A Glimpse Inside Italy’s Wine Regions: The Wines of Montalcino & Gorizia
CrushBrew Editorial · Italian Wine Series · 9 min read
Italy draws wine lovers from around the world to 20 distinct regions, each with its own grapes, traditions, and Old World style. To show how different two corners of the country can be, we spoke with two people who live among the vines: a poet in the Tuscan hill town of Montalcino, home of Brunello, and a local in Gorizia, in the northeastern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, where some of Italy’s finest white and orange wines are made.
Key Takeaways
A wine giant: Italy is consistently one of the world’s largest wine producers, and according to the OIV it was the largest in 2024, ahead of France and Spain.
Brunello: Brunello di Montalcino is a prestigious Tuscan red made entirely from Sangiovese, aged for years before release under strict DOCG rules.
The oak debate: Traditional Montalcino producers age Brunello in large Slavonian-oak “botti,” arguing that small French barriques mask Sangiovese’s character.
Friuli whites: The Collio area around Gorizia makes some of Italy’s best white wines, from Friulano and Ribolla Gialla to Pinot Grigio.
Orange wine: The village of Oslavia near Gorizia is the Italian heartland of skin-contact “orange” wine, often aged in clay amphorae.
In This Article
- Why is Italy a top destination for wine lovers?
- What makes Montalcino’s Brunello di Montalcino special?
- How is Brunello di Montalcino aged, and what is Rosso di Montalcino?
- What wines is Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia known for?
- Which Gorizia winemakers make amphora and orange wines?
- Frequently asked questions
- Quick reference
Why is Italy a top destination for wine lovers?
Italy attracts thousands of wine lovers every year, and for good reason. It is one of the most prolific wine countries on earth: according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), Italy was the world’s largest wine producer in 2024, ahead of France and Spain, with the three countries together accounting for roughly half the world’s wine. Output swings from year to year with the weather, but Italy is almost always at or near the top.
What makes the country so rewarding to explore is its diversity. Twenty regions, hundreds of native grape varieties, and a deeply rooted Old World approach mean that the wine in one corner of Italy can have almost nothing in common with the wine a few hours away. To show that range, here are two very different regions, seen through the eyes of people who live there.
What makes Montalcino’s Brunello di Montalcino special?
Tuscany is famous for high-quality reds, from Chianti to the “Super Tuscans,” but the small hill town of Montalcino, south of Siena and surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, has its own claim to fame: Brunello di Montalcino, made entirely from Sangiovese. Alex Josephy, a poet and retired university lecturer who lives near Montalcino in Tuscany’s Val d’Orcia, has spent years getting to know local winemakers and even helping with harvests at the wine farms, or aziende.
Definition
Brunello di Montalcino
Brunello di Montalcino is a prestigious red wine made entirely from Sangiovese, grown around the town of Montalcino in Tuscany’s Siena province. It was Italy’s first DOCG wine, prized for its elegance, structure, and ability to age for decades.
The terroir is the heart of the story. Montalcino’s microclimate has been described as the place where “Mediterranean meets continental.” Summers are hot enough to ripen the grapes, salty evening breezes blow in from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, and the extinct volcano Monte Amiata draws off clouds and keeps heavy rain away. The soil is well balanced, and said in places to hold the bones of dinosaurs. Because no two years bring the same weather, no two vintages are quite alike, which is part of what Josephy loves about it.
“A mouthful of Brunello tells a story — a story with a beginning, a middle and an end, all linked to the place and its traditions.”
— Alex Josephy, poet, on the wines of Montalcino
How is Brunello di Montalcino aged, and what is Rosso di Montalcino?
Brunello is one of Italy’s most tightly controlled wines. Production is strictly inspected, the vines cannot be artificially irrigated, and every stage of vinification is regulated. Local winemakers are particular about their methods, and one long-running debate is about oak: purists insist on aging in large “botti” of Slavonian oak and argue that the smaller, more modern French “barriques” impart too much oak flavor and mask Brunello’s character.
Definition
Botti vs. Barriques
Botti are large wooden casks, traditionally of Slavonian oak, that act mainly as vessels and add little oak flavor. Barriques are small French oak barrels that impart more oak character. Traditional Brunello producers favor botti; many feel barriques mask Sangiovese’s flavor.
The aging is long by design. Under the DOCG rules, Brunello must spend at least two years in oak and four months in the bottle, and it cannot be released until January 1 of the fifth year after the harvest; a Riserva is released a year later. Most traditional producers age it even longer. For those who want something to drink sooner, there is Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello’s “little brother,” made from the same Sangiovese but aged for a much shorter time, a delicious, lighter, less demanding wine for everyday drinking.
What is it that makes the wine so wonderful? People talk of its eleganza, its structure, and its complexity. As Josephy puts it, the careful local producers each have their own way with the wine, and that individuality, year to year and cellar to cellar, is the pleasure of it.
What wines is Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia known for?
Far to the northeast, on the border with Slovenia, sits Gorizia, the home of Massimo Soranzio. The surrounding wine areas are Collio, whose name comes from colle, meaning hill, with Cormòns at its center, and Isonzo, the valley of the river Isonzo, centered on Gradisca d’Isonzo. Nearby is Colli Orientali del Friuli, near the town of Cividale, where the Bastianich family of MasterChef fame owns vineyards and a restaurant. In 2025, Gorizia and neighboring Nova Gorica, just across the Slovenian border, shared the title of European Capital of Culture.
“My hometown of Gorizia is one of the smallest Italian provinces, bordering Slovenia.”
— Massimo Soranzio, on the Friuli wine country
Italy is best known for its reds, but Collio makes some of the country’s finest whites. The area is small, and its output modest enough that it is known mostly to connoisseurs, but it is hard to find a poor wine here. The microclimate is favorable and the mineral “ponca” soil is ideal for grapes, with the Alps to the north and the Adriatic to the south keeping the region temperate. Many of the best wines come from small family wineries making 40,000 to 50,000 bottles, relying on organic methods and traditional craft, working alongside family members.
The White Grapes of Collio
| Grape | Notes |
|---|---|
| Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris) | A crisp, widely planted Collio white. |
| Pinot Bianco | A fresh, delicate white. |
| Friulano | The local signature white, often the house pour across Friuli. |
| Ribolla Gialla | A native, thick-skinned grape, also used for orange wines. |
| Malvasia Istriana | An aromatic dry white, not to be confused with the sweet Malvasia of other regions. |
Which Gorizia winemakers make amphora and orange wines?
The Gorizia area, and the village of Oslavia in particular, is the Italian heartland of skin-contact “orange” wine. Damijan Podversic is a well-known local vintner, recognized for a Malvasia that was named among the world’s best 100 wines. Traditional winemakers such as Paraschos make their wine in amphorae rather than the usual barriques. And Radikon, another small but great name, produces the typical Ribolla and Pinot Gris alongside its excellent “home wine” Oslavje, named for the locality of Oslavia and made from Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon grapes in an area that is bilingual, Italian and Slovenian.
Definition
Amphorae
Amphorae are large clay vessels used to store and age wine, often buried or half-buried in the ground. They protect the wine from oxidation and are central to the skin-contact “orange” wines for which Oslavia and the Collio became famous.
These amber-hued wines, made by leaving the juice in contact with the grape skins like a red, were pioneered in Oslavia by producers like Joško Gravner and Stanko Radikon and are now imitated worldwide. The style was long made without formal recognition, but in December 2024 the Collio consortium voted to create an official category for these macerated wines, a milestone for a region that helped define orange wine.
The best way to know any of this, Soranzio says, is to go. Towns like Cormòns and Gradisca have enoteche, or “wine libraries,” where you can sample bottles or take wine-tasting courses, and the small family wineries reward anyone willing to seek out the region’s white and orange wines in person.
Frequently Asked Questions About Italian Wine Regions
🍷 Two Italian Wine Regions at a Glance
How Montalcino and Gorizia compare across the things that define their wines.
| Detail | Montalcino (Tuscany) | Gorizia (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Hilltop town south of Siena, Tuscany. | Northeast Italy, on the Slovenian border. |
| Signature wine | Brunello di Montalcino (red). | Collio whites and orange wines. |
| Main grapes | Sangiovese. | Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Grigio, Malvasia Istriana. |
| Style | Powerful, age-worthy reds. | Crisp whites and skin-contact orange wines. |
| Hallmark method | Long aging in large Slavonian-oak botti. | Traditional and organic winemaking, some in amphorae. |
| Local guide | Alex Josephy, poet. | Massimo Soranzio. |
