by InTrieste
It’s a crisp spring afternoon at Vinitaly, and Joe Bastianich is right at home among the clink of glasses and hum of global wine chatter. The New York restaurateur, television personality, and winemaker is here for one reason: to celebrate the wines of his family vineyard, Bastianich, nestled in Friuli Venezia Giulia
“I’m here presenting the wines of our family vineyard, Bastianich, in the lovely city of Verona,” he says, flashing a familiar smile. “But really, our roots are in Istria — which is a complicated story — though Trieste was always our city.”
That complexity of origin is something Bastianich carries with pride. When he first dreamed of making wine, there was only one place that made sense.
“Where else could I go in Italy but Friuli Venezia Giulia? That’s how my love story with Friuli begins.”
To hear him talk about it, this corner of Italy — hugging the Slovenian border — is nothing short of sacred ground for white wine.
“It’s certainly the premier white wine-making region in Italy,” he says. “You can make white wines in a lot of places, but Friuli, with its terroir and microclimates — especially in Collio and Colli Orientali — has the ability to make truly world-class wines.”
Wines, Bastianich insists, that can hold their own on the international stage.
“These are white wines that could sit at the table with the greats: Alsace, Burgundy, Australia, what have you.”
And what sets Friuli apart? For Bastianich, it’s more than the grapes. It’s the place itself.
“It’s the place that time left behind, and that’s the beauty of it,” he says. “When I go back to Cividale, to the winery, it’s like an Italy I remember from the ‘70s or ‘80s. A little unruined, still a little raw. The road less traveled.”
So what bottle does Bastianich reach for at the end of a long day?
“What’s my favorite wine? The one I make, of course — Vespa Bianco. What else would it be?”
With a parting grin, he offers a simple “Grazie” and disappears back into the crowd — glass in hand, heart in Friuli.
