The border kingdom of Collio: history, local food and tradition

The area of Collio Goriziano is a mosaic of rolling hills and tidy vineyards suspended between Italy and Slovenia that reveals its unique identity through stories of borders, contaminations and influences in a synthesis of unforgettable flavors.

You can walk, cycle or ride a Vespa through the hills, while discovering the best white wines in Italy, famous for their minerality and longevity.

In fact, in this corner of Friuli Venezia Giulia, between the Julian Alps, the Isonzo River and the Adriatic Sea, the undisputed queen is the vine:  For centuries, the area has produced extraordinary wines such as Ribolla Gialla, Friuliano and Collio Bianco, which derive from a terrain rich in marl and sandstone, called ponca.

The Collio area also produces authentic local foods that are the fruits of tradition and farming ingenuity. It boasts excellences such as the rose of Gorizia, a prized radicchio with an intense colour and unmistakable flavour, olives and white turnips with a purple collar, fine ingredients for traditional dishes.

At the table, Collio reveals its Central European influences: smoked hams, the fruit of Austrian traditions, are served alongside tasty cheeses, such as Liptauer, and iconic desserts such as gubana. The fruits of the cherry and plum trees that dot the landscape are used in the authentic local cakes and pastries, including the unusual and delicious plum gnocchi, a sweet and savoury dish of Bohemian origin.

Traces of the long Habsburg domination can still be found in the architecture, language and customs. Crossing the little towns of Cormòns, Capriva del Friuli and San Floriano del Collio, you can combine tasting local food and wine with cultural sightseeing, exploring churches, palaces and monuments that tell the troubled and fascinating past of these lands.

Start your day off with delicious freshly baked gubana from L’Antica Ricetta. This typical pastry, full of nuts and dried fruit, has ancient origins and was prepared during Easter and Christmas holidays as a symbol of abundance.

Head towards Oslavia to visit the Primosic winery, one of the custodians of the tradition of the macerated wine Ribolla Gialla. Here you will learn how this ancient wine - mentioned as far back as the Middle Ages - is produced, a process which gives it its characteristic amber color. This will be followed, of course, by the obligatory tasting session.

In the afternoon, you will visit Ruttàrs, one of the sunniest and most suggestive areas of the Collio DOC area, to visit Pascolo Alessandro. On this estate, for three generations, the Pascolo family has carefully followed every phase of wine production, creating wines are an authentic expression of the land. During the tasting, don't miss the opportunity to taste Friulano (formerly Tocai), which, in addition to perfectly representing the regional identity, best expresses the passion and tradition of this small winery. 

Collio is rich in wines and wineries. If you have little time, don’t know where to start, or want to deepen your knowledge and be guided among the hundreds of labels, the must-visit stop is the Enoteca di Cormòns. Recently renovated, the Enoteca is located in Piazza XXIV Maggio and serves as the Center for the promotion and enhancement of Collio: a tourist landmark for the area and the heart of Friulian wine. Since 1984, the Enoteca has been telling the story of regional traditions and richness, glass after glass!

at Josko Sirk's Al Cacciatore della Subida restaurant, local Gorizia tradition meets Slovenian influences. The restaurant's menu is strongly rooted in the local area and its products and producers: from game that comes from the region and from neighbouring Slovenia, to seasonal vegetables from local farms; flours from craft mills and cured meats from expert pork butchers in the area; local organic cheeses and other dairy produce, eggs from free-range hens. An authentic, respectful and meticulously crafted tribute to local dishes, with focus on the present and future of Italian cuisine. 

In the afternoon, head to Fattoria Zoff in Borgnano, a corner of peace and respect for the land, for animals, the seasons and food. Here you can visit the farm, meet the cows that produce the milk and taste their cheeses accompanied by craft jams.

End your day at Rosenbar in Gorizia, where you can taste the Rosa di Gorizia with frizze - bacon browned and cooked in vinegar. Don’t forget to try the sweet and sour plum gnocchi with butter and cinnamon, this delicious dish is a true representation of local rural traditions. Also unmissable are the sardoni in savor (fried sardines with an onion dressing) as well as seared dandelion with horseradish and eggs.