The April 2026 issue of MangiaVino (#32) dives deep into the wine and food culture of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy’s dynamic wine region. This edition spotlights Silvio Jermann’s bold new venture in Slovenia’s Collio, where he embraces long macerations, amphora fermentation, and indigenous grapes like Ribolla Gialla.<br>A highlight is the vertical tasting of Damijan Podversic’s Ribolla Gialla (2000–2023), showcasing the evolution of this iconic wine. The issue also explores wine labels as storytelling tools, featuring Livio Felluga’s legendary geographic map design, and debates contemporary challenges, including the rise of dealcoholized wines.<br>Additional features include Belgian high-fermentation beers, organic flours from Carnia, and gourmet itineraries along the Tagliamento River. A must-read for wine lovers, professionals, and travelers seeking the soul of Friuli’s wines.<br>

feature

THE SECOND ACT OF JERMANN

all round

IT’S NOT JUST A MATTER OF LABEL

the vertical

DAMIJAN THE MAN OF MONTE CALVARIO

INFORMATION PROMOTIONAL

Along our river a journey through the flavors of the Tagliamento and the Pordenone area

From the “Via Alta” to the future: The sustainable elegance of Vie d’Alt

Baroni del Mestri an oasis of taste telling the story of Mount Quarin

all round IT'S NOT JUST A MATTER OF LABEL by Marco Cucinotta A journey through the first and most immediate calling card of a bottle, a kind of promise which draws us straight from the shelves of a wine shop. Here are the choices of VIGNAIOLI FVG: starting from the legendary Geographical Map, which Livio Felluga recovered from an antique shop to the drawings of Edi Kante finally reaching the clear and simple line of Borgo San Daniele Silent. A wine bottle without a label is just a bottle. It does not tell you who made it, where it comes from, which story keeps in store. It is a simple glass container full of fluid. The label, instead, is the wine's first voice. It's the moment when the bottle speaks for itself even before the cork is pulled. Reducing that apparently simple stripe of paper to mere regulatory information – denomination, alcohol content, lot – means not understanding its real role. The label is the winemaker's calling card, but also the narrative threshold through which wine enters the consumer's mind. It suggests a character, evokes a landscape, and hints at a style to come. It's the first sensory encounter with the bottle: before smell and taste comes sight. On the shelves of a wine shop or on the wine list of a restaurant, the label works as a promise. It is therefore not surprising that the wines which are able to clearly describe their identity – grape variety, location, winemaking philosophy – draw more easily the attention of those who choose. In the world of wine, visual communication is never neutral: it guides, entices, and reassures. This is particularly obvious in the wine scene in Friuli Venezia Giulia, where, over time, the label has become an extension of the local story. The regional viticulture has built its reputation on three pillars: native grape varieties, a reputation for producing great white wines, and a strong sense of identity in the wine-growing regions. It is therefore not surprising that production regulations and wine consortia have played an important role not only in defining appellations but also in shaping the language through which wine is presented to the public. Here labels are much more than a mere design exercise, they are a statement of affiliation. Wines speak about terroir, authenticity and winemaking tradition. They tell us about hills, winds, ponca soils, rural memories and wine culture. In this sense, the label also serves as a tool for telling the story of the region: a symbolic gateway to the area, inviting visitors to explore the wineries and discover the landscape where the wine is made. Over the past thirty years, design has also played a decisive role in reinforcing the perception of the quality of Friulian wines. Unlike other parts of Italy, where the aesthetic sometimes leans toward a more baroque style, here a Central European sensibility prevails: simple, orderly, and minimalist. Regional labels are often minimalist, almost austere. The grape variety is clearly indicated, without rhetorical flourishes. The producer's name does not always dominate the visual space: often the region takes precedence over the winery, in a symbolic hierarchy that speaks volumes about the local culture.

Explore Silvio Jermann’s new project, a Ribolla Gialla vertical tasting, and the wines of Friuli Venezia Giulia in MangiaVino’s latest issue.