A drink with...Friuli winemaker Ilaria Felluga: Aged Pinot Bianco 'is out of this world'

Sixth-generation Friuli winemaker Ilaria Felluga took the reins five years ago at her two family wineries (Marco Felluga and Russiz Superiore, majority-owned by Tommasi Family Estates group since 2024) at the age of 26, following the untimely death of her father Roberto in November 2021.

She talks to Decanter about her fascination with Pinot Bianco in this special corner of northeast Italy, and reflects on the challenges of wine communication for a new generation.

A drink with...Ilaria Felluga

‘My great-grandfather Giovanni opened a winery in Gradisca d’Isonzo and moved the family from the small city of Grado – a very brave decision with a family of seven kids, and one which saved them during World War II.

‘Two of the seven kids, Marco and Livio, followed the winemaking under the Felluga name until 1956, when they decided to split.

‘My grandfather Marco was born in 1927. He fell in love with Russiz Superiore and in 1967 decided to buy the winery. He gave it the name of the geographical area: russiz means ‘earth’ in an ancient Slovenian dialect, and superiore means ‘higher’, because we are up on a hill. My father Roberto was the fifth generation.

‘I was born in Friuli, but have lived half of my life in Liguria, where my mother is from. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My father asked me to this importer dinner in London when I was there on my gap year. I went in my Converse All Stars, school jeans and t-shirt. The restaurant was almost Michelin-star. The chef had created this menu just for us, and my father led the tasting. It was pretty huge. I came back home and decided to study viticulture and oenology.

‘I’m very lucky that the new generation of winemakers is sharing a lot. We see each other at wine fairs but also at dinners and tastings. We are growing up together and sharing ideas.

‘We’re concentrating a lot on wine tourism. We have organised art classes where people can paint while having a glass of wine paired with a small bite to eat, as well as our aperitivi musicali – relaxed settings where a younger public can feel free to ask questions.

‘The biggest challenge we face nowadays is communication: talking about wine and the consumption of it. First we have to educate people on where Friuli is! Slovenia [over the nearby border to the east] is doing a great job with communication and marketing. So we say we’re five minutes away from the Slovenian border.

‘You have everything you could want here. The sea is a 40-minute drive and you can choose from sandy or stony beaches. You can go to the mountains – walk, bike and ski – in just one hour. There are gentle hills full of wineries and typical trattorias, or Michelin-star restaurants. This is the strength of our region.

‘In Friuli, we are not known for one particular grape variety. We produce wines from Pinot Grigio, Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc – and they all come out beautifully!

‘Of course, Friulano and Ribolla Gialla are our most widely produced and our native varieties. Whites account for 87% of the Collio denomination, but we also have beautiful reds, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

‘Friuli wines can be enjoyed straight away, though if you have the patience to cellar them and forget about them for a while, you can happily drink them after 10, 15, even 20 years with no problem.

‘I’m very into Pinot Bianco – aged, it’s out of this world. But even six, seven months after harvest – I love the elegance and sapidity it gets on these hills.

‘Pinot Bianco from Friuli is not very well known. And the percentage of producers in the Collio appellation who make it is less than 3%. It’s a niche of a niche! It was also my father and grandfather’s favourite grape variety; maybe I drank a lot of it without realising it was their influence.’

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