Colli Orientali del Friuli

DOC area (also Friuli Colli Orientali) for red and white wines in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region; close to the border with Slovenia and Austria. The name means "eastern hills of Friuli". To the south, the Collio Goriziano DOC area in the province of Gorizia (Gorizia) is bordered by the Judrio river. Both geologically similar areas were once part of the Austrian Habsburg Empire. However, while Udine became Italian as early as 1866, Gorizia did not join Italy until after the First World War in the early 1920s.

The zone comprises the hilly area in the eastern part of the province of Udine with 14 municipalities grouped in a crescent shape around the city of Udine. These are Attimis, Buttrio, Faedis, Cividale, Corno di Rosazzo, Manzano, Nimis, Povoletto, Prepotto, Premariacco, San Pietro al Natisone, San Giovanni al Natisone, Tarcento and Torreano. It extends in the form of a long chain of hills on the edge of the Udine plain from Buttrio in the south to Tarcento in the north. The vineyards, most of which are terraced, cover about 2,100 hectares of vineyards on calcareous marl and sandstone soils at an altitude of 100 to 350 metres above sea level. They are protected from the cold north winds by the Julian Prealps, while the mild air from the Mediterranean creates a very favourable microclimate for wine growing.