friulano until a European ruling in 2007 required the name change, and at Torre Rosazza it receives the most careful cellar treatment: cold maceration, fermentation at a controlled 16 degrees, four months on noble lees, then a further two months of bottle refinement before release. The Pinot Grigio is the estate's most decorated bottle, having collected three Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri awards and a Wine Spectator Top 100 placement.

Place

Colli Orientali del Friuli translates directly as the eastern hills of Friuli. The appellation covers a sequence of low ridges running north to south between Cividale del Friuli and the Slovenian border, roughly 20 kilometres east of Udine. The hillsides face mostly south and southwest, which in this continental-influenced climate matters considerably: the growing season is warm enough for full ripeness in the whites, while altitude keeps nights cool and acidity high.

Torre Rosazza's vineyards sit above the Natisone valley. That elevation and exposure governs how the Friulano and Ribolla Gialla ripen: slowly enough to build aromatic complexity, quickly enough that the fruit does not lose its freshness. The glass combines floral weight and genuine acidity rather than the flat ripeness that lower-lying sites in the same appellation can produce.

The appellation permits a wide range of varieties, both international and native, which is part of why Colli Orientali is less immediately legible than, say, Soave or Barolo. Torre Rosazza's commitment to Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, and the rarer natives gives its range a clear regional character within that breadth.

Soil And Site

The hillside terrain above the Natisone valley is composed of marl and sandstone, the layered sedimentary soils typical of the Colli Orientali. These alternate layers of compacted marine sediment drain well on slopes and give the wines a mineral thread that the aromatic profiles of Friulano and Sauvignon sit against rather than over.

The estate's 90 planted hectares are spread across these hillside exposures. The combination of well-drained soils, south-facing slopes, and cool nights at altitude is what allows the stainless steel winemaking to work as well as it does: the site delivers fruit with both aromatic definition and enough natural acidity to carry a wine that has received no oak treatment and no oxidative complexity.

Story

The site has been producing wine for considerably longer than the current winery has existed. A medieval fortress stood here first, guarding the road through the Natisone valley. The noble Antonini family converted it into a residence in the 17th century. Before that, the adjacent Abbey of Rosazzo had already established winemaking on these hillsides, and the abbey's vine-growing tradition is documented from the early medieval period.

Genagricola bought the estate in 1979, when Friuli was in the early stages of a white wine revolution that would make it one of Italy's most-discussed regions through the 1980s. The purchase brought institutional resources to a site with medieval roots: proper cellar investment, professional viticulture at scale, and the ability to maintain 90 planted hectares without the financial pressure that forces smaller producers to simplify their grape mix.

Riccardo Cottarella arrived in 2014 and consolidated the direction the estate had been moving toward: maximum aromatic freshness, minimum cellar intervention, native varieties treated as seriously as the international grapes. The Pinot Grigio's Tre Bicchieri recognitions came under that direction, and the 2022 Friulano showed white flowers, white peach, Buddha's hand citrus, guava, lemon, bitter herb, great acidity, and a long lasting finish.

Vineyards And Cellar

All winemaking at Torre Rosazza takes place in stainless steel. The decision is not a constraint but a commitment: the cellar is designed around preserving rather than building flavour, which means temperature control is the main tool and oak is absent entirely.

For Friulano, the process is deliberate and unhurried. Grapes are de-stemmed, cold macerated to extract aromatic compounds from the skins before fermentation begins, then softly pressed. Fermentation runs at a constant 16 degrees in steel tanks, slow enough to preserve the floral and citrus notes that define the variety. The wine then spends four months on its noble lees, the settled yeast cells that add a little weight and roundness to the mid-palate without changing the aromatic direction. After bottling, it refines in glass for a minimum of two further months before release.

Sauvignon Blanc follows a similar path: soft pressing, temperature-controlled steel, three months on fine lees. The lees contact is shorter than for Friulano because the variety's aromatic character is more assertive and needs less building from the cellar.

Ribolla Gialla, one of Friuli's sharpest-acid native whites, is kept in the same steel-only environment, which lets its naturally lean, citrus-forward profile remain intact. The reds, including Pignolo and Refosco, are produced in smaller volumes and follow separate cellar protocols.

Wines

The range divides naturally into the core whites, the decorated Pinot Grigio, and the native-variety bottles that sit at the edges of the range.

Friulano is the flagship white. On the nose it shows wild flowers, jasmine, pear, incense, and saffron, an aromatic combination that is specific to this grape grown on these hillsides. The palate is full and round but stays fresh, with a mineral note running through the mid-palate and a bitter herb inflection on the finish that is characteristic of the variety. The 2022 showed white peach, Buddha's hand citrus, guava, and lemon, with high acidity and a finish that held for longer than the aromatic profile alone would suggest.

Sauvignon Blanc shows straw yellow in the glass, with pink grapefruit, sage, tomato leaf, and tropical fruit on the nose. It is lighter in build than the Friulano, fresh and lightly mineral in the mouth, the finish shorter and more direct. A three-month lees programme gives it a little more mid-palate presence than a straight-pressed Sauvignon would have.

Pinot Grigio is the estate's most recognised label externally. It has received three Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri awards and a Wine Spectator Top 100 placement.

Ribolla Gialla is the leanest and most acidic of the native whites: tighter on the nose than Friulano, with citrus and herbal notes and a clean, high-acid finish.

Pignolo, Refosco, and Picolit round out the range. Pignolo is a rare indigenous red with deep colour and firm tannins. Refosco is more widely planted in the region, tannic and dark-fruited. Picolit is the appellation's noble late-harvest sweet wine, made from grapes that dry partly on the vine.

In The Glass

Across the white range, the character is consistent: aromatic, fresh, and built for freshness rather than weight. The stainless steel approach means what lands in the glass reflects the site and the grape rather than the cellar.

Friulano opens with floral lift, jasmine and white flowers rising first, then pear and a saffron-like spice note underneath. In the mouth it is rounder than the nose suggests, with a plump mid-palate from the four months on lees, but the acidity keeps it from feeling heavy. The bitter herb note on the finish is a Friulano signature: it sharpens the ending and extends the length past what the fruit weight alone would support.

Sauvignon is more angular. The grapefruit and tomato leaf register is immediate on the nose, sage woven through the back of the aromatic picture. On the palate it is fresh and direct, the mineral note providing a quiet counterpoint to the fruit, the finish clean and relatively short.

Ribolla Gialla sits between the two: more citrus-forward than Friulano, less aromatic than Sauvignon, with a lean body and concentrated acidity.

A Bottle To Understand It

Friulano is the bottle to start with. It is the grape that Colli Orientali is built around, and at Torre Rosazza it receives the most extended cellar treatment in the range: four months on noble lees after fermentation, two months of bottle refinement before release. The wine combines the aromatic weight of the variety with genuine acidity and a mid-palate presence that the Sauvignon does not have. Wild flowers and jasmine come first, then pear and a light saffron spice, then a rounded palate with a bitter herb finish and a long acid-driven close. No oak anywhere, no secondary character, nothing competing with what the hillside and the grape produce together. It is the clearest illustration of what this estate does and where it is.

Anecdote

Through the 1980s and into the 1990s, most estates in the Colli Orientali were pulling out their native red varieties and replacing them with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The international grapes sold; Pignolo and Refosco did not, or not easily. Picolit, the rare late-harvest white, had a small following among collectors but required yields so low and labour so high that most growers could not justify the vines. Torre Rosazza, under Genagricola ownership, kept all three in commercial production through that entire period. No dramatic announcement, no pivot to organic certification, no shift in philosophy flagged for the press. The vines stayed in. The winemaking continued. When Friuli's native varieties attracted attention again in the 2000s, Torre Rosazza had the planted hectares and the harvest experience that estates who had cleared those varieties could not quickly recover. The estate is now one of the largest single-estate producers of all three in Italy, not because it foresaw a trend but because it never followed one.

Final Word

Torre Rosazza is a large, well-resourced estate making aromatic, oak-free whites from one of northeastern Italy's most interesting hillside appellations. The Friulano is the wine that most directly expresses what Colli Orientali tastes like; the Pinot Grigio is the most recognised label externally. The native variety depth, particularly the continued production of Pignolo, Picolit, and Refosco through decades when those grapes were commercially unfashionable, gives the estate a character that its scale alone would not suggest.

Sources

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