The Still & The VineSchool of Wine & Spirits
Gravner Ribolla Gialla 2015
White WineIssue 26

Gravner Ribolla Gialla 2015

Gravner · Gravner, Oslavia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

$7014.0% proofJosko Gravner was once one of Italy's most acclaimed modernist winemakers — stainless steel, temperature control, the full technological arsenal. Then, after a crisis of faith in the mid-1990s when he realized he no longer enjoyed drinking his own wines, he traveled to Georgia in 2000. By 2001, he had buried eleven handcrafted Georgian amphorae beneath his cellar in Oslavia, Friuli, and began fermenting Ribolla Gialla on its skins using only wild yeasts, no temperature control, no fining, and no filtration. The result helped launch the modern orange wine movement.
Gravner's experiment was the most radical in this lineup: he didn't tweak a process or add an ingredient — he threw away thirty years of modern winemaking and started over with seven-thousand-year-old technology. The Ribolla Gialla spends months on its skins in buried amphorae, developing a tannic structure and amber color that no conventional white wine possesses. Then it rests for six years in large oak before release. The result is a wine that defies categorization — not white, not red, not rosé, but something ancient and entirely its own. It proved that the oldest methods in winemaking weren't primitive — they were ahead of their time.

Kit Aromas

Tasting Notes

Nose

Complex and layered with dried apricot, orange peel, honey, resin, and a subtle note of white truffle. The extended aging brings nuances of caramel and nutmeg.

Palate

Dense and richly textured with flavors of citrus peel, roasted nuts, and honey. The skin contact gives the wine a tannic grip unusual for a white — more like a light red in structure — while the acidity remains bright and precise.

Finish

Exceptionally long with mineral, citrus zest, and a sapid, almond-like persistence that seems to evolve in the glass.

Specifications
Varietal
100% Ribolla Gialla
Blend
100% Ribolla Gialla, extended skin contact
Serve & Pair

Cocktail Suggestion

Cocktail — The Amphora Spritz: 3 oz Gravner Ribolla Gialla, 1 oz Aperol, 2 oz sparkling water. Build over ice in a wine glass, stir gently, garnish with a dried apricot slice.

Food Pairing

Pair with: Aged Parmigiano-Reggiano with honeycomb and walnuts — the wine's tannic structure and nutty complexity meet the cheese as equals, while the honey bridges to the Ribolla's amber sweetness.

Train These Aromas
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