Ronchi di Cialla Winery of Friuli Venezia Giulia
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Company

About us
The Ronchi di Cialla estate is strictly a family business.
While Dina and Paolo Rapuzzi, who founded it in 1970, were attracted by wine growing as a way of living, their children Pierpaolo and Ivan belong to a generation that was “raised among the vines”.
Both of them have, in fact, a degree in Food Sciences and are agrarian experts; they firmly support the Ronchi di Cialla policy and immemorial wine making tradition in Friuli.
Our family has become an uncommon heir of ancient traditions on one hand, and modern scientific knowledge on the other, making this small family business extraordinary.
Our family
The life of a family in the historic vineyards of Friuli
Foundation
1970-1976
Paolo and Dina Rapuzzi founded the Ronchi di Cialla vineyard with the intent of exclusively growing indigenous Friulian grapes and producing great age-worthy wines. They faced several technical and bureaucratic problems in order to recover the Schioppettino vines (found on their property?), whose cultivation was no longer legally allowed as the grape itself was thought to be extinct. In 1976 the Rapuzzi vineyard received the first "Risit d’aur" (Golden Vine) award for reintroducing Schioppettino back into his natural habitat of Cialla di Prepotto in a rational way, in spite of the absurd laws asserting its extinction. In that same year, its cultivation was declared legal again.
Cialla
1983
The Ministry of Agricultural Resources recognizes and establishes the geographical demarcation "Cialla" for the following wines: Schioppettino di Cialla, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso di Cialla, Verduzzo di Cialla, Picolit di Cialla.
DOC
1989
Schioppettino was declared as a DOC Colli Orientali del Friuli wine.
Cru Cialla
1995
The specific production discipline of the Cialla subzone was published in the Official Gazette no. 278/95 and Law 164. Even today, Ronchi di Cialla the only producer in Italy that only produces wines from 5 native varieties: Schioppettino, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, Ribolla, Verduzzo and Picolit.
Prestigious wines
2001
On January 12th, the 1986 and 1988 Schioppettino di Cialla were auctioned at Christie's in New York alongside the best Italian and French producers. On the 19th and 20th of May 2001, in the presence of a public notary, the Ronchi di Cialla winery issues the "1st Call for topping up" for the prestigious 1985 vintage Schioppettino and 1983 vintage Verduzzo. Ronch di Cialla proceeded with the topping off a limited number of bottles, some owned by Rapuzzi family, and others owned by private consumers, an operation unheard of outside the realm of first-growth Bordeaux.
25 years
2002-2003
June 8th marked the 25th anniversary of Schioppetino's rebirth. Its evolution was displayed in a tasting for a selected commission of experts through 6 signature vintages ('77. '80, '83, '85, '90 and '98), all of which received outstanding acclaim. The experts were impressed with the consistant evolution of the wines and the enhancement of its expression due to extended ageing in the bottle. On the 10th of May 2003, the "2nd call for topping up" was issued. In the presence of a notary and of the Rapuzzi Family, the 1977 vintage Schioppettino, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, Picolit and Verduzzo were topped up. The reconditioned bottles are property of Ronchi of Cialla and some of their most prestigious clients.