History
The Gravner estate is located in the north-east of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, close to the border with Slovenia. The winery is located in the tiny enclave of Oslavia and home to some of the most experimental producers in the world of wine today.
Vineyards
Vineyard area: 18 ha
The vineyards are mostly planted to the two native varieties, Ribolla Gialla & Pignolo with a smaller amounts of Pinot Grigio, Riesling Italico, Chardonnay, Sauvignon & Merlot, the latter are being phased out so the Josko can focus on Slavic varieties.
The vineyards are run naturally with no fertilisers or chemical treatments. The fruit is hand harvested late to ensure the wines have alcohol and structure. The grapes are then destemmed, crushed and then transferred to the 3500 litre clay amphorae. The amphorae are buried in the cool soil up their necks allowing for a stable temperature .
The wines are left to ferment naturally on skins for a full six months then transferred to large botte for further ageing. The wines are then bottled without fining or filtration and sit in cellar until the wine is 5 years old. Josko’s makes wine that tastes of the vineyard, the region and its history.
Winemaking
Production: 39,000 bottles a year
Gravner is a proponent of the use of open-top wood vats and extended maceration on the grape skins, while he eschews added yeasts, sulphur dioxide, and temperature control—in short, he supports purely natural winemaking. Gravner employs both amphorae and large oak barrels to make his three wines: Collio "Breg," Ribolla Gialla, and "Rosso Gravner." The grapes for these wines come from his 18 hectares of vineyards in Gorizia (Oslavia) that straddle the Italian-Slovenian border. It is here that he exercises his current approach to wine. Gravner avers, "I am convinced that wine is a product of Nature, not of Man, whose role therefore is to accompany its maturation process while avoiding any artificial intervention." Every bottle of Gravner’s wines is a testament to the pure beauty of that philosophy.
“I banned chemicals in the vineyard 26 years ago and the only precaution I take in the cellar is a bit of sulphur dioxide.” – Josko Gravner (2017)