2017 Giuseppe Zorzettig Sauvignon Colli Orientali Friuli Venezia Giulia 750 ml

A Surprise at the Spanish Steps

The people-watching on Rome’s Spanish Steps was fantastic: a rotating cast of tourists in sweat-spotted tank tops, elbowing for position, looking to snap a pic of their flushed faces with the world-famous Trinità dei Monti in the background.

We, on the other hand, were across the Piazza, staying cool while sipping white wine under a broad umbrella—yet we managed to take home something far more rewarding than a Spanish Steps selfie: an allocation of the 2017 Giuseppe Zorzettig Sauvignon, a refreshing stone fruit-laden white wine that will delight you in the same way as a Bordeaux blanc or top-flight Italian Pinot Grigio.

We were absolutely stunned by how the bright and lively Zorzettig, which shows tons of citrus zest, nectarine, and a mouthwatering finish, grabbed our attention that day. It was a dream when we drank it with bruschetta and fried artichokes, and will be unbeatable as an aperitif or poolside refresher, or with halibut or shellfish off the grill. This is a wine that will make fans of creamy Sauvignon Blanc and Italian whites do exactly what we did: perk right up, then drink it right down. 

The irony of discovering the Zorzettig is that the work portion of our trip to Italy was supposed to be over. We had just come from Vinitaly, the annual Italian wine showcase, where we had tasted hundreds of the most spectacular wines produced from Piedmont to Puglia. Yet this mouthwatering white, poured at the tail end of our trip, was one of the most memorable ones we tasted. So we set to work at wresting an allocation of the Zorzettig away from the rest of Europe and bringing it stateside. Now we pass this perfect summertime sipper along to you.

The Zorzettig family has been perched for a century in the hills of Spessa di Cividale, in the heart of the Colli Orientali del Friuli region. Friuli—the region that Vino Italiano authors David Lynch and Joseph Bastianich say produces some of the “most complex and full-bodied whites to be found anywhere in the world”—is heaven for white grapes, and not only indigenous grapes like Friulano, Malvasia, and Pinot Grigio. International grapes like Sauvignon Blanc thrive there as well. That’s why Friuli is always a stop on our quest for stellar white wines.

If you’ve never had Sauvignon Blanc from Friuli, this is the perfect opportunity to get on board. It can take on a different dimension than Sauv Blanc from the more classic French regions, like the Loire and Bordeaux. It’s a little more generous with its stone fruit notes, and the acidity is a little more subdued.

Of course, it has all you’d expect from a stellar Sauv Blanc: fantastic aromatics of jasmine and citrus zest, a sleek mouthfeel, energetic zip, and a crisp finish that will leave you primed for another sip, then another, then another. That’s what made us stand at attention—even though all we wanted to do was lounge at the Piazza di Spagna—and that’s why we had to bring it home to you. Don’t miss out on a fantastic white wine discovery.