{"title":"Schioppettino","description":"\u003cp\u003eSchioppettino is a red grape native to Friuli's Colli Orientali, especially around Prepotto near the Slovenian border, where it is also called Ribolla Nera. It was nearly lost after phylloxera and survived thanks to a handful of growers in the 1970s and an official rescue of the variety. The name is said to come from the way its crisp, bursting berries 'crack' like a shot. The wines are medium-bodied and peppery, with wild berries, violet and dark spice, fresh acidity and fine tannins, closer in spirit to northern Rhône Syrah than to anything else in Italy.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"petrussa-schioppettino-di-prepotto-2022","title":"Petrussa Schioppettino di Prepotto 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSchioppettino di Prepotto has only existed as an official name since 2008, when it was recognized as a sub-zone of the Friuli Colli Orientali DOC, but growers here have tied the grape to this valley for centuries. Prepotto hugs the Slovenian border along the Judrio, close enough to the Adriatic for mild air but tucked beneath the Julian Prealps. Petrussa builds this bottling from several family vineyards rather than one. Schioppettino grows in Albana, warm and sandy alluvium by the river that drains fast and ripens early, and in Bivio Romanutti, cold clay and silt washed down from the hills that holds the season back. Blending sites gives a fuller picture of the sub-zone than any single parcel could.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePetrussa Schioppettino di Prepotto 2022 is 100% Schioppettino, the grape locals also call Ribolla Nera. The grapes are picked by hand, and the 2022 spent about 18 months in élevage, then roughly eight more in bottle before release, so it arrives with its tannin already settled. The family describes the style as finesse over muscle, and the grape's signature shows plainly: white and green pepper leading over small red berries, then a silky, fine-grained palate with real concentration and no heaviness. Expect raspberry, red currant, and sour cherry under the spice, with a cool, peppery finish. The 2022 season was one of the hottest and driest on record across northern Italy, with drought through the summer. Expect riper fruit than in cooler years, though alcohol stays at a moderate 13.5 percent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGianni and Paolo Petrussa split the work cleanly: Gianni farms, Paolo makes the wine. They took over from their father, Celestino, in 1987, just as Prepotto's growers were rebuilding around their native red. From 1990, as old vineyards were replanted, the valley turned toward the varieties that suited it best and toward denser plantings, now around 7,000 vines per hectare in new vineyards. In 2002 local growers formed a producers' association to defend the Schioppettino di Prepotto name, which won formal recognition six years later. Petrussa's house style favors freshness and purity over power, which is why this is the bottle we reach for when someone asks what red wine from Friuli should taste like.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSchioppettino's pepper wants something rich and a little gamey. Braised venison with juniper, red wine, and soft polenta is the Friulian answer; the fine tannin and acidity cut through the braise without crowding it. Duck legs roasted with black pepper and sour cherries echo both the spice and the red fruit. Cjarsons, the Carnic ravioli filled with ricotta, raisins, and cinnamon and finished with brown butter and smoked ricotta, meet the wine's spice with their own. For a weeknight, grill Italian sausages with peppers and onions. Pour this when you want a red with real character that will not wear out the table.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Stelvio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":68329135440095,"sku":null,"price":42.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/PA290625.jpg?v=1793317952"},{"product_id":"petrussa-schioppettino-di-prepotto-brischis-2022","title":"Petrussa Schioppettino di Prepotto Brischis 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMonte Brischis is the high ground of the Petrussa estate, and at 320 meters it sits well above the family's valley-floor vineyards along the Judrio. The site crowns a hill in the northern belt of the Prepotto valley, on rocky, calcareous soil the family identifies as Flysch di Grivò, near-neutral in pH and only moderately fertile. Wind moves through it constantly, and it takes sun for most of the day. Where the family's Albana parcel is warm, sandy alluvium that pushes ripeness, Brischis is stone and exposure: the rock and modest fertility keep vigor in check, and the air keeps the fruit clean. The vineyard covers 1.5 hectares and is the newest chapter in the family's Schioppettino, a single-vineyard counterpoint to the multi-site bottling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePetrussa Schioppettino di Prepotto Brischis 2022 is 100% Schioppettino from a single vineyard, a new bottling alongside the family's blended Schioppettino di Prepotto. The vines were planted in 2019 using three clones and two identified biotypes of the grape, chosen to build complexity into the vineyard itself rather than the cellar. Petrussa has not published separate cellar details for this cuvée. Expect a darker register than the standard bottling: allspice, clove, dusty cherry, and dried rose on the nose, then a silky, medium-bodied palate of black fruit, cracked pepper, and a saline, stony edge, closing on violets. The 2022 season was among the hottest and driest on record in northern Italy, and a windy hilltop at 320 meters is the kind of site that tends to hold freshness through that heat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlanting Monte Brischis in 2019 was a statement from a family that could have rested on what it had. The Petrussas have farmed in Albana di Prepotto since the early 1900s, and brothers Gianni and Paolo have run the estate since 1987, Gianni in the vineyards and Paolo in the cellar. Rather than plant a single clone, they set out the hilltop with three clones and two local biotypes, a bet on diversity over uniformity. Prepotto growers hold that this valley is where Schioppettino began, with the wine recorded on noble tables as early as 1282. Brischis is the brothers' answer to what a high, rocky site can add to that long history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGive Brischis a meal with some weight and some spice. Roast leg of lamb studded with garlic and rosemary and rubbed with cracked black pepper meets the wine's pepper head-on while the acidity lifts the fat. Mushroom and chestnut ragù over fresh pappardelle draws out the earthy, dusty-cherry side. Pork belly glazed with balsamic and served with braised red cabbage works because the wine's fresh acidity cuts the richness and the dark fruit meets the glaze. Open it on a cold Saturday when dinner runs long and the second glass matters more than the first.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Stelvio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":68329135472863,"sku":null,"price":58.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/PA290624.jpg?v=1793317952"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/collections\/redgrapes_a0e1621d-1430-4c91-bed7-89ba9429f681.png?v=1793249844","url":"https:\/\/danverwinemerchant.com\/collections\/schioppettino.oembed","provider":"Denver Wine Merchant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}