Mario Schiopetto

Mario Schiopetto

Azienda Agricola Mario Schiopetto s.s. is one of the oldest wine estates in the Collio area.

In the rolling hills in Capriva del Friuli, in the province of Gorizia, Mario Schiopetto has been making wine since 1965 and his children Maria Angela, Carlo and Giorgio are delighted to carry on the family tradition.

Sensations, experience and tradition.

These are the elements linking three generations with the same passion for the earth, vines and wine - good wine that bears witness to the uniqueness of the area and the people who make it.

The Schiopetto family's 30 hectares (75 acres) of vineyards cover the fertile estate surrounding the former residence of the Bishop of Gorizia in Capriva del Friuli, and Podere dei Blumeri, in Oleis, not far from Capriva in the Rosazzo hills that form part of the Eastern Hills of Friuli.

There's nothing to invent, but everything to understand.

Good wine is the most genuine expression of an area. It is also the expression of those who create it. And in making a good wine, the main requirement is - first and foremost - safeguarding the environment.

Tradition, experience and sensitivity make all the difference.

For Azienda Agricola Mario Schiopetto s.s., sensitivity springs from an age-old relationship with nature. A unique treasure, the wealth of the soul - a relationship commenced by Mario Schiopetto long before he opened his famous winery in 1965, when as a mere child he listened to the wine gurgling in the barrels that filled his father's inn.

And he carried on throughout the fifties, as he travelled around Europe visiting the best wine cellars. In France and Germany Mario Schiopetto gathered a wealth of invaluable experience that he resolved to donate to his beloved Friuli. So, in putting what he had learnt touring Europe into practice in the Collio Goriziano area, Mario invented nothing, he merely sought to understand the land, the climate, the unique character of the hills. By looking and learning he became at one with nature.

The process at Mario Schiopetto's winery today is still based on these elementary principles. Profiting by the experience of their father, Mario, founder of the company and Friuli's wine-making tradition, and his father before him, grandfather Giorgio, a popular innkeeper in early 20th-century Udine, Maria Angela, Carlo and Giorgio carry on this exciting adventure - an old story that always has something new to relate. Based on sensitivity and respect, love of tradition and a true passion.