Jermann

In the 18th century an ancestor, Stefanus, migrated from the Austrian Burgenland to the village of Bilijana, today in Slovenia. In 1881 Anton Jermann, Silvio Jermann's great-grandfather, moved from Bilijana to Villanova and founded the winery. Between 1930 and 1940 Angelo Jermann continued the family's grape growing, also kept livestock, and made Jermann an all-round farm. His son Silvio Jermann graduated in enology from both Conegliano and San Michele; after his studies he took a job in Canada when his father opposed changes he proposed making at the winery. He was influenced by the Friuli winemaker Mario Schiopetto, whose wines signalled a return to purer, cleaner styles of winemaking. Between 1971 and 1973, after a research sabbatical overseas, Silvio transformed the winery and created Vintage Tunina, officially released in 1975. In 1991 he bought the hill of Capo Martino in the municipality of Dolegna del Collio, and on 07.07.07 he inaugurated a second winery at Ruttars. In 2021 Marchesi Antinori bought a majority stake in Jermann, and Silvio Jermann kept a minority stake; financial details were not disclosed.

• 1881: Anton Jermann moves from Bilijana to Villanova and founds the winery.
• 1971 to 1973: Silvio Jermann transforms the winery and creates Vintage Tunina, officially released in 1975.
• 1991: Silvio Jermann buys the Capo Martino hill in Dolegna del Collio.
• 07.07.07: the Ruttars winery is inaugurated.
• 2021: Marchesi Antinori buys a majority stake; Silvio Jermann keeps a minority stake.

As of March 2021, Silvio Jermann remained winemaker and minority shareholder after Marchesi Antinori's purchase of a majority stake. In April 2021 Renzo Cotarella, Antinori's chief winemaker and CEO, confirmed that Silvio Jermann would 'continue to be the 'soul' of Jermann in order to guarantee the continuity of the style and quality of the wines.'

• Winemaker and minority shareholder (as of March 2021): Silvio Jermann.
• Majority shareholder (as of April 2021): Marchesi Antinori.

The Jermann estates include 170 hectares of vineyards and 20 hectares of arable crops, for a total of 200 hectares. The original winery stands at Villanova, in Farra d'Isonzo. The Ruttars winery in Dolegna del Collio, designed in 1999 and inaugurated in 2007, covers 9,000 square meters and is surrounded by over 20 hectares of vineyards. It was designed for the vinification of Capo Martino and Vignatruss, whose vineyards lie right behind the winery, as well as Where Dreams and Vintage Tunina. Vintage Tunina comes from about 16 hectares of vineyards on Ronco del Fortino, on soils mainly of marls and sandstones of the Eocene flysch formation. The Capo Martino vineyard covers 7.5 hectares and was renovated from 1996 to 2003 while keeping the traditional local varieties; its marls and sandstones give rise to a rocky substratum that, transforming itself, forms the ponca.

• 200 hectares: 170 of vineyards and 20 of arable crops and vegetables.
• Villanova: the original winery, in the Isonzo area at Farra d'Isonzo.
• Ruttars: designed in 1999, inaugurated on 07.07.07, 9,000 square meters, over 20 hectares of vineyards.
• Capo Martino: a 7.5-hectare vineyard in Dolegna del Collio, renovated from 1996 to 2003.

The range covers white wines (Così Sia, Vinnae, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Afix Riesling, Traminer Aromatico, Vintage Tunina, Capo Martino, Picolit and W. Dreams), red wines (Lonsblau, Red Angel, Blau & Blau and Pignacolusse) and grappas. Vintage Tunina blends Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla and Malvasia; the blend Silvio Jermann created in the 1970s was of Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malvasia Istriana, Ribolla Gialla and Picolit, and the 1997 vintage contained 5% Picolit. Its grapes are harvested late, about two weeks after the normal harvest, and the wine is named for Tunina, the first owner of the vineyard and Casanova's poorest lover. W. Dreams, 97% Chardonnay aged in small 300-litre barrels of French oak, was created with the 1987 harvest and dedicated to U2's 'The Joshua Tree' album; in 2015 its label went back to the first edition, 'Where Dreams have no end…'. Capo Martino, first made in 1991, is a blend of white local grapes from Friuli Venezia Giulia under IGT Venezia Giulia. Vinnae, first made in 1983, is mainly Ribolla Gialla; Red Angel, first made in 1986, is based on Pinot Nero; and Pignacolusse, first made in 1999, is Pignolo.

• Vintage Tunina: first vintage 1973, released in 1975; about 16 hectares on Ronco del Fortino; the 2015 harvest was its 40th vintage.
• W. Dreams: 97% Chardonnay in 300-litre French oak; first made with the 1987 harvest; the whole production has been screw-capped since the 2011 vintage.
• Capo Martino: white local grapes from Dolegna del Collio; first vintage 1991; fermented and aged in oak barrels for about 10 months and released two years after the harvest.
• Vinnae: mainly Ribolla Gialla; first vintage 1983, named to mark the family's 100 years of winemaking at Villanova.
• Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon: first vintage 1974; aged on the lees in stainless steel tanks for about six months.
• Pignacolusse: Pignolo fermented for 2 to 3 weeks in wooden vats and aged in small oak barrels for 30 months; Colusse is the cadastral name of the vineyard.

Jermann farms with zero fertilizers, chemical residues or pesticides; it uses only organic compounds and cover crops and has abandoned chemical weed killers. Surveys on the estate plots in Ruttars, Lonzano and Villanova recorded some 75 to 130 different species. The Ruttars winery achieved CasaClimaWine pre-certification, which was later converted into full certification; the CasaClima Wine certification dates from July 2013. In 1996/97, when cork closures were still considered the best way to close bottles, Silvio Jermann chose to seal his best wine with a Stelvin screw cap, and today Stelvin caps are used for all Jermann wines.

• No fertilizers, chemical residues or pesticides; organic compounds only; cover crops; no chemical weed killers.
• Ruttars winery: CasaClimaWine certified.
• Stelvin screw caps on all Jermann wines today.

Italian wine guide Gambero Rosso acclaimed Vintage Tunina as the best wine of the year, and its 1999 edition wrote: 'The 1997 confirms the greatness of this outstanding wine.' Decanter includes the 1997 Vintage Tunina in its Wine Legend series.

• Gambero Rosso acclaimed Vintage Tunina as the best wine of the year; its 1999 edition praised the 1997.
• The 1997 Vintage Tunina is a Decanter Wine Legend.

Writing in Decanter, Stephen Brook framed Silvio Jermann's challenge with Vintage Tunina, a reinterpretation of a traditional blend, as keeping richness and complexity 'without producing a wine that would turn flabby or be prone to oxidation.' For Capo Martino, Silvio Jermann's idea was 'a blend of different varieties vinified in the traditional way as my father Angelo used to do.' The estate's own notes give Vinnae a palate that is 'dry, fresh and tangy with the unassuming elegance of an authentic country wine,' and its Sauvignon an aroma that is 'intense, persistent, and fruity with a pleasant hint of elderflower.'

The Truss Vinothek wine shop at Ruttars opens from Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Visits and tastings come in three formats: Vinnaioli, which ends with three curated tastings; Piccolo Sogno, with a tasting of five wines; and 1881, five glasses in the wine shop.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.jermann.it/_uk/azienda, https://www.jermann.it/_uk/silvio_jermann, https://www.jermann.it/_uk/vini, https://www.jermann.it/_uk/stelvin, https://www.jermann.it/_uk/esperienze, https://www.jermann.it/_uk/info, https://www.jermann.it/_uk/villanova, https://www.jermann.it/_uk/ruttars, https://www.jermann.it/product/1/whitewines/vintage_tunina, https://www.jermann.it/product/60/whitewines/w_dreams, https://www.jermann.it/product/61/whitewines/capo_martino, https://www.jermann.it/product/51/whitewines/vinnae, https://www.jermann.it/product/52/whitewines/pinot_grigio, https://www.jermann.it/product/65/redwines/red_angel, https://www.jermann.it/product/67/redwines/pignacolusse, https://www.jermann.it/product/55/whitewines/sauvignon. Secondary sources: Decanter (Chris Mercer, 6 April 2021; Stephen Brook, Wine Legend: Jermann Vintage Tunina 1997) and Wine Spectator (10 March 2021). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.