The February 2026 issue of Mangiavino is a bimonthly magazine dedicated to the culture of wine and food, with a special focus on Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG). This edition delves into the region’s rich enological traditions, culinary innovations, and territorial identity, offering readers a deep dive into local events, tastings, and the stories of passionate producers. Key Highlights: <ul><li>Wine Events &amp; Tastings: Coverage of prestigious events like the Teranum festival, showcasing the unique red wines of the Carso region, and the Vitae Guide 2026 presentation, featuring top-rated wines from FVG.</li><li>Wine Stories: A retrospective on the Tocai Friulano debate, the Pinot Bianco Toros vertical tasting, and the evolution of resistant Glera grapes for Prosecco production.</li><li>Culinary Traditions: Features on Montasio PDO cheese, San Daniele prosciutto, and the region’s gastronomic heritage, including recipes and local specialties.</li><li>Innovation &amp; Sustainability: Insights into resistant grape varieties, sustainable viticulture, and the future of Friulian winemaking.</li></ul>The magazine is a must-read for wine enthusiasts, food lovers, and travelers eager to explore the authentic flavors and cultural depth of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It bridges tradition and innovation, celebrating the region’s excellence in wine, food, and hospitality. Free with code MANGIAVINO

first second

CANCELLED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN

future and innovation

WINE DOES NOT EXIST

THE RESISTANT GLERA KNOCKS ON THE DOOR OF THE PROSECCO MARKET

the vertical

TOROS THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN PINOT BIANCO

The assessments

Montasio PDO

flavours and traditions

COMBINING KNOWLEDGE WITH FLAVOUR

taste from trip

SAN DANIELE THE GENTLE HILL

the glass

PAOLO DONADON AND THE FLAVORS OF GIARDINETTO

entire Friuli Venezia Giulia region, it covers just over 600 hectares, representing less than 4 per cent of the total area (Pinot Grigio occupies 30 per cent and Glera 25 per cent). The current Pinot Bianco vineyards of the Toros winery were planted in the early 1970s, when Franco and his father Mario, born in 1922, still ran a mixed farm, as was customary throughout the Collio region at the time. Mario, together with his father Luigi, became a young man and then head of the family in the decades between the two world wars, when the eastern border became more rigid: from a permeable space to an instrument of identity definition. Nationalisation policies, which were intensified during the Fascist era, transformed linguistic and cultural diversity into a problem to be solved. The history of the Northeast was thus fraught with conflicts, repressions and conflicting memories, which profoundly marked the social fabric. Alongside these fractures, however, elements of surprising continuity remained. Among these, viticulture represents a privileged observatory. The grape varieties of the Central European tradition, widespread well before the establishment of national borders, have undergone political changes, wars and territorial redefinitions without losing their fundamental identity. Pinot Bianco is a prime example. Found throughout the Alps and Danube regions, from Burgundy to Austria, from Styria to Friuli and to the Collio area, this grape variety has established itself in different cultural contexts, maintaining agronomic and stylistic continuity that transcends borders. In north-eastern Italy, Pinot Bianco arrived and took root during the Habsburg era, as part of a shared wine-growing heritage linked to a Central European vision of wine as an expression of territory, climate and production discipline. After 1918, the political landscape changed, but the vine remained. It continues to be cultivated. This perseverance speaks volumes. As borders shift and identities are redefined, the agricultural landscape retains a longer, less ideological memory. Pinot Bianco thus becomes a concrete metaphor for a Mitteleuropa that survives beneath the surface of political narratives. A continuity that, first with the Locatelli family and then with the Toros, has never been interrupted. For Mario and Franco, the most significant decision was made in 1985, when they chose to devote themselves exclusively to viticulture: the animals 10 were sold and the barn was converted into a space dedicated to winemaking. At that time, the company only had 5 hectares, but it marked the beginning of a journey towards modernity that continues today with over 20,000 bottles produced each year and identified by a label that has remained unchanged since 1995 (created in Florence by the graphic design studio Doni & Associati). Franco recounts, unable to conceal his justified pride:  Since then, not much has changed in the way I produce wine. In the vineyard, which is completely grassed and managed using integrated pest management, the utmost care is taken to obtain healthy grapes. Then late harvests because I want overripe grapes. We harvest them by hand and the whole bunches are pressed with the stems. After fermentation and decanting, 80 percent of the must that has become wine ends up in steel and the rest in small wooden barrels. I have always chosen new medium-toasted French oak barrels from Tonnellerie Taransaud. In April, following the harvest, the wine is bottled. That s all, nothing special. An example of how a common matrix reemerges in the field of wine production: grape varieties, techniques and sensibilities that refer to a shared Central European space, preceding and independent of the nation state. It is a level of continuity that often escapes public discourse, but which helps to explain the historical depth of the territory. Among the secrets behind the elegance of Toros Pinot Bianco, there are the characteristics of the microclimate in Novali, where the hills rise between 100 and 120 metres above sea level: ventilation.  A condition,  explains Franco,  that results in an average temperature three degrees lower than in the Cormons plain. For us, this means healthier grapes and a temperature range that guarantees greater olfactory finesse. A confirmed characteristic of the thirteen vintages (from 2005 to 2024) tasted in the vertical tasting described here by Gianluca Castellano. A confirmation of elegance, tradition and continuity told by a Central European grape variety, Pinot Bianco, testimony to how the territory preserves memories that precede and transcend political divisions, helping us to see the border not as a definitive line, but as a layered space, where history does not erase, but deposits. 

The assessments Pinot Bianco TOROS 2023 > 2005 [ by Gianluca Castellano   sommelier Ais ] 2023 2023 began in the Collio area with a mild winter with little rainfall, which brought the vineyard s growth cycle forward. During the spring nothing particularly remarkable happened, while the hot but irregular summer was interrupted by heavy rainfall in July. A bright and stable September then restored order to the ripening process, accompanying the grapes towards a peaceful harvest, characterised by a balance between freshness and aromatic fullness. spring without excessive temperatures, the summer brought warm but breezy days and cool nights, ideal conditions for gradual and complete ripening. The rainfall, which was distributed evenly, supported the vines without compromising the health of the grapes, allowing the harvest to proceed with intact bunches and well-preserved acidity. The nose is refined and precise, with white flowers, particularly wisteria, bergamot peel, white peach and lemon leaf. An aromatic profile that plays on delicacy, more suggested than declared. The palate is slender but well-supported, with a presence that accompanies the sip from start to finish. The citrus freshness guides its progression without making it rigid, while a subtle savoury note lengthens its progression. Notes of essential oils, mint and light balsams emerge in the mid-palate. A well-balanced and elegant wine, still in its infancy, it is clear that it is only at the beginning of a long and promising journey. The bouquet is finely structured and well defined, with citrus and floral notes intertwining with herbaceous and balsamic hints, supported by a subtle mineral undertone that reinforces its overall precision. The profile is refined and composed, without overlaps, more oriented towards sharpness than expressive power. On the palate, the wine displays an aristocratic character, with a slender and continuous development: the attack is measured, the progression linear, guided by a freshness integrated into a delicately salty texture. The substance is present but always controlled, accompanying the sip naturally to a long and consistent finish. The result is a Pinot Bianco with a feminine and accomplished character, discreet and profound, capable of combining formal precision and expressive finesse without ever resorting to artifice 2021 2020 2021 in the Collio area was a year of balance and moderation. After a normal 2020 was characterised by warm, consistent weather, with a growing 11 

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