2024 Venica "Jesera" Pinot Grigio Collio

Notes

The 2024 Venica Jesera Pinot Grigio (Collio DOC) is a beautifully structural, highly authentic expression of the variety that completely rejects the standard, watery archetype of mass-market Italian Pinot Grigio. Sourced primarily from the estate's dedicated, low-lying Jesera vineyard in Dolegna del Collio—where the name translates to pond or water basin in the local Slovenian dialect—the fruit thrives in deep, marl-heavy marly-sandstone ponca soils. To honor the true nature of the grape, which naturally sports dark, pinkish-gray skins, Venica employs a traditional, brief cold maceration on the skins before fermentation. This short contact infuses the wine with its signature, eye-catching ramato copper reflection and pulls a subtle, fine-grained phenolic grip into the liquid fabric. The juice is raised primarily in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks on the fine lees for several months, with roughly 10% to 15% fermented and aged in large, neutral wooden vats to build a creamy mid-palate without imparting any overt wood flavor.