Italy

Question 1

What is Ponca?

Answer 1

Friuli’s signature soil for wine-growing, is found throughout Colli Orientali and Collio Goriziano (and over the border in Slovenia’s Brda region, where the locals call it opoka). Ponca is composed of marl and sandstone, and it contains marine fossils originating at the bottom of what is now the Adriatic Sea.

Question 2

What does “Ronco delle Mele” translate to?

Answer 2

“Terrace of Apples”

Friuli’s premier wines today are the product of ponca soils, but there is a downside—it’s prone to landslides, which can slough off entire sections of a vineyard in rainier years. Giampaolo Venica at Venica e Venica faced such distresses in 2014 as a large tract of his Ronco delle Mele washed down the hill. To prevent this, he plants apple trees to hold the soil together, which lend the vineyard its name: the “terrace of apples.”

Question 3

When compared to Colli Orientali, Collio wines typically possess more__________ and _________.

Answer 3

Weight and extract.

Question 4

In Collio, grapes must be grown at a minimum of ___ meters above sea level.

Answer 4

85

Question 5

What does “Ronco” translate to?

Answer 5

A hill with vines