Estate
Geographical Map
The Geographical Map symbolises the renaissance of Italian winemaking and embodies the fundamental values of the work of Livio Felluga: an alliance with the forgotten territory of the Friuli hills, to produce great wines and promote them worldwide.
The Geographical Map proudly represents the great white wines of Friuli in over 80 countries, immortalising the dream of that great man, Livio Felluga.
Livio Felluga identifies with the best winemaking tradition in Friuli and nowadays, also beyond this chosen land, privileged for its people and its wines. A consolidated customary love of wine has been part of the family for six generations. Since Livio Felluga consecrated his affection for these hills by renovating the first vineyards in Rosazzo, his wines – with their unmistakeably distinctive style and aromas – have been the wines of the Geographical Map: an ancient map of Friuli’s hillsides, a symbol of the profound connection between the land and its history, which has appeared on the wine labels since 1956. Livio Felluga’s pioneering vision of the focal importance of knowledge, respect for the territory and obsession with quality, has been handed down through the estate, today firmly in the hands of his children. 228 hectares, (159 under vine) form a complex ecosystem with the Alps in the background and a view that reaches as far as the sea. 14 grape varieties are planted in vineyards alternating with woodlands, grassy hillsides, olive groves, paths, streams, culverts, mulberry and fruit trees. 320 individual plots extend across over 550 kilometres of rows of vines, where ancient knowledge is handed down with passion, and new knowledge evolves. The Geographical Map proudly represents the great white wines of Friuli in over 80 countries, immortalising the dream of that great man, Livio Felluga.
Estate
Philosophy
I like to highlight the importance of people. After all, when vines are left untrained, they can be found crawling across clearings or climbing up trees, and as charming as that sight may be, it is not one we associate with wine. People plough the land, plant the young vines in a precise order, train them, care for them, shower them with attention, pick the fruit and - by supervising the activity of their little allies, the yeasts - enable the miracle of fermentation to transform it into that nectar that we all dearly love.
Hard work, wisdom, passion, perseverance, insight, skills, discoveries, far-sightedness, excitement, disappointments, surprises, a sense of limit, wonder at the force of nature... all of these have accompanied wine producers for generation upon generation. While nature is always our master and must be protected, wine is made by people. By people, for people, who derive gratification from dreaming about it, drinking it, producing it. Although Livio Felluga is one of the largest wine estates in the Friuli hills, we are still a small company with the consequent inestimable privilege of being able to do things for the pleasure of it, and make the wines we like. Stylish wines with a strong territorial identity; wines that express, on the one hand, the character of our complex ecosystems, the cultivar (when they are monovarietal), the vine and – of key importance – the vintage year. But also our own work, our passion, our style. I don’t believe there are right ways and wrong ways to make wine, or at least, I would never presume to judge.
I think the Livio Felluga style can be defined as classic, although we continue to experiment with new experiences year after year, both in the vineyard and the cellar. Sometimes these take the form of substantial innovations, but often they are simply smaller adaptations, enabling us to make progress in sustainability, nurture our vines or improve our management of wine maturation. I don’t really believe that any particular stage of production has a prevalent influence on our wines, but rather that it’s crucial to pay attention to many details which, taken all together, allow us to express the character of our vineyards with finesse, complexity, harmony and preservability.
We are at once curious, willing to improve, and untiring in our pursuit of quality, and also very cautious of introducing changes to our modus operandi, only doing so after testing possible innovations over several harvests. Besides, wines with a reputation like Terre Alte cannot be revolutionised, and the inherent guarantee of the Livio Felluga name must be treasured and protected.
If I may use an oxymoron, I would say we are dynamic custodians, aware that the chain of quality does not permit weak links. It seems excessive to call all of this a philosophy, but it is our life.
Andrea Felluga
Estate
Sustainability
Our progress is distinguished by the constant, meticulous pursuit of quality and a profound respect for the land and the environment. This sense of responsibility, always deeply felt, guides the Livio Felluga estate towards sustainable choices in order to hand down a precious and irreplaceable heritage to future generations.
For Livio Felluga, sustainability is a valuable tile in the mosaic of winegrowing knowledge and skill that enables us to value and develop the land we depend on. We want to continue as custodians of this land, preserving its vitality and capacity to produce wines that speak of its marked identity. This is why we have adopted a responsible approach to winegrowing, in the certainty that learning to act in a sustainable way is the key to the future. It is not a question of obtaining certification with market value, but value-driven information that pervades the estate’s activity throughout the production process.
Therefore, to mention just a few examples, we not only impose exclusive use of organic fertilisers and a total ban on weeding in the care of our vineyards: our electricity supply comes from renewable sources, we make an effort to reduce our use of plastic, we maintain and extend the woodland areas, making a direct contribution to fighting climate change.Moreover, investing over 500 hours per hectare of manual work in the vineyards has a positive effect not only on grape quality but also in social, territorial and environmental terms. We are aware that the margins for improvement for our estate and the whole of society are huge, and that the time to act is now. The formation of a scientific committee, the ISO 14001 environmental protocols, the adoption of the National Quality System of Integrated Production (SQNPI), and participation in the Italian Ministry for the Environment’s winegrowing sustainability programme, are all tools for our work, our proactive contribution to achieving sustainability as the key mission statement of our company.”
The wines
There are aromas, flavors, moments, that restore the natural rhythm of the seasons, that reconcile us with the world and with nature. Livio Felluga wines teach us to recognize and savor a whole history, the sense of unique and exciting work.
History
Courageous, visionary, enlightened and retiring, after every challenge Livio Felluga has always returned to his passions: family, the land, his hills. With infinite affection and admiration, Veronelli called him “the countryman”: is there a truer word to define the patriarch of 20th century Friulan winegrowing?