2020 Canus Ribolla Gialla Friuli Colli Orientali

The annual VinItaly convention attracts over 80,000 members of the wine trade from all over the world: importers looking for wines, wineries looking for buyers, writers handing out scores, and everything in between.

It’s absolute madness, but we go every year, hoping to find a stunning wine that hasn’t hit the American market—one like Canus’ Ribolla Gialla.  

When we tasted it, we were floored: It leads with beautiful Meyer lemon, chamomile, and saffron aromas, preceding an electric palate delivering superb refreshment on Ribolla’s signature laser-focused acidity. It has the concentration and seriousness that’s only found in the best terroirs in Friuli—in this case, the stunning, rolling hills of Canus’ Ronco di Gramogliano Vineyard.

If you love Italian white wine—hell, if you love white Burgundy or great Sancerre, two wines that also show off similar tension between texture and brightness—this bottle is a must-try.

Ribolla Gialla is one of Italy’s great native grapes, producing white wines of intensity, cut, and nuance. It’s also exceptionally picky about location—boring if planted on flat sites, but thrilling when rooted in the hills of Friuli’s Colli Orientali, home of the Ronco di Gramogliano site. 

Canus farms sustainably, hand-harvests, and settles the must for 36 hours before fermentation—none of which are de rigeur in Friuli. Ditto with the minimum of nine months of tank-aging, plus more resting in bottle before release.

In Friuli, they’d pour this alongside frico caldo—a pan-fried potato gratin made with Montasio cheese—or an omelet loaded with parsley, tarragon, lemon balm, fresh mint, and sculpit, a local herb. We’re partial to it as a companion for richer fish, especially salmon and swordfish, or a big plate of wild mushrooms on toast.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 13.00%
• Enjoy right away
• Now – 2026
• % Ribolla Gialla
• Serving temperature – 50°
• Cork