Ribolla Gialla

Ribolla Gialla is a white-berried variety. VIVC records Italy as its likely country of origin and Heunisch Weiss (Gouais Blanc) as one of its parents, a pedigree confirmed by DNA markers. The second parent has not been identified, so only half of the pedigree is known, and it rests on that single source. Through Gouais Blanc, the VIVC-derived lineage data give Ribolla Gialla a long list of half-siblings, among them Chardonnay, Riesling, Furmint, Gamay and Blaufränkisch. No offspring of Ribolla Gialla are recorded in that data.

• VIVC variety number 10054; prime name Ribolla Gialla; berry colour white
• Country of origin: likely Italy (single source)
• Parents: Heunisch Weiss (Gouais Blanc) and an unidentified second parent, a single-source pedigree confirmed by DNA markers
• Half-siblings through Gouais Blanc include Chardonnay, Riesling, Furmint, Gamay and Blaufränkisch

Ribolla Gialla has a long history in the Collio, which the Collio consortium describes as millennial. In more recent times, Collavini says it launched the first sparkling version of Ribolla Gialla at the end of the 1970s, and in 1995 the Radikon estate began macerating its Ribolla on the skins.

• End of the 1970s: Collavini launches a sparkling Ribolla Gialla
• Radikon turned to macerating Ribolla on the skins in 1995

Ribolla Gialla's long history is tied to the Collio DOC in Friuli, where the Collio consortium says the grape can fully express its potential. The Collio's soil is flysch, known locally as ponca: marls and sandstones of Eocene origin, rich in minerals, whose taste the Collio consortium says comes through in the wines made there. Oslavia, a small hamlet of Gorizia in the Collio hills, sits close to the Slovenian border, halfway between the Adriatic and the Julian Alps, and long maceration on the skins, which turns Ribolla amber, is typical of the Oslavia area. Across the border in Slovenia, where the Collio hills are known as Brda, the grape is called Rebula.

• Collio's flysch soil, called ponca, is made of Eocene marls and sandstones rich in minerals
• The Oslavia area is known for Ribolla macerated on the skins for long periods, which turns it amber
• In Slovenia the grape is called Rebula, and the Collio hills are called Brda
• Oslavia lies close to the Slovenian border, halfway between the Adriatic and the Julian Alps

Ribolla Gialla makes a light, floral, very crisp wine. Collio Ribolla Gialla is dry and fresh on the palate, its acidity a defining feature, with a colour that runs from straw yellow to golden yellow. Long maceration on the skins deepens the colour to amber; Radikon's Ribolla, for example, spends two to three months on the skins.

• Light, floral and very crisp
• Collio Ribolla Gialla: dry and fresh on the palate; colour from straw yellow to golden yellow
• Skin-macerated versions turn amber; Radikon's Ribolla spends two to three months on the skins

Ribolla Gialla is made in several styles. Joško Gravner makes his Ribolla in amphorae from the Caucasus, in a cellar he stripped of steel tanks and, last of all, barriques. The Radikon estate turned to macerating Ribolla on the skins in 1995; its Ribolla now spends two to three months on the skins, three years in barrel and one to two years in bottle, depending on the vintage. Collavini's sparkling Ribolla Gialla Brut starts from a base wine fermented partly in stainless steel and partly in barriques, which is refermented in large horizontal pressurized tanks and matured on the lees for at least 30 months. Making the wine sparkling in horizontal pressurized tanks has subsequently been called the Collavini Method.

• Amber style: long maceration on the skins, as at Radikon (two to three months), turns the wine amber
• Gravner makes its Ribolla in amphorae from the Caucasus
• Sparkling style at Collavini: refermentation in large horizontal pressurized tanks, then at least 30 months on the lees

Joško Gravner of Oslavia makes Ribolla in amphora. The Radikon estate in Gorizia has macerated its Ribolla on the skins since 1995. Collavini in Corno di Rosazzo says it launched the first sparkling version of Ribolla Gialla at the end of the 1970s, and it makes its sparkling Ribolla Gialla with at least 30 months on the lees.

• Joško Gravner (Oslavia): Ribolla made in amphorae from the Caucasus
• Radikon (Gorizia): Ribolla macerated on the skins since 1995; two to three months on the skins, three years in barrel, one to two years in bottle
• Collavini (Corno di Rosazzo): sparkling Ribolla Gialla refermented in horizontal pressurized tanks, with at least 30 months on the lees

Primary sources: https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=10054 ; https://www.collio.it/en/vino/ribolla-gialla/ ; https://www.radikon.it/en/vini/ribolla-2/ ; https://www.radikon.it/en/history/ ; https://www.gravner.it/ ; https://collavini.it/en/sparkling-wines/ ; https://collavini.it/en/about-us/ Reference sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/white/ribolla-gialla Last verified 2026-10-17