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and one of the guest speakers at the conference,
which I still view today as one of the greatest
honors to have come my way in a lifetime dedi-
cated to wine. However, at the end of my very
positive and uplifting presentation on Picolit,
one well-known producer took me aside to bit-
terly complain that I had cast Cialla in a favora-
ble light while making all other DOCG Picolit
wines seem of lesser quality. Publicly a staunch
supporter of a regionwide Picolit DOCG, he
knew in private that the product had been
turned into a lesser one. Rather than do some-
thing about it, which he didn't (and still doesn't)
want to do, his solution was to gloss over the
issue. Last but not least, another problem for
Picolit is that not all producers are blessed with
crystalline winemaking talent (something
hampering Verduzzo's chance to shine as well),
and unbalanced wines with off odors, hints of
grey rot, or poor use of oak are not uncommon.
Lest it seem that I am something of a Picolit
basher, let me be clear: I love Picolit. I spent the
better part of my university days in the 1980s
hunting down every bottled example, scaveng-
ing for forgotten vintages on dusty wineshop
shelves and hitting every local fair to try the
artisanally made Picolit bottlings meant for
family consumption. My mother remembers
the last part all too well, for she used to drive
me around to all those fairs (she never com-
plained once: while I conducted my Picolit taste
tests, she did the same with grilled sausage
sandwiches of every ilk). I believe that when
producers get picolit right, it's a mesmerizing
drinking experience, not easily forgotten.
Unlike wines made with varieties such as, for
example, Moscato Bianco, Moscato di Alessan-
dria, Moscato Ottonel, or Welschriesling,
Picolit wines are characterized by a refi nement
and grace uncommon in most sweet wines
(this hamstrings picolit in poorly run blind
tastings where it gets sandwiched between
supersweet, alcoholic, vanilla-laden behe-
moths). A great picolit is fi rst and foremost a
wine of wonderful delicacy, not just sweet and
velvety, with the texture, sweetness, and acidity
worthy of a high-wire act.
Wine color varies from bright yellow to
amber-gold (depending on how ripe and air-
dried the grapes are). Aromas are captivating
and complex (orange blossoms, acacia honey,
tangerine, yellow peach, poached quince,
spiced pear, dried apricot, ginger) and fl avors
range from delicate and refi ned to rich and
thick. The variety can at times be low in acidity;
the best wines are those that have fragrant,
vibrant aromas and fl avors thanks to lively
acids. If there is one weakness to my “picolit is
one of the world's great wines” axiom, it's that,
in my extensive experience, the wine does not
age particularly well and is best drunk within
fi ve years of the harvest. It may last longer, but
it rarely improves. I have bought and cellared as
many as ten different wines of every vintage
from 1979 to today, and I have yet to fi nd one
that improves much after fi ve years posthar-
vest. So in that light, if a wine's greatness is
measured by its ageworthiness, then picolit
falls a little short.
In Australia, a number of wineries are try-
ing their hand at Picolit, either as a monovarie-
tal or in blends (Pizzini, Di Lusso). In Canada,
Donald Ziraldo has decided to honor his roots
(he is from Fagagna in Friuli Venezia Giulia, an
area indelibly linked to picolit production) and
has made a “Canadian” picolit from grapes
culled in the Fagagna area.
wines to try:
Aquila del Torre*** (a very good
example of Savorgnano Picolit), Livio Fel-
luga*** (from the hotter Rosazzo subzone),
Ronchi di Cialla*** (from the cooler Cialla sub-
zone), Vigna Petrussa***, Ermacora**, Giro-
lamo Dorigo**, I Comelli**, Paolo Rodaro**,
Marco Sara** (another wine from Savorgnano),
La Roncaia*, Rocca Bernarda*, and Torre
Rosazza*.
Piculit Neri
where it's found:
FVG, Veneto.
national
registry code number:
322.
color:
red.
Once believed to be synonymous with
Refosco Gentile or di Rauscedo, Piculit Neri was
