September 5, 2025 (San Floriano del Collio, Italy) — “Pinot Grigio is an extremely important wine for the Collio and for my winery. This grape variety has been part of our territory for about 150 years and today we can truly say it is a wine deeply rooted in our tradition.”
With these words, Robert Princic, owner of Gradis’ciutta, introduces his Pinot Grigio, a wine born from a long history and a profound bond with its land.
Made exclusively from Pinot Grigio grapes, a variety introduced to the Gorizia area in the second half of the 19th century and also known as Ruländer. From the very beginning, this grape proved to be particularly well-suited to the clay marl soils of the Collio, especially on the slopes of its rolling hills. It stands out from all other grapes for its distinctive copper-tinged hue, unique among white varieties.
At Gradis’ciutta, Pinot Grigio has been cultivated since 1975 in the Budignacco, Pozar and Dragica vineyards, located at altitudes between 100 and 140 meters above sea level, on clay-marl soils.
“The way we think about wine, and the way we make it, is deeply rooted in tradition,”explains Princic. “That’s why we vinify Pinot Grigio in the classic style, as a white wine.”
Vinification involves gentle pressing of the grapes, followed by temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine then matures “sur lie” until bottling.
Visually, the wine shows a bright and luminous peach hue, typical of the variety. On the nose, it displays a complex bouquet, ranging from baked pear to sweet spices, complemented by floral notes and hints of aromatic herbs. On the palate, flavors of ripe sweet peach and melon unfold, with a rounded, creamy mid-palate and a finish featuring a touch of hazelnut. This is a medium-bodied wine, with well-balanced acidity and fruitiness, produced from low-yield vineyards with fully ripe grapes.
Best served chilled, between 9 and 10 °C, it is ideal as an aperitif and pairs elegantly with a wide range of dishes: appetizers, soups, fish (both fried and baked), white meats, and flavorful cheeses.
About Gradis’ciutta
Founded in 1997 by Robert Princic in the heart of Collio, the Gradis’ciutta company now extends over 50 hectares of vineyards located both on the Italian side of Collio and in Slovenia. This dual territorial soul allows the richness and complexity of a unique wine-growing area to be best expressed through the production of highly identifiable varieties such as Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia, Friulano and Pinot Grigio. The collaboration between the two sides of the border has given rise to a shared vision and a production that acts as a spokesperson for a cross-border identity, where wines become a symbol of connection between cultures, true bridges that unite rather than borders that separate.
At the heart of it all, sustainability is one of the company’s core values: Robert Princic has chosen to adopt environmentally conscious, organic winegrowing, based on respect for nature, people and the land, with the aim of creating authentic, sophisticated wines deeply rooted in their origins.
