The Schippettino vine, known as Ribolla Nera, is almost exclusively cultivated in the territory of Prepotto and its villages Cialla and Albana. The vine, which is now highly appreciated, has been documented in this territory since the mid-13th century. Since most of the existing plants were uprooted in the early 1900s, an important project was started at the beginning of 1970 and, thanks to the will of the Rapuzzi family and the then mayor of Prepotto Bernardo Bruno, it was possible to recover, identifying, selecting and cloning the best and most typical vines found on site. For the planting of Schioppettino, Dina and Paolo Rapuzzi were awarded the first Nonino Risit d’Aur Prize in 1976. Like all ancient vines, this one was not registered in the national catalogue of vines, a situation that was remedied in 1977, with its inclusion in the list of vines authorised by the DOC dei Colli orientali consortium (1983). In 1995 the Cialla subzone (the first in the region) was then established, and in 2008, a second subzone, that of the 'Schioppettino di Prepotto', rwas also established, reserved for grapes grown there. Ventilation, temperatures and pedology are a unique treasure for this Valley and their interaction gives the vine and the wine a great structural and aromatic variety, not repeatable anywhere else, qualities particularly appreciated by consumers able to grasp the signs of the land, its history and its culture.
