Pinot Grigio Ramato: Friuli's Copper Skin-Contact Style

Ramato comes from the Italian word 'rame', meaning copper, and describes Pinot Grigio made so that the crushed grapes' skins spend time with the juice. Wine Spectator's glossary defines it as a typically pale, copper-hued rosato (rosé) made from Pinot Grigio in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The colour is possible because Pinot Grigio is not a white-skinned grape: its skins have a rosy-grey tone, which is where the names grigio and gris, meaning grey, come from. Under the Friuli Colli Orientali DOC production rules, a Pinot grigio ramato may range from copper and/or pink, of lighter or deeper intensity, up to light ruby. The same rules group it with rosé wines because of the colouring matter naturally present in the berry.

• Grape: at least 85% Pinot Grigio under the Friuli Colli Orientali DOC rules, with up to 15% of other white grape varieties suited to cultivation in the Province of Udine
• Category: grouped with rosé wines under those rules, because of the grape's natural colouring matter

The heart of ramato is skin contact. The Friuli Colli Orientali rules define the ramato type as obtained through a light pre-fermentation maceration (soaking the juice with the skins before fermentation starts). By contrast, the same document describes the area's white wines as made from softly pressed grapes fermented at controlled temperature without their skins, to bring out each variety's typical aromas. David Gleave MW, writing in Decanter, describes the traditional practice as macerating the skins in the must (the unfermented juice) for anything from four to 24 hours. Decanter notes that shorter macerations give fresher, lighter wines, often with a slight peach tinge, while longer ones give richer, autumnal shades. Friulian producer Scarbolo shows both ends: one ramato spends 24 hours on the skins before fermentation, while its Ramato XL is fermented on the skins for two weeks and aged two years in French oak.

• Traditional contact time: from four to 24 hours of skin maceration in the must (David Gleave MW, Decanter)
• What skin contact adds: colour and structure, sometimes even light tannins (Wine Spectator)
• Friuli Colli Orientali minimums for Pinot grigio ramato: 11% alcohol, 4.5 g/l total acidity and 16 g/l non-reducing extract, against 4.0 g/l and 15 g/l for standard Pinot grigio

The Friuli Colli Orientali production rules describe Pinot grigio ramato as a rooted tradition, known under the name 'Ramato' since the time of the Serenissima Republic of Venice. Decanter quotes Italian wine expert and educator Henry Davar as saying Pinot Grigio was made in this style until the 1960s, when producer Santa Margherita began exporting Pinot Grigio in the style most drinkers know today. David Gleave MW adds that Pinot Grigio was first bottled in the 1950s but did not become popular until the 1980s, when the fashion was for very clear, light white wines. Any colour was removed by fining (a clarifying step), which also removed flavour, and the ramato style fell out of fashion. A few producers stuck with it, including Specogna, La Fattoria and Livio Felluga. Skin contact for white grapes has deep roots here: Decanter writes that in Friuli and neighbouring Slovenian Brda, 'maceration of white grapes is as old as the Collio hills', and that an 1844 manual by Matija Vertovec, a priest from the nearby Vipava valley, recommended skin macerations from 24 hours to 30 days. The term 'orange wine' was coined only in 2004, by David Harvey of UK importer Raeburn Fine Wines. Decanter draws a line between the two: orange wines are made from white grapes throughout the world, while ramato is a historical Friulian style made from Pinot Grigio.

• The Friuli Colli Orientali DOC rules, as amended by ministerial decree of 7 July 2025 and published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on 28 July 2025, list Pinot grigio ramato as a named wine

Decanter describes the result of skin contact as a tactile texture and a coppery hue, and credits the maceration with adding flavours, aromas, structural complexity and tannin. Kirk Peterson, a writer, educator and certified Italian wine ambassador quoted by Decanter, describes flavours and aromas of orchard fruit skin and acacia flowers with a mineral, tactile finish. The Friuli Colli Orientali rules call for a dry, full, harmonious taste. Friuli remains the style's historic heartland. Besides Scarbolo, Decanter names Le Vigne di Zamò, Specogna, Radikon, Stocco, Attems and Damijan among Friulian producers of ramato. In Collio, the consortium records that Pinot Grigio arrived in the mid-1800s thanks to Count Teodoro De La Tour, that it accounts for almost 30% of total production, and that its colour can show copper reflections. Ramato is also made in other parts of Italy and has recently emerged in the New World.

• Aromas and flavours: orchard fruit skin and acacia flowers (Kirk Peterson, in Decanter)
• Food: Peterson suggests Prosciutto di San Daniele, crustaceans, white meats, Friulian frico and a diverse array of Asian cuisines

Primary sources: Friuli Colli Orientali DOC production rules (Gazzetta Ufficiale text hosted by the Consorzio Tutela Vini Friuli Colli Orientali e Ramandolo): https://www.colliorientali.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Friuli_Colli_Orientali_DOC__DM_7.07.25_Mod.Ordinaria_GU28.07.2025.pdf; Gazzetta Ufficiale decree record: https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=2025-07-28&atto.codiceRedazionale=25A03925&elenco30giorni=false; Consorzio Tutela Vini Collio: https://www.collio.it/en/vino/pinot-grigio/. Reference sources: Decanter: https://www.decanter.com/learn/ramato-wine-ask-decanter-426324/, https://www.decanter.com/learn/advice/pink-pinot-grigio-ask-decanter-354771/, https://www.decanter.com/features/orange-wines-it-s-time-to-get-in-touch-245524/; Wine Spectator: https://www.winespectator.com/glossary/show/id/ramato. Last verified 2026-09-24