Winefriend by David Way

Writing about the wines of Piemonte, Italy and France

Piera 1899

It was great to be able to taste the wines of a larger Friulian company, based in Friuli Grave. Normally all the spotlight is on Collio and Friuli Collio Orientali, rather than on the flatter plain normally associated with volume production and Glera for Prosecco.

The winery Piera 1899 produces a number of lines but here we are talking about the Terre Magre line – ‘poor earth’ being the clue to these mid-market quality wines. The real star here is the macerated-on-the-skins Pinot Grigio, L’Altro. This is a fine pale copper-pink colour, not a true orange wine but delicate, perfumed and elegant. After all Pinot Grigio does go a dusky pink colour when ripe and so it is not surprising that you can make a ‘near-rosé’ wine from it.

Pinot Grigio L'Altro
Pinot Grigio L’Altro

The other wines are worth a try too: a juicy and fruity Merlot, a lively aperitif style Ribolla Gialla and a creditable Pinot Noir (surely the most difficult variety to make successfully here?)

Having said that it was a shame that the presentation was not more open about it grape sourcing. How many hectares do they own and where? How much do they depend on growers? (nothing wrong with that) And, why the persistence with heavy bottles when a huge proportion of wine’s carbon footprint is transporting glass?

With thanks to Piera 1899 and to Well Com PR agency.

Scroll to Top