ITALIAN cuisine and wines are world renowned for their superb seasonal ingredients and simple cooking methods. The Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest in the world.

We’ve heard of Tuscan, Piedmonte and Sicilian cuisine but rarely do we see Friulian wines or dishes listed on a menu.

So it was on a voyage of discovery that I flew to Trieste recently. Bathed in a golden morning sunlight, backed by green and white cliffs of a limestone plateau, facing a sparkling blue Adriatic, Trieste has to be one of Italy’s most beautiful cities.

Little wonder James Joyce was inspired to write Ulysses when he lived here for 10 years until 1915.

More than Dublin, which Joyce immortalized in Portrait of a Young Man, more than Paris, or Zurich where he is buried, Trieste claims James Joyce who taught English and worked on the local paper. He had cards printed describing himself as a journalist and used these business cards to work free passage on trains and channel steamers.

Being a writer who tirelessly worked through the night labouring on Ullysses, perhaps coffee was one of the attractions for Joyce.

Trieste is renowned for producing Italy’s best coffee. The city’s association with coffee dates back to the mid 18th Century, when trading began and when the first coffee shops opened in emulation of Vienna.

Even today, it’s the leading coffee port in the Mediterranean, 80%of Italy’s coffee arrives here, and the city’s mayor is Riccardo Illy, from the famous Illy coffee family.

Triestines treat coffee with great seriousness. One of the pleasures of walking around the city centre is the unexpected scent of roasting beans that wafts through the streets, and there’s a plethora of places in which to sample the various imports.

Friuli, officially known as Friuli Venezia-Giulia, is the easternmost region in northern Italy. Austria peers down from its Alpine perch to the north. To the east are the hills of Slovenia, formerly Yugoslavia. On its western flank is the Veneto region, home to Venice, Verona, Soave and Valpolicella. To the south is the northern end of the Adriatic sea. The Giulian Alps cover the top half of Friuli.

The Alps buffer the southern half of Friuli from the cold winter weather. The climate is cool and with a long growing season, an ideal situation for wine production, particularly white wine.

Warm temperatures can burn up aromatic compounds. These compounds are located in the grapeskins. Cool temperatures not only preserve aromatic compounds but allow these compounds to move into the flesh of the grape.

A good example of aromatic compounds that burns up easily are pyrazines which emit green bell-pepper smells in the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Carmenere and Sauvignon Blanc varieties.

What makes Friuli a particularly advantageous location for growing grape varieties for white wine production is the large day/night temperature variation. Nighttime temperatures can be as much as 20 degrees Celsius. Cool temperatures limit night time vine respiration, thereby preserving grape acidity. Morning harvests bring in cool berries, which preserve berry aromas and help keep fermentations under control.

Friuli became Italian in 1866 when it came under the dominion of the Kingdom of Savoy. At about the same time, Picolit, a sweet wine, became much sought after in the major capitals of the world, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon were introduced into the vineyards.

Though Friuli has been producing some excellent wines, little is known about them. High quality wines were first documented with the founding of Aquileria as far back as 181BC. The local Terrano, a sharp red wine grown only on the limestone highlands, was reputedly the favourite of the Roman empress Livia and is supposed to be good for the blood.

During the 1990s, producers turned their attention to making ultra-premium red wine. They wanted a new challenge and were adjusting to increased consumer interest in red wines.

The large tracts of gravel enhances drainage which also collects radiant heat, which it emits at night therefore reducing day/night temperature variation. While this situation advances the more difficult-to-ripen red grape varieties, it cuts down on the aroma and acidity of white wines.

Merlot is planted in well-drained clay soil rich in lime. The harvest occurs in October at about the same time these varieties are harvested in Bordeaux.

Cabernet Franc, planted throughout Friuli, is mostly Carmenere, most likely the “clonal parent” of Cabernet Franc. Carmenere has a more vegetal, earthy taste.

Throughout the trip, his comments were reinforced by others and also in my tastings of Friuli Cabernet Francs, which were vegetal and earthy indeed.

He also mentioned that for may years, Chardonnay was mistaken here for Pinot Bianco, but that the distinction between the two vine varieties is now clear.

Tocai is best planted at the top of hills, where it ripens easily. By 2007, producers must change the name of this variety in order to reserve the name solely for use connected with Hungarian Tokay. No one in Friuli seemed to have a clue what it will be called. Of their 1997 whites, their Tocai was the best wine. Their 1997 Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso was classic. It showed light garnet color, with a violet, blackberry aroma. It had a woodsy taste and a slightly bitter finish.

At the northern limit is the DOC, at 200 meters elevation and at the base of hills that become the pre-Alps. This particular growing climate is different from the rest of the Grave because the local climate is cooler and more humid than the climate from the drier, hotter one to the south, at a lower elevation.

Friuli has recently seen an increase in tourists who have an interest in wine so they formed Movimento Turismo del Vino of Friuli which included 120 wineries that not only produce excellent wines, but also offer accommodation in the most idyllic rustic settings – perfect not only for sampling some of the best wines the region has to offer, but also the opportunity to enjoy nature trails, hiking, cycling and learning about wine growing.

Buttrio, 12 kilometers southeast of Udine, is currenly producing wines which are simply stunning. The ancestors of Conte D’Attimis-Maniago have, since the 1500s, made wine at their estate, Tenuta Sottomonte di Buttrio.

This is one of the families that persevered with quality winemaking despite wars and earthquakes. They take pride in their mass selection, a process of selecting the best vinewood from their own vineyards for propagation.

This process does not allow them to take advantage of the latest clonal selections from nurseries, particularly from the largest vine nursery in the world, Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo, located in Rauscedo near Pordenone.

On the other hand, they cultivate vines which are proven to work to their satisfaction in their own particular microclimate and soils. Their strongest whites were the 1997 Pinot Grigio and the Sauvignon.

The local population likes to drink their local wines, Schioppettino and Refosco, within the first year of release. The Conte’s 1997 Schioppettino was violet in color with cigar tobacco aromas. It had low alcohol and high acidity, the classic balance for the variety.

Because the wines from this grape ferment irregularly, fermentation can restart in the bottle making it pop, hence the onomatopoeic name.

The 1997 Refosco had a brilliant red berry aroma with solid but soft tannins.

The count had harboured dreams of donning a uniform and following his father footsteps by becoming a Naval officer, but duty called in the form of the family estate and vineyards, which he has grown to love.

Cultivating the vines and producing Friuli’s finest vintage has become a passion. He has learned to deal with the harvests and how to interpret the seasons. He has become fascinated by the world of wines and feels integrated into the production of vineyards.

His superb Malvasia and Rondo Brolio are among Italy’s finest and attest to the Count’s flair and passion for winemaking.

Elda Fellugia is also passionate about wine. She has built up the family estate. Still beautiful in her 50’s, she has more energy and drive than most 20-year-olds.

This busy mother, businesswoman, winegrower and President of Movimento Turismo del Vino has realised the potential of tourism in an area which is producing some of Italy’s best wines, and is pioneering the growth of wine tourism and encouraging the wine growers to open their homes to this lucrative market.

Elda, who’s mission is to promote wine culture as an expression of the region’s territory, organizes many events throughout the year including Cantine Aperte, held on the last Sunday in May, when Friulian wineries open their doors to thousands of visitors who share their passion in wine.

There’s a party atmosphere as wine lovers of all ages converge at the cantines to enjoy tastings, with music and art. The local army help out, handing out glasses, allowing visitors to sample all day for a bargain Six Euros which is donated to children’s charities.

I stayed at a charmingly rustic Agriturismo in Buttrio called Vagabonde where I awoke each morning to the farmyard sounds better than any alarm.

“I live to hunt,” owner Armando told me as he prepared the breakfast Espresso. Armando has hunted throughout Eastern Europe and most of Russia. He’s even been to the Isle of Bute to shoot birds.

He lambasted me for not turning up to the wine tasting at a local Entoca the night before. A 5am start, early flight and a day of non-stop wine tasting on a tour of Trieste was as much as I could pack into my first day in Friuli I told him.

His anger made me realize just why Friuli has produced a generation of really strong women. Centuries of this Atila the Hun type patriarchy in a region which has survived numerous invasions, a devastating earthquake in 1972 and bombardment during World War Two has resulted in a generation of strong women who now run farms, wineries and businesses.

This current generation of empowered females is a natural reaction to centuries of machismo, invasions and bombardments and above all survival.

These mothers are raising a new generation of young men who are light year’s away from their father’s machismo – you see them helping out in the wineries and at tastings; gentle, kind and courteous young men a credit to their mothers.

Marina Danieli is another dynamic lady who is taking the family winery founded in 1880 into the 21st Century. Marina produces some world-renowned wines and runs an Agriturismo with some of the most breathtaking views in Friuli.

The Danieli Merlot, Picolit and Verduzzo Fruiliano are all sublime and I can think of no nicer way of enjoying lunch than with a glass of Danieli chilled Cabernet Sauginon with breathaking views of meadows and hills stretching for miles across the Danieli estate.

On my last morning, I tasted a superb Cabernet and Tocai at the Perusini agriturismo. We were greeted by the charming Teresa Perusini, an art historian with a passion not only for art but also wine growing.

The Perusinis have been producing premium wines on plots who’s positions and site climates are some of the finest in the region with 14 acres under vine. I visited the barrique cellar.

Teresa is proud that Perusini wines have won the International Wine Award for bronze and silver and been given Decanter Magazine’s Seal of Approval.

Friuli is one of Italy’s hidden gems. All the more reason to discover the Spirito Di Vino in this beautiful corner of Italy which is currently producing some of Italy best wines.

I agree with Antoine de Saint Euxpery who could be summing up Friuli when he said: “The land provides us, to our benefit, with more teachings than any books. Because it offers resistance. Measuring itself against the obstacle, the man discovers himself. The farmer plowing, little by little wings some secrets from nature, and the truth that he draws forth is universal.”

For more information on wine tourism in Fruili, email info@mtvfruilivg.it or visit www.mtvfriulivg.it

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