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Here is the real jewel of Friuli winemaking!
Ramandolo is the only wine named after the area in which
it is produced, a characteristic which puts it at the
top of the pyramid in the classification of the world’s
wines and ensures both its promotion and its uncompromising
quality. The Ramandolo vineyards, all visual delights,
reside on terraces stepping up gentle hillsides, at home
with forests of chestnut, acacia, beech, oak, and elm.
The wine derives its name from the village of Ramandolo,
located within the comune of Nimis in the northernmost
area of Friuli’s Colli Orientali viticultural
district.
The grapes are harvested exclusively by hand, towards
mid-October, with vineyard yield of about 60 to 70 q/ha
(3.1 tons/acre). The clusters are then placed in shallow
trays, each holding a maxi-mum of 7 kg (15 lbs) of grapes,
where they remain for about three to four weeks, gradually
drying.
After this natural drying process, the clusters are
de-stemmed and the juice macerates for a few hours on
the skins; they then undergo a light pressing. When
the fermenting wine reaches 12.5-13% alcohol, the fermentation
is arrested by chilling, leaving an appealing wine with
a slight residual sugar.
In this crucial step, some of the wine is put into small
oak barrels for a few months--the period may vary; the
rest of the wine remains in stainless steel. After this
ageing period, the barrel lots are blended into the
wine in steel, resulting in a wine with rich, full rich
aromas.
Total production: 1,000 cases of half-liter bottles.
Alcohol: 12.8%
Total acidity: 6.2 gr/li.
pH: 3.588
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