On the steep, sun-soaked hills of San Floriano del Collio, where Italy presses up against Slovenia, Franco Terpin has spent three decades proving that white grapes can have the depth and grip usually reserved for reds.
Backstory
Franco Terpin founded his estate in 1994 in the hamlet of Valerisce, near San Floriano del Collio in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northeastern Italy. The fifth of six brothers, he comes from a farming family rooted in this borderland, and he became one of the early Italian champions of the back-to-nature, skin-contact movement that put Collio orange wines on the world map. He is a longtime member of the natural-wine grower association VinNatur.
The Region
The Collio sits in the far northeast of Italy, a band of hills running along the Slovenian frontier. Terpin's vineyards straddle that border, with parcels on both the Italian and Slovenian sides, including slopes near Monte Calvario. The defining soil is ponca, the local marl-and-sandstone flysch that gives Collio whites their minerality and tension.
Vineyards and Farming
Terpin works roughly 10 to 14 hectares of vines, planted on ponca soils and farmed without chemical treatments, moving toward organic and biodynamic practice with a focus on living soil and the free expression of the vine. The plantings include Ribolla Gialla, Friulano (labeled Jakot), Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay among the whites, alongside Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon for reds.
Winemaking
Grapes are hand-harvested and fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts. Terpin's signature whites undergo extended skin maceration, with macerations ranging from several days to weeks depending on the cuvee, giving deep color, phenolic structure and tannin. The wines age for an extended period in wood and then steel before release, and they are bottled without fining and with minimal intervention. Annual production sits in the range of 20,000 to 35,000 bottles.
The Wines
Terpin is best known for his macerated whites, especially the Ribolla Gialla and the Friulano bottled as Jakot, as well as a Pinot Grigio with copper hues from skin contact. The reds round out a portfolio prized by natural-wine drinkers for its authenticity and longevity.
