Gravner

Josko Gravner is considered the master of orange wines, the one who resumed and enhanced the ancestral use of terracotta amphorae and very long macerations on the skins. The winery is located in the small hamlet of Oslavia, within the vocated territory of Collio Goriziano, where Josko works in symbiosis with nature, guiding, caring for and even serving it, always respecting its spontaneous rhythms and cycles. In his youth he experimented with the use of barriques and cutting-edge technology, while his father watched him hoping that he would retrace his steps. So it was, and Josko decided to abandon these homologating equipment, recovering those techniques as old as they are established that modern industry has tried to push aside by giving up terroir characterization. Today the cellar is simple and functional, full of buried terracotta amphorae within which the wine takes shape, evolves and lives.

Gravner's estate covers 32 hectares of land, just over 15 of which are dedicated to vines, surrounded by forests, meadows and ponds populated by numerous species of animals. In fact, Josko's credo has led him to try to restore the natural balance that intensive farming and monocultures have destroyed, a balance based on water, a fundamental element for life. In this context of remarkable biodiversity, he pays particular attention to the phases of the moon, consulting Maria Thun's calendar in order to identify the most suitable periods for carrying out agronomic operations such as pruning, planting and harvesting. The grape varieties raised are exclusively the indigenous Ribolla Gialla and Pignolo. At one time Gravner also cultivated Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling Italico, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon but decided to explant them to focus on the noble local varieties mentioned above. Fermentations take place exclusively in buried Georgian amphorae thanks to the presence of only indigenous yeasts, accompanied by a very prolonged contact between the must and the skins that goes up to several months for Ribolla. This is followed by several years of aging in large Slavonian oak barrels and a further long period of bottle aging before final release.

Thus are born Gravner's wines, macerated reds and whites endowed with a wonderful vitality and energy that transcend concepts of purity and ancestrality.