Colli Orientali del Friuli

DOC area (also Friuli Colli Orientali) for red wines and white wines in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region; near the border with Slovenia and Austria. The name means "eastern hills of Friuli". The DOC area Collio Goriziano in the province of Gorizia (Gorizia) adjoins to the south, the border being formed by the river Judrio. Both geologically similar areas once belonged to the Austrian Habsburg Empire. However, while Udine became Italian as early as 1866, Gorizia only became part of Italy after the First World War in the early 1920s. The zone covers 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 largely terraced vineyards cover around 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 northern winds by the Julian Pre-Alps, while the mild air from the Mediterranean creates a very favourable microclimate for viticulture.