Clay amphorae are believed by many to be the first tanks ever to hold wine—historians have traced back more than 4,000 years with documents from Georgia (formerly in the USSR) that reveal this ancient practice.
In contrast, today's Friulian winemakers have embraced words like stainless steel, temperature control, and barrique. Ironically, it was Josko Gravner who helped pioneer the use of these tools. However, the iconoclastic and ever-changing Gravner has taken on a new "old" approach. Contradiction? No. Experimentation? Yes.
The relentless passion for perfection through experimentation changed his philosophy, as Gravner was among the first to combine bio-dynamic winemaking with a more traditional, unintrusive style in this white wine epicenter. Gravner is a proponent in the use of open-top wood vats, extended maceration on the grape skins, no added yeasts, no sulphur dioxide, and no temperature control—purely natural winemaking. This is Josko's current position, and he 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: "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."
