More about Via Alpina

Via Alpina is everyday Friulian white made by a serious hand: an affordable project from Giampaolo Venica, of the celebrated Venica family, built to capture the freshest corners of Friuli's Colli Orientali without the price tag of a cru bottling.

The name means "Alpine Way," a nod to the road north from the Friulian hills toward the mountains, and the region's cool night air keeps the grapes fresh and aromatic. The vineyards sit on ponca, the layered marl and sandstone that underpins the best whites of the Colli Orientali and Collio, and the fruit comes from organic growers who work to Venica's standards.

Winemaking is clean and simple: whole-cluster pressing, then about eight months in stainless steel on the lees, with no oak. The lineup is Friuli's calling cards: Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and, since 2024, Ribolla Gialla. These are bright, stony, unfussy whites with a little more texture and sense of place than you'd expect at the price.