Author: Wine Restor

"Extempore Sauvignon 2019” awarded as the best white wine in Italy

Written by Wine Restor on October 12, 2025. Posted in 2025, News.

The Collio Sauvignon Extempore 2019 has been recognized as Italy’s Best White Wine of the Year, achieving a score of 99/100 in the Essential Guide to the Wines of Italy 2026 by @DoctorWine.

This result fills us with pride and gratitude: for our daily work, for the family history we safeguard, and for the deep bond with the Collio, a unique land that inspires us every day.

Extempore was born as a challenge: a Sauvignon that dares to break the mold, capable of surprising with its freshness, intensity, and longevity. An “extemporaneous” wine — as its name suggests — that respects time and turns it into complexity and emotion.

“This is a wine we care deeply about – says Gianni Venica – it represents us and tells our winemaking story. Seeing it awarded at such a high level is confirmation that intuition, combined with respect for the land and a desire to innovate, can lead to extraordinary results.”

The award ceremony took place on Saturday, October 4, at the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan, in the presence of Daniele Cernilli, founder of DoctorWine and one of Italy’s most authoritative wine tasters.

Ornella Venica’s words during the award ceremony

“For me and for the whole Venica family, it is a great honor to receive this important award, which I feel as recognition of 95 years of Venica&Venica history, in the heart of Dolegna del Collio, the northernmost village of this extraordinary land on the border with Slovenia.
A land that, rightly so, can be considered the place where Sauvignon, an international grape variety, has found a distinctive and highly appreciated Italian style.

It is equally meaningful for me to receive it from the hands of Daniele Cernilli, a great master taster I have known since the 1990s, who knows how to tell our everyday stories and make the world of wine truly special.

Finally, I also see this award as a passing of the torch to the fourth generation of our family: an encouragement to continue with dedication and passion towards new achievements.

Thank you from the heart”.

The value of time and family: our roots, our future

Along with the title of “Italy’s Best White Wine of the Year” for the Collio Sauvignon Extempore 2019, the Essential Guide to the Wines of Italy 2026 also awarded Venica&Venica three more prizes: “Best Wine from Sauvignon Grapes” and “Three Faces” for Extempore 2019, plus “One Face” for Ronco delle Mele.

Behind these achievements stand four generations of winegrowers who have believed — and continue to believe — in the Collio and its extraordinary vocation for white wines, especially Sauvignon.

From the first vineyards of our grandparents, from mixed farming and the family tavern, to the constant pursuit of new expressions, time is our secret ingredient: the one that gives depth, structure, and identity to every bottle.

Energy Awards FVG 2025

Written by Wine Restor on September 28, 2025. Posted in 2025, News.

Venica&Venica wins first prize! The winery has been recognized as the most virtuous company in Friuli Venezia Giulia for its increasingly sustainable use of energy, in line with the goals of the European Green Deal.

A new recognition has arrived in Dolegna del Collio: Venica&Venica has been awarded first prize at the Energy Awards FVG 2025, promoted by APE FVG – the Energy Agency of Friuli Venezia Giulia, which celebrates organizations capable of turning sustainability into concrete, measurable actions, aligned with the objectives of the European Green Deal.
The award was accepted on Wednesday, September 24, by Serena Venica, who represented the winery in a moment of great significance for the entire region.

“For us, it is important that Friuli Venezia Giulia has established this award: it encourages companies to pursue good practices and become more aware. Every sustainable choice, from vineyard to cellar, helps make the territory more attractive — an essential aspect for a North-East that wants to continue growing also through tourism” says Serena Venica.

Since 2011, Venica&Venica has followed a structured path of environmental, economic, and social sustainability, implementing measurable and verifiable actions. Among these: calculating and reducing CO₂ emissions thanks to the VIVA – Sustainable Viticulture certification, adopting good practices in both vineyard and cellar, and publishing the Sustainability Report, a tool of transparency and dialogue with the community.

The Energy Awards FVG also recognized the ability to communicate results clearly and authoritatively.

“For us - explains Ornella Venica - communication is not just storytelling — it’s a way to share a concrete, measurable commitment, inspiring other companies and engaging visitors who choose the Collio”.

All the areas assessed — energy, water, waste, mobility, biodiversity, safety, and people’s well-being — are fields where Venica&Venica maintains constant focus and improvement.

“Sustainability - continues Ornella - is a journey made of daily choices and long-term vision, combining innovation with respect for the land”.

Being recognized as the most virtuous company in Friuli Venezia Giulia and awarded first prize at the Energy Awards FVG 2025 is an additional incentive for Venica&Venica to continue its philosophy: transforming a century-old heritage into a project for the future, where winemaking excellence intertwines with responsibility toward the environment and the community.

Venica&Venica awarded the Distinctive Award of Excellence for Italian Entrepreneurship

Written by Wine Restor on September 22, 2025. Posted in 2025, News.

On September 19, 2025, in Gorizia – European Capital of Culture – we experienced a moment we will carry in our hearts. Our family was honored with the Distinctive Award of Excellence for Italian Entrepreneurship (category: sustainable viticulture) as part of the XII International Award of Excellence “Città del Galateo – Antonio De Ferraris”.

The motivation behind the award deeply moved us, because it reflects everything we believe in every day:
“To the Venica family for their authentic and constant commitment to protecting the environment, biodiversity and the community, embodying with passion and dedication the value of sustainability. The production philosophy of Venica&Venica, rooted in tradition and at the same time projected toward innovation, combines scientific rigor and human sensitivity, turning the work in the vineyard into a path of respect, listening and care for the land.”

The context of the award.

The International Award Città del Galateo, created to celebrate Italian and European excellence, this year chose Gorizia as its host city – a place symbolizing borders but also dialogue between cultures. In this unique setting, the award brought together voices from the worlds of art, literature, entrepreneurship, and civil society, with the goal of promoting values of beauty, ethics, and responsibility.

Ornella’s words.

Accepting the award on behalf of all of us was Ornella.

“We welcome this award with great honor and profound gratitude” she said. “Today I witnessed a moment of sharing, of culture and of human values. And this is something we must carry within us for a long time and, above all, pass on to our children.

I wish to thank the Scientific Committee of the International Award Città del Galateo – Antonio De Ferraris and Professor Francesco Lenoci for the attention given to entrepreneurship – entrepreneurship that begins with the land, where family is perhaps the founding value.”

She continued: “Thank you for the esteem shown toward a journey that is not only mine, but belongs to the entire Venica family. For us, it is a source of pride that the spotlight is placed on the value of family – the cornerstone of our winery and of many Italian realities that give voice to Made in Italy around the world.

And speaking of family, I cannot fail to remember my husband Gianni, the head winemaker capable of involving and uplifting each of us. He is the one who shares his responsibilities, because he wants his team to treasure the common good of our territory. It is thanks to his ability to delegate, to share responsibility, and to his vision that I stand here today".

An award we dedicate to our land.

This recognition is not just a destination but a starting point. We dedicate it to our community and to all the people who, together with us, walk every day among the vineyards with the same passion and respect.

Harvest 2025

Written by Wine Restor on August 30, 2025. Posted in 2025, News.

30 Years of Ronco delle Mele.

The 2025 harvest has a special flavor. This year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Ronco delle Mele, the Sauvignon that since 1995 has told the story of our home, our roots, and our future.

Already in 1984, after carefully studying the pedoclimatic characteristics of the Cerò hill, we chose the northwest exposure as the ideal site for white wines with a strong aromatic profile. From there, the dream of the “Ronco delle Mele Project” took shape, leading to the first vintage in 1995.

The wine rightfully takes its charming and evocative name from the vineyard itself from which the grapes originate. Even today, along the slopes and headlands, apple trees planted by grandfather Daniele remain, a testament to the traditional mixed farming system in which vines were trained to fruit tree trunks, once used as natural trellises for the vineyard rows.

The roots of our family’s bond with Sauvignon grapes thus run deep: a thread spanning generations, a story renewed vintage after vintage.

Harvest Diary

On August 19, on a bright summer’s day, Pinot Grigio in Ruttars was the first to open the 2025 harvest.
By now, it’s a certainty: our Pinot Grigio from Ruttars always ripens first!

As always, we rely on the wisdom of the vine, which knows the exact moment to offer its fruit. Man cannot impose a calendar: he can only embrace, with respect, the rhythm of nature.

The analyses of sugars, acidity, and pH show an excellent level of grape ripeness, thanks to the climatic conditions: after the heat peaks at the end of June came a balanced July with seasonal temperatures and regular rainfall, without extreme events. All of this gives us high hopes for a great vintage.

Every harvest is a gift: a weave of memory and hope, of labor and celebration.
The 2025 harvest is even more so: a tribute to the past and a promise for the future.