Ep. 1075 Elija Muzic | Wine, Food & Travel With Marc Millon

Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. This episode has been brought to you by the wine to wine business forum twenty twenty two. This year, we'll mark the ninth edition of the forum to be held on November seventh and eighth of twenty twenty two in Verona Italy. This year will be an explosively in person addition. The main theme of the event will be all around wine communication. And tickets are on sale now. The second early bird discount will be available until September eighteenth. For more information, please visit us at wine to wine dot net. Welcome to wine food and travel. With me, Mark Billen, on Italian wine podcast. Listen in as we journey to some of Italy's most beautiful places in the company of those who know them best. The families who grow grapes and make fabulous wines. Through their stories, we will learn not just about their wines, but also so about their ways of life, the local and regional foods and specialties that pair naturally with their wines, and the most beautiful places to visit. We have a wonderful journey of discovery ahead of us, and I hope you will join me. Welcome to wine food and travel with me, Mark Millen, on Italian wine podcast. Today, we're in the wine hills of Colio located in Frioli Venencia, Julia, talked almost on the border with Slovakia. My guest today is Elijah Muzic of Cantina Muzic, who will tell us about a fascinating, beautiful, and diverse corner of Italy where wine, food, architecture, history all reflect a multicultural past, and which is a source today of some of the most citing white wines in all of Italy. Thanks for being my guest today. Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm very fine. Thanks, and thanks for the opportunity for being present at this famous podcast. Oh, well, thank you. Now I want our listeners to who may not be familiar with Fruliovenencia, Julia, or certainly the Colio to gain a picture of of of where you are. So can you describe for our listeners, Colio Country side, San Floriano? I know it's a very beautiful place. And tell us, tell us what makes Colio unique and so special. Yes. Of course. So starting from viewing the Italy in general Priule, Vanessa, Julia is a region in north eastern part of Italy on the border with, Austria and on the border with Lavinia. We are, in Philadelphia, Juliet, on the east side of Philadelphia, Juliet, Julia. The main country is the country of Gauritzia. The main city is Gauritzia. And our winery is located in San Floriano del Colio. That is a village, a a small city of about eight hundred inhabitants on the heels of call your producing area. So, call your area is a hilly place located for one third in Italy and two thirds of the surface in Slovenia. I mean about Colio. I'm talking about the weather conditions, the soil conditions, and, of course, the growing, conditions and varieties grown in our area. So we are on the hill, on the border with Slovenia, in Italy, but on the border with Slovenia. Actually, that's that's very important because, of course, it's a reminder that this is an area that has had many, many wars fought over the over the centuries, but certainly in World War one and World War two, and these borders have divided communities in some ways. Yes. Of course. Our our area in general, the east part of Philadelphia, Julia, mainly during the first World War was a very hot place And, of course, the borders were redraw a lot of times. And, at the moment, like, I I told you, a couple of minutes ago, the call your production area is located in Italy. In the, the the same area is named, with the name of Verda. But the conditions of the soil and of the varieties of the weather are the same. It's just a border a state border that cut this territory in, in two parts, of course. Okay. Well, I know that the San Floriano and Colio has a history of wine growing dating back centuries in millennia, but in fact, this quality production of wines from polio, and the specialization really began after World War two. Is that right? And tell us a little bit about your family history and and how, your family have come to be making wines in Colio. Yes. Of course, in general, in Italy after the second world war, the techniques and the the know how, of identification of analogy of Viticulture grow up and, of course, also our area, the colo area, grows in quality. A lot of farms that were concentrated on production of grapes and also of fruits. For example, here in San Floriano, after second World War, it was a lot of fruit production like Ditches and Africa. In general, after that in the eighties and nineties, all the territory was grown up with vineyards. And, at the moment, Callio Area is, very popular for white one mainly for white wine production. So for the growing of white wine varieties, like Ribolajala, Frulano, or Ocai, Frulano, and Malvasia. Of course, we grow, like, also other international varieties, vinogrios, Avignon, chardonnay, and others. So mainly after the second world war, the wine production quality improves in our area. For my family, so for our winery, so the winery is a family winery. It was founded about, nineteen twenty seven. So before the second world war, but just in nineteen ninety, we, started with bottling the wine. So, after that, in this, last thirty years, we grow up our production. At the moment, we work about twenty five hectares of vineyards mainly in San Floriano del Pollo, of course, and mainly, of white wine, varieties. The production is, carried out in our winery. That is, of course, located in some again. And we produce about, a hundred and twenty thousand bottles of wine per year. You may know that this production is not a very big production, but if you compare, these numbers with other sellers that are not familiar, a family, seller. So it is, it is a very good work and a, a busy work. All my family works in, in our company. So, I have my mother and my father that starts, of course, the the bottling process in nineteen nineties And at the moment, they are, of course, they work. They still work in our winery. And, me and my brother, that is one year, younger. We do a lot of work in vineyards, mainly in vineyards. And in cellular. Okay. So it's a real family, family business, still a small family business. Now you've mentioned Colio and San Floriano is being particularly suited to production of high quality white wines. Frioli, of course, is, is, has many line growing regions and designations, such as, is onzo or, what makes polio this small area right on the border with Lavinia. What makes Colio, the territory of Colio, so well adapted to both autochtinous, as well as international white grape varieties? Yes. Of course. The region, so you live in India, Julia, is not very big. But it has one very important particularity. I mean about the, the middle position from the sea side, the adriatic sea, and the alps. So We speak about a position, in the middle between the sea, so high temperatures and high humidity, and the alps. So the mountains where you have in general lower temperatures, a lot of wind that drives the the air, of course. And so, the particularity of polio is that polio is located exactly at them on the hills at the middle of this two extreme locations. So the the alps on one side on the no in the northern part of Triley and between and the seaside in the southern part of Freley. So our hills are particular because we have the temperatures during the day of, of the sea. So high temperatures during the during the summer period. And during the night, so during the night, you have So we have lower temperatures, from the from the alps. And this this type of, temperature excursion permits to our, grapes to grow up of course, in sugar, of course, but also in flavors and aromas. That are much different if compared with other, wine growing regions in friuli. In friuli, you can also find flat area production, flat productions area, like you you you talked about a Fruliso also of Rioli, Latizana, and Rioli grave. And then you can find hilly places of productions and, like Collio and Colliore in Tali. And then in the northern part where you can find out, in general, the the the wine production is very, very low, of course. Italian wine podcast. If you think you love wine as much as we do, then give us a like and a follow anywhere you get your pods. Okay. So that's a really good picture. This diurnal temperature variation between night and day helping for flavors and aromas to develop. And also this particular soil of chorro, the ponca. What is this? Yes. So, in chorro, we have this particular type type of mineral soil. Ponca. The ponca is, a couple of layers of, Marna and Arna Erinaria are two type of minerals. Is is like a very fragile stone of, compacted sand and compacted, I know the truth word for Arjilla. And this type of soil is very particular because with, with a low working process of, working of the soil, this mineral, breaks up and releases the, the minerality that is, picked up by the, by the vines, and, of course, is located into the grape. Sure. Sure. No. No. That's very clear. It's this mix of chalky clay and sandstone is fleece soil that, Yes. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. If you move from the hills, so from the call your area, down to the flat area of Isonzo. For example, that is the closest production area, to the colio, from our winery is about five kilometers away. You can so the the soil and also the temperatures changes in in a couple of kilometers. So it means that the soil is not, is not characterized in his own area by the onka. But you have these big stones that, remembers like the the stones you can find in rivers Mhmm. And, in the flat places. So the temperature and the soil type in a couple of kilometers can change. Of course, when you travel from the hills, so from Collio to, today's zone four area. Okay. Well, let's talk about two of your wines that I think are very typical of Colio, very important in Colio, and and wines that perhaps, I think our listeners would like to taste and learn more about the ribola and the friulano. Yes. These two varieties are the most famous local varieties, in polio. These are two white wines. So the, the particularity of each of this of this variety is that you can you can see the the differences, starting from the vine. So the Frulano has a little bit smaller, leaf. The Ebola has a little bit bigger leaves. Also, the grape of theribo La Jolla is very big. The grape of tokai Frulano is a little bit smaller. For the, the wine characteristics, so the wine flavors and and the aromas of these two varieties. So Ribola Jolla is a very, very light wine. It means that you can find that Ribola Jolla with about twelve to thirteen percentage of alcoholic content. Frulano, in general, it has a little bit highest alcoholic content, and, is, Frulano is not light like ribulah gala. So in general, if you want, to, drink audio during a dinner. In general, you must start or you shall you shall start with, and then at the middle between the first dishes and the second dishes, you can switch with Freulano. So these are two completely different varieties that you can find in Collio area and also in Okay. And, actually, in talking about food, all of the wines of polio and indeed of Priulifinietzia, Julia, these are above all wines to enjoy with food, with the gastronomy of the area. Now you mentioned that this, the border with Austria with Slovakia, this area that has historically been passed through and conquered at times. That's also had an effect, a delicious effect on the gastronomy of the region. Can we talk about some of the foods of your area and how they pair with your wines? Yes. Of course. So, for the living area, is the famous, not also for the wines, of course, it's famous, also for, some typical dishes or some food, that you can find mainly in Priulevina at Sajulia. So starting with, with some live dishes. We have, a a small, location in Philadelphia, Julia, a famous for the production of, of ham. So, ham and cheese, that's in general. You you you can enjoy it, at the beginning of, of dinner. In general, you can This would be sorry. This would be the or the. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. In general, this type of, prosciutto, you can you can, taste, with this procedure, you can taste some light wines like, for example, or, Malazilla. And when then you, switch to the other dishes, in Fioli, it's very typical. The free call. The free call is a mixture of, potatoes and cheese that is, you must put them together, and then you need to cook on the, on in in the kitchen. So and, of course, this is a dish is much more. This has much more aroma. So you need to have some most, hard wine like Frulano, of course, that has, much more important aromas to to, of course, to to be in in contact with with the food, of course. Great. Those are two very typical food experiences. I think everyone will want to try the beautifully delicate sweet, prosciutto di San Danielle. But even more special, perhaps, is is prosciutto di de as well or the cormones. Lightly lightly smoked sometimes. Is that right? Exactly. Exactly. And and and produced in cormones that is art of cardio production area. So it's it's a it's a food that is produced, so in a couple of kilometers from here. So it's it's very local. And I guess you are also able to enjoy, as you say, the proximity of the sea, the Adriatic, as well as the the mountains where some of the great cheeses such as Montazio come from. So you have this gastronomy that links sea and mountain. What would be some typical preemie piapti than most typical of your area. So we have some, like, like, I I told, about the free call, of course. And, if you move a little bit, closer to the c side, of course, a lot of fishes. We have a couple of, areas where the the fishing, the fishing is very important. Some cities that are important for the seaside to reason, like, grado, for example, and Liana Sabiadoro, where in general, you can eat all the the types of fish that grows in our Now we're on the arctic sea. And, of course, the the most the best way to to have a dinner or a lunch with, with a fish, fish dish or fish dishes is to have a bottle of white wine. If this wine is from Colio, it's much better because the enjoying of a fish with, cordial wine, a fresh wine is, So perhaps say, a Freulano with the peppery Broeto from Grado and this. Yes. Exactly. Exactly. A medley of fish. Exactly. And we also, I haven't mentioned another very important and typical great variety, the pico lead, which makes an extraordinary one. Tell us a little bit about this grape variety. Yes. So this grape variety is one of the local varieties in Frulio, and also so in, in the cardio area is a very particular variety because it is a white it has a white grape, but it's a variety that is, that for the production of sweet wine. So it means that the grades are picked up in general at the middle of October. So so after the picking up of rate, red grades, so after the cabinet, Savignon, after the Merlo, It means that the grapes dries on the on the vines. And, then you can pick up the grapes. For our winery, we pick up the grapes, and then we dry a little bit more, the grapes in the winery, and after the a period of, fermentation and maceration of the skin with their juice and their wine is aged in oak barrels and then bottled you must know that at the moment, we we are selling. So we have on the on the market, the two thousand fifteen vintage of Ecolip And for the other white wine varieties, we are selling the two thousand twenty one. That means that the production of the picolet, the the production phases are much longer than other varieties because this variety is is very particular. Okay. So it's, it's a the the grapes actually undergo the drying on the vine rather than as a passito, ma'am, rather than being harvested. Is that right? Yes. Yes. Exactly. And resulting in this luscious, very exquisite and unique dessert wine that you only really there's so little of it around. And as, as you say, it's, it needs is aging, and it can improve. It's very complex. And it's one of the real specialties that I urge everybody who visits free living at Virginia to try. Of course, also the production is a very, very low you must know that on one hectare of or, tokai Sri or Malatia, you can produce, in polio up to seven to eight tons of grapes per hectare. For the picolet, you can produce you can in general, you can produce, about two tons, two tons and a half of grapes per hectare. Is that the production is very low because the grapes cannot develop all the berries, that has during the flowering period. Okay. So about eighty percent of the flowers at the end of growing dries and drops down. So they they will not develop, into a berry. My goodness. That's a remarkably low yield. And I guess It shows what a special wine it is that wine growers will still persist with this historic variety because the result is so exquisite. Yes. Exactly. Exactly. Well, thank you so much, for being my guest today. It's been a real pleasure to enter into the world of Colio to learn about where Cantino Muzic is located, to learn about your wines and the history and also the foods of the region. So, it's an area. I love to visit. I hope our listeners will jump on a train, or rent a car if they're perhaps visiting Venice because it's only a couple of hours north and, Discover this wonderful region and this smaller area of Colio and the Cantino Muzic. So thank you very much, and I look forward to visiting myself. Thanks for this, opportunity, and you know, that we are waiting for you and for all visitors that want to be a couple of days in our area, in our vineyards in our territory. Thanks a lot Wonderful. We hope you enjoy today's episode brought to you by the wine to wine business forum twenty twenty two. This year, we'll mark the ninth edition of the forum to be held on November seventh and eighth twenty twenty two in verona Italy. Remember, The second early bird discount on tickets will be available until September eighteenth. For more information, please visit us at wine to wine dot net. Hi, guys. I'm Joy Livingston, and I am the producer of the Italian wine podcast. Thank you for listening. We are the only wine podcast that has been doing a daily show since the pandemic began. This is a labor of love and we are committed to bringing you free content every day. Of course, this takes time and effort not to mention the cost of equipment, production, and editing. We will be grateful for your donations, suggestions, requests, and ideas. For more information on how to get in touch, go to Italian wine podcast dot com.