Verduzzo Friulano

Verduzzo (or Verduzzo Friulano) is a white Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. It is also found in significant plantings in the Piave Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) of the Veneto region, though some of these plantings may be of the separate Verduzzo Trevigiano variety. Verduzzo Friulano is used in varietal and blended wines, many of which fall under DOC as well as vino da tavola designations, that range in style from dry to late harvest wines. According to wine expert Oz Clarke, most of the sweeter examples of Verduzzo can be found in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia with the grape being used for progressively drier styles of the wine the further west into the Veneto. The grape is widely associated with the Denominazione di origine controllata e Garantita (DOCG) wine of Ramandolo which gained DOCG status in 2001. It is also often seen in the DOC wines from the Colli Orientali del Friuli. Wine expert Karen MacNeil has stated that the Verduzzo-based Ramandolo is one of the "lightest-bodied, most exquisite dessert wines made anywhere". According to wine writers Joe Bastianich and David Lynch, Verduzzo has the potential to produce honeyed sweet wines with a citrus note similar to "an orange jelly candy" as well as somewhat tannic dry whites with "chalky" notes. Verduzzo has a long history in northeast Italy with the first written record of the grape dating back to June 6, 1409, in a listing of wines served at a banquet in Cividale del Friuli in honor of Pope Gregory XII. According to the account, a Verduzzo wine from the commune of Faedis in the Udine province was served along with a Ramandolo from the Torlano frazione of Nimis. Considering that Ramandolo is a primary synonym of Verduzzo and the modern Denominazione di origine controllata e Garantita (DOCG) sweet dessert wine from the region is made solely from Verduzzo, it is likely both wines mentioned in the document came from the same grape with potentially one wine being a drier style and the other sweet.