It is the “family” vine and we never stop talking about it. Yet for a long time it was a “Cinderella” grape.
Over the years we at Primosic have enhanced and reinterpreted this grape variety, revealing, with varying methods of production, all of its potential and never-ending charm.
Ribolla Gialla
Time goes by, but Ribolla remains: there is a unique bond between Oslavia and Ribolla, maybe the true link of a territory which for centuries has seen violent human sequences of events run by.
After two World Wars, the farmers of Oslavia defended and replanted it, because they knew that this marl clay, poor, flaky soil, which crumbles in the hand, was just what Ribolla prefers to get the best out of itself.
Ribolla is a beautifully rich fruit, with a juicy pulp, and thick golden skin. The farmers knew how to appreciate its abundance, the grape which did not become the wine of noblemen and was not influenced by the happenings at the cross-roads of many European by-ways: this was “our” Ribolla.
This tight bond, this deep knowledge of the vine, precisely in Oslavia, where it was understood that the “treasure” of Ribolla Gialla was hidden beneath its skin. The hot maceration process of the skins reconnects the history, and once again, extracts the very best of a grape which is appreciated for the colour of the wine produced.
“As children, we went to harvest the grapes with a small sickle which our parents had bought at the Sant’Andrea fair. The grapes which we waited for with the keenest pleasure were Ribolla Gialla, because with its large and tasty berries it was a pleasure to eat. I remember picking these bunches with the same enthusiasm with which I picked the first cherries in May.”
Silvan Primosic
“In 1998 we started doing short macerations at controlled temperature, and since 2003 we have taken a further step forward with our Ribolla di Oslavia, changing its production philosophy. Our father was emphatic that we keep a version of classic “Think Yellow” Ribolla Gialla, that is vinified in steel without any type of maceration, so that it preserves the authentic freshness of primary and varietal aromas. Alongside, however, we wanted a richer and more complex wine, produced with full maceration on the skins and aging in barrels. The results were immediately encouraging, and we continued in this direction: today our Ribolla Gialla Riserva embodies the best expression of Oslavia”.
Boris Primosic