About Venica & Venica

Since 1930 the Venica family has served as a vinous ambassador for the Friulian hills of Collio in northeastern Italy. Daniele Venica, like most of the inhabitants of the Collio, lost his land during World War I. Around the same time most of the vineyards of the Collio, then operated by monks, became abandoned as well. In the years after the war, Daniele was able to raise some money to purchase a small house and hill with some vineyards in Dolegna del Collio in 1930, and the story of Venica & Venica begins.

For years, Daniele and his son Adelchi continued to develop their land, planting vines and buying abandoned vineyards to strengthen their ability to sustain their family by making wine and selling off small amounts in the Friulian cities of Udine and Cividale. Over the next several decades, Adelchi’s sons Gianni and Giorgio Venica took over the family business and embraced their philosophies of viticulture, to respect the land and the ways that wine can communicate the terroir and environment of these very special sites in the Collio.

Dolenga is the northernmost village of the DOC Collio, where the climate is cooler and the vineyards are rich in biodiversity. The subsoils composed of sandstone marls represent some of the best areas in Italy to grow white grapes of incredible aromatics, complexity, and acidity. Venica & Venica is world-renowned for the aromatic white wines they produce from the indigenous grapes of the Collio – Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon and Friulano. Friulano was known as Tocai Friulano until a European Union ruling in 2007 forced the change to avoid confusion with Tokaji from Hungary. The winery also produces dynamic red wines utilizing Merlot and Cabernet Franc and from local varieties Refosco and Schioppettino.

The most well-known vineyards owned by Venica & Venica are recognized as being some of the top Crus in Friuli. Ronco delle Mele (Sauvignon), Jesera (Pinot Grigio) and Ronco delle Cime (Friulano) are consistently sought-after as the benchmarks for each grape variety in the region. For the Venica family, the care of their vineyards aligns with their goal of sustainability. In 2011, the winery partnered with the Italian Ministry of the Environment to start V.I.V.A. Sustainable Wine, a research project with the aim of recognizing and certifying wines “Sustainably made in Italy.”

Today, the fourth generation of the family, led by Giampaolo Venica, has grown the Venica & Venica estate into not only one of the most well-known wine producers in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, but also into a wine resort and hospitality center where visitors can discover the history of the Collio and the wines they produce. Venica & Venica makes extraordinary wines of place and expression that are sought-after by some of the top restaurants and sommeliers across the world, representing some of Italy’s greatest examples of wines with potential to improve with long cellaring.