San Lurnis is the Friulian dialect name for San Lorenzo Isontino, a small commune in the Gorizia province where Marco Pecorari's family has farmed since 1874. The estate produces just two wines, both sparkling, both from old organic vines, and both entirely made without disgorgement: natural pet-nat winemaking rooted in four generations of family history.
Backstory
Marco's great-grandparents purchased the first land in San Lorenzo in 1874, beginning mixed agricultural activities that included winemaking alongside crops and livestock. Wine production halted in the 1970s when the family's holdings were divided and agricultural economics made bottling unviable. Marco's father Armando initiated organic conversion at the end of the 1990s and continued selling grapes to local wineries. Marco studied enology in Udine and in 2014 resumed bottling under the San Lurins label, beginning with his inaugural Malvasia Istriana.
The Region
San Lorenzo Isontino sits at the southern edge of Friuli's celebrated Collio zone, on the right bank of the Isonzo river. The territory benefits from a unique microclimate shaped by the Julian Alps to the north and the Adriatic Sea to the south, just 40 kilometers away. These opposing influences create a natural temperature regulator ideal for aromatic white varieties.
Vineyards & Farming
The estate covers around four hectares of certified organic vineyards. The primary holding is an old-vine Malvasia Istriana vineyard planted in 1969 and 1970, supplemented by a newer planting of Ribolla Gialla. Soils range from alluvial clay and silt near the Isonzo to ponca — the friable calcareous marl characteristic of Collio — on higher plots. Marco emphasizes vine longevity and soil health as the foundations of quality.
Winemaking
San Lurins produces only sparkling wines through the ancestral method: fermentation begins in tank and is then sealed in bottle, where the wine completes its fermentation naturally without disgorgement. Native yeasts drive the process throughout. No additives are used. The result is a gentle pétillance with a fine, cloudy sediment that carries the terroir directly in the glass.
The Wines
The estate produces approximately five to six thousand bottles annually across two bottlings: a Malvasia Istriana and a Ribolla Gialla, both in the ancestral/pet-nat style. The Malvasia expresses the variety's characteristic notes of stone fruit, citrus, and Bergamot tea, carried by a delicate mousse and a long, saline finish rooted in the ancient Isonzo riverbed soils.
