Biography
The Collavini family’s involvement in wine began in 1896, when the founder of the dynasty, Eugenio Collavini, began to supply the better families of Udine with his wines. But the magic moment in the development of the firm came in the 1970’s when his descendent, Manlio Collavini, decided to invest sizeable capital in modern and functional plants and improve both the efficiency of the cellars and the quality of the wines. The move was rewarded with immediate success thanks to Grigio, a sparkling wine from Prosecco and Chardonnay grapes which won widespread and immediate popularity. Doubled with the creation of a sparkling Ribolla Gialla. With the acquisition and renovation, in 1980, of a 16th century mansion in Corno di Rosazzo, this enterprising producer of Friuli not only found a prestigious home for his family but also cellars in which he could concentrate production. And it was then that the qualitative leap of the firm took place, with a far-reaching and comprehensive program which included long-term relationships with the supplier of grapes, and modernization of the cellar technology based on soft pressing and temperature-controlled fermentation. Currently, with 430 acres of proprietary vineyards and an annual production of 1.5 million bottles, Manlio Collavini’s company is one of the most efficient and important of Friuli. This is due to the care and attention with which he has always given both to the volume wines and to the higher level offerings in his line, and to the interest which has always been given to experimentation in the cellars: not only traditional techniques, such as the drying of the grapes, but also new concepts such as the freezing of the grapes, reverse osmosis and so forth. For him, wine is much more than a drink: a conviction which has driven him, as a member of Parliament, to improve wine legislation as well. The most brilliant results, however, of his public activities have been to succeed in baptizing the streets of his home township, Corno di Rosazzo, with the name of the native grape varieties: the address of his house, in fact, is Via Ribolla Gialla. Assisted by his wife Anna and his sons Luigi and Giovanni, he also relies on the cellar work of winemaker Walter Bergnach. The finest achievement has been a white, Broy, a Collio appellation wine which blends Tocai, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon, along with two red wines: Forresco, a Collio blend of Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, Refosco di Faedis, and Pignolo, and Dal Pic, a Collio Merlot from one of the great international varieties.