Masùt da Rive: Fine wines from Friuli

Masut da Rive vineyard — (Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Masùt da Rive is located in the small town of Mariano del Friuli within the Isonzo del Friuli DOC, in the northeastern Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Here, the deep, red-hued iron-rich soils combine with excellent diurnal temperature variation from the warm Adriatic winds and cool night-time mountain breezes, providing ideal conditions for producing fresh, fruity white wines and full-bodied red wines with structure and texture.

The Gallo family has been growing grapes in the region for four generations. The Masùt da Rive winery was founded in 1979 by Silvano Gallo, who named it after a 16th century ancestor called Tommaso, known to friends as Masùt, or ‘little Tommaso’. Masùt da Rive is today run by Silvano’s sons Fabrizio and Marco, with the same passion as their father.

In tune with the environment, its 25-hectares of vineyards are managed with a sustainable and ethical focus. A solar array provides kilowatts of clean energy for all the winery’s needs, and a sub-irrigation system delivers water to the roots of the vines, minimising wastage from evaporation.

Masùt da Rive produces a wide range of superb red and white wines, from local specialities such as Friulano and Ribolla Gialla, to international favourites including Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

The estate’s flagship variety is Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir), grown by the Gallo family since 1985. Friuli Venezia Giulia is on the same latitude as Burgundy and Oregon, and it produces Pinot Nero with fruity aromas of cherry, blackberry and raspberry and fresh, fine structure outlined by French oak.

In order to preserve the characteristics of the soil and the vines, careful selection of the best grapes is done by hand. Refrigerated trucks cool down the grapes to preserve aromatics on their way to the winery. When they arrive, the grapes are destemmed and softly crushed, using dry ice to prevent oxidation or spontaneous fermentation. The white grapes are fermented and matured on the lees in stainless steel for a number of months. The red grapes undergo a long maceration, with regular gentle pump-overs during fermentation followed by maturation in small French barriques for at least 12 months.

Along with its core ‘Gli Scudi’ range of six wines, Masùt da Rive produces a ‘White Label’ range, which is distinguished by the use of select plots of vines, and vinification in a combination of stainless steel and a variety of sizes of French oak barrels.

The ‘Black Label’ range represents the peak of winemaking expertise and the three wines are made from the estate’s best plots of vines. Distinct winemaking methods for each wine are designed to bring out the best from each variety: Pinot Nero, Merlot and Pinot Grigio.