Schioppettino 1990

Schioppettino is a dark-skinned grape variety native to Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the far northeastern corner of Italy. Having declined in plantings massively in the late 19th and 20th Centuries, it was saved from extinction in the 1970s, and is now regaining the respect and recognition it once enjoyed.

Most Schioppettino wines are medium-bodied, deeply-colored, aromatic on the nose (violets and red berries) and spicy to the palate ("peppery" and "earthy" are oft-encountered descriptors).
The finest Schioppettino wines come from the Colli Orientali del Friuli ("the eastern hills of Friuli"), which mark the border between Italy and Slovenia. The variety grows particularly well around the hillside parishes of Cialla and Prepotto, less than a mile from the Slovenian border.

Salvation came in the early 1970s, when Paolo Rapuzzi founded the Ronchi di Cialla winery, and began seeking out native Friulian grape varieties for his vineyard. By this time, the variety was so long-forgotten that it was neither recognized nor permitted for use by Italian wine law.