Ramandolo

Ramandolo is a sweet white Italian wine from the village of the same name which is situated in the hills near Nimis in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine region of northeast Italy. It is made from a local variety of the Verduzzo grape. Since 2001, Ramandolo has been produced as a DOCG wine.

DOCG requirements

Verduzzo grapes destined for DOCG wine production are limited to a harvest yield no greater than 10 tonnes/ha with the grapes allowed to hang on the vine late in the season and may even receive extra drying after picking. This allows for a greater concentration of sugar which leaves a wine with noticeable residual sweetness even with the high minimum alcohol level of 14% required.

Wine styles

Wine expert Peter Saunders describes well made examples of Ramandolo from favorable vintages as fragrant, full-bodied, slightly tannic and not too sweet.Karen MacNeil describes Ramandolo has having a copper sheen to its deep yellow color with herbal notes.

References

Verduzzo

Verduzzo (or Verduzzo Friulano) is a white Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. It is also found in significant plantings in the Piave Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) of the Veneto region, though some of these plantings may be of the separate Verduzzo Trevigiano variety. Verduzzo Friulano is used in varietal and blended wines, many of which fall under DOC as well as vino da tavola designations, that range in style from dry to late harvest wines. According to wine expert Oz Clarke, most of the sweeter examples of Verduzzo can be found in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia with the grape being used for progressively drier styles of the wine the further west into the Veneto.

The grape is widely associated with the Denominazione di origine controllata e Garantita (DOCG) wine of Ramandolo which gained DOCG status in 2001. It is also often seen in the DOC wines from the Colli Orientali del Friuli. Wine expert Karen MacNeil has stated that the Verduzzo based Ramandolo is one of the "lightest-bodied, most exquisite dessert wines made anywhere".