Travel

Picolit: «Phoenix of Friuli»
«Enoteka» №12 2007

Once in a conversation with Hugh Johnson I got to hear how a revered contemporary wine writer was complaining about the undeserved fate of some legendary sweet wines of the world — Hungarian Tokaji, South African Constantia, Spanish Malaga…

Recently I remembered our conversation again when I went to Friuli in the north-east of Italy and tasted Picolit wines.

Although when talking about legendary wines Hugh Johnson didn’t mention Picolit, an inspiring history and inimitable character of the wine give grounds to call it great and to include it in the honourary list of the world’s best dessert wines.

It is true that the name of the wine that comes from the name of the grape is hardly known even to connoisseurs — not only in the world, but in Italy. The situation is set to change as Friuli, Picolit’s homeland, is witnessing a rise of a new movement which aims to put the wine at a once lost pedestal of fame. Winemakers have already gained a foothold for their work. Starting from 2006 vintage, sweet Picolit wines can boast a controlled and guaranteed name of origin (DOCG) to confirm their formal recognition on the highest level of the modern Italian wine hierarchy.

If we turn the time 250 years back, we’ll be quite surprised to know that Picolit conquered most splendid European courts, from Paris to Amsterdam, from Naples to London. We don’t actually need to go far — Picolit was well known in the Russian aristocratic circles! The wine vied in prestige with the Tokaji, even if today the story of the latter is known much better.

Mysteries of time conceal how Picolit arrived in Friuli and when first wine was made. A number of unorthodox theories were given in XVI-XIX centuries — they spoke about African, French and Hungarian origins of the grape. Yet, by the 20th century wine theoreticians agreed that Picolit is an autochthonous Friulian variety. It was possibly cultivated by the ancient Romans and was noted as Pucino wine in the Natural History by Pliny the Elder. As Gaetano Perusini, one of the modern authorities in researching Picolit, commented, “it’s likely, or we can at least assume, based on currently known documentation, that the cradle of the vine species must be sought in the Rosazzo area”. The first documented evidence was a mention of a keg with “vino picolit dolce” (sweet Picolit wine) taken to Udine in 1682, but the real fame came to the wine only in the mid-18th century.

The part of a fateful person for Picolit was assigned to Count Asquini di Fagagna who will always be present in the wine’s historic annals for two good reasons. Firstly, Asquini di Fagagna left a detailed description “on how to make Picolit wine”. His notes are a valuable written evidence of the full production process. They cover various aspects from maturity of grapes and picking techniques to the process of withering grapes and vinification that includes such subtleties as volume of barrels, aging period and wine clarification.

Secondly, Picolit’s triumph in Europe was made possible thanks to the count’s ingenious marketing plan. Asquini di Fagagna dared to push forward an unknown wine from Friuli as a competitor to the renowned Tokaji, “king of wines” of the mid-18th century. Audacious count carried out a sales strategy that many will find relevant to promote luxury products today.

The first priority was quality and an easily identifiable style of wine. Paradoxically, Asquini di Fagagna never drank even a drop of alcohol. He relied on an expert tasting commission to assess quality. A trial shipment was sent to the Spanish port Cadiz and back to check wine’s ability to travel. The count produced two styles of Picolit depending of the markets’ preferences. One was with more spirit and less sweet, the other was sweeter and rounder.

The wine was positioned as an exclusive product for a narrow circle of aristocrats and clergymen. It was bottled in special handmade bottles from fine Murano glass. The price of a bottle of Picolit was 29 times higher than the average price of a common Friulian wine! Sales headquarters were located in Venice, one of the most important European centres and one of the trendsetters for new goods. The sales were entrusted to a count’s close friend.

The plan proved to be a huge commercial success. In the first year (1762) 264 bottles of wine were sold, and the sales peaked in 1777 and 1785 with over 4,700 bottles. Picolit was enjoying success for nearly half a century, but unfortunately the wine remained a sole creation of the count and for unknown reasons didn’t receive support from other Friulian winemakers. When Count Asquini di Fagagna died, Picolit’s recognition passed away with him. Later the vine species was virtually destroyed by the phylloxera louse.

The story of Picolit in the past century also has fascinating links with personalities who understood the grape’s great heritage and who were concerned about its future.

It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the Perusini family were Picolit’s main missionaries during most part of the 20th century. In 1906 Giacomo Perusini wrote a treatise “Il Piccolit” in which he had made a research of the grape’s genotypes, of treating vineyards and of making wine. A passionate winemaker and a well educated man, Perusini started Picolit’s renaissance on vineyards of the historic Rocca Bernarda estate which then belonged to his family.

After Perusini’s early death his wife and son continued his mission. Countess Giuseppina Perusini Antonini, an artistic person without a lack of business sense, opened Picolit wine for a great Italian maestro Luigi Veronelli. He described his fateful meeting with the countess in 1956 which became a love affair with wine, on numerous occasions. “Pay attention, Veronelli, this is the first and the last time you’ll ever drink it”, Giuseppina ordered around as she produced Picolit only for herself. In the first edition of Vini d’Italia guide inspired Veronelli wrote: “I don’t believe that there is in Italy a more noble wine than this. It was an authentic gem of Friulian enology…; it could be the pride of all our enology if only we could successfully establish its culture and vinification. Its qualities would make it for Italy, that which Chateau d’Yquem is for France”. Luckily the countess didn’t keep her word and opened bottles for Veronelli until her death in 1975.

Later Isi Benini, another renowned Italian wine journalist, called Picolit “the Phoenix of Friuli” and supported it in the Il Vino magazine. “Don’t offer it to a lady or a girl — because she may say yes to you”, he joked.

Picolit’s gradual return to vineyards and new experiments started in the seventies. A decade later Picolit could be found in about twenty estates. Late 20th — early 21st century were marked by a large scale scientific research together with the University of Udine. The project involved three departments — plant production and agrarian technologies, biology and agro-industrial economy, and food sciences. The work in vineyards and laboratories culminated in awarding the highest quality status DOCG to the Picolit production zone in April 2006.

Even with all the work done, the newest history of Picolit is just starting. According to various estimates, Picolit vineyards cover between 60 and 100 hectares, while the total area of Colli Orientali del Friuli zone is 2,100 hectares. Taking into consideration that Picolit is cultivated by around 50 estates, average vineyard size doesn’t exceed 1-2 hectares and sometimes has only a few vine rows. The largest producers such as Rocca Bernarda or La Roncaia make 6-7,000 bottles (0,5 l) a year. Others make considerably less.

Although vineyards are located in various parts of the Colli Orientali del Friuli zone, major growing centres are situated just in nine communes. Rocca Bernarda, Rosazzo and Cialla are considered of grand cru level for Picolit. They boast own genotypes of the grape adapted to their particular terroirs.

Picolit plantings may possibly be enlarged in the coming years, but the expansion will never be too big. Picolit is a difficult and labour intensive variety. The main problem for a grower is that two types of flowers are formed during flowering. One of them is not pollinated and doesn’t produce grapes. Thus, Picolit bunches are formed loose as if many berries are missing. If a normal bunch consists of 30-100 berries, Picolit has only 15-30. Natural yields, accordingly, are very low, maximum 3-4 tonnes per hectare. Although scientists are trying to solve the problem with flowering and have already created new clones with more effective flower pollination, winegrowers believe that new grapes do not produce high quality. The other difficulty with Picolit is that its vines are very vigorous and need lots of time and labour resources.

Winegrowers received unified production norms with introduction of the DOCG code. They stipulate maximum yields at 4 tonnes per hectare, or 22 hectolitres per hectare at the allowed output of 55%.

But even when estates are ready for Picolit’s challenges in vineyards, another dilemma awaits them in wineries. Which style of wine to choose? How to do the vinification? While the norms clearly state various technical parametres such as dry extract or alcohol, the issue of style remains open. In a relatively small lineup of wines one can find light and dark coloured wines, with little and high sugar level, from not fully ripe to botrytised grapes, made in style of Austrian spatlese, French sauternes, Italian vinsanto or Hungarian Tokaji…

It is understandable that the new zone and winemarkers are searching for their way. Yet, such a wide range of styles keeps a danger that the zone may not form a general standard that is usually referred to as ‘typicity’ and consumers will be confused about which wine is ‘correct’.

Perhaps, winemakers shouldn’t invent the wheel again, but go back to the tradition laid by Fabio Asquini di Fagagna. The formula of great Picolit, left by the count, works today. It can and should lead to a glorious renaissance and recognition of wine among wine connoisseurs as it is happening today with the Hugarian Tokaji, Picolit’s historic rival.

One of the inspiring wines that I came to taste was made in Ronchi di Cialla where the Rapuzzi family follows classic production cannon. The vintage was 2004, the latest released wine. The Picolit wrapped with a fine veil of floral and honeyed aromas, won over with its fresh elegance, captivated by its soft power, left an impression of impeccable integrity and purity, presented flavours of sweet, ripe apricots, teased with its spice and left a long train of aftertaste. Then I understood how aristocrats of the 18th century might have felt when enjoying a wonderful drink. And happily thought that although times have changed, a rare privilege to open a bottle of a majestic Picolit remains with us.