Forchir

Origins in the late 19th century

Forchir was founded by the Forchir family, a noble family of Austrian origin that moved to the heart of Friuli at the end of the 19th century. Its original vineyards lay near Palmanova, Friuli’s fortified star-shaped city. The enterprise began as a broadly agricultural concern and, over successive decades, increasingly specialised in viticulture and winemaking. It became one of the first producers in the region to market wine in bottles.

The family’s experience and skills passed from one generation to the next. At the family estate in Precenicco, vines were still cultivated alongside mulberry trees in the late 19th century.

Gianfranco Bianchini and the modern era

In the early 1980s, the young winemaker Gianfranco Bianchini, known as Franco, began collaborating with Forchir. The professional relationship developed into a close bond and shared vision. When the time came to transfer responsibility in 1984, Gianfranco accepted the task of continuing the business while preserving the Forchir name and its core values. This transfer marked the beginning of the modern era under the Bianchini family.

Gianfranco subsequently guided the expansion of the company with the support of his daughter, Giulia Bianchini. The initial “F” came to carry an additional symbolic association with Franco, Friuli and Family, linking the founders’ name with the new owners and their regional identity.

Environmental transition and a new winery

Environmental awareness became a defining part of the business from the early years of the new millennium. Forchir progressively adopted integrated vineyard management, mechanical weed control, green manuring, water-saving irrigation, treatment of agricultural wash water and research into disease-resistant grape varieties.

A move from the original production site created the opportunity to construct a modern winery within the main Camino al Tagliamento estate. Inaugurated in 2014, the building was designed to fit into its vineyard setting and to shorten vehicle movements between the vines and the cellar. A 180 kW photovoltaic installation supplies all of the winery’s stated energy needs, forming the basis of its carbon-free cellar concept. Bottling was brought into the winery in a sterile, automated environment.

Forchir also entered the voluntary SQNPI integrated-production system. The certification initiative received €15,000 from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development through Measure 3, Sub-measure 3.1.1 of the Friuli Venezia Giulia 2014–2020 Rural Development Programme, under protocol 7345/P dated 27 June 2017.

Resistant varieties and new production projects

After years of research and experimentation conducted with the University of Udine and Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo, Forchir introduced varieties created through pollination between European and American vines. These vines are resistant to downy mildew and powdery mildew, less vulnerable to water stress and changing weather, and require no vineyard treatments.

In 2019, Forchir bottled Èthos, presented as the first Italian wine produced exclusively from resistant grape varieties. Its five varieties—Fleurtai, Soreli, Sauvignon Kretos, Sauvignon Nepis and Sauvignon Rytos—were selected to retain links to Friulian varieties: the first two derive from Friulano and the remaining three from Sauvignon. Kalòs debuted in 2020 from Cabernet Eidos and Merlot Korus.

Further investment programmes included the creation of an in-house sparkling-wine line, the functional conversion of an existing agricultural building instead of new construction, equipment intended to reduce chemical inputs and spray drift, mechanical management of grass cover and crop residues, irrigation-efficiency improvements, wastewater purification and recovery for irrigation, and machinery supporting conservation and precision agriculture. A separate 2020 rural-development programme supported diversification into agritourism, hospitality and proposed educational activities.

Forchir follows the voluntary SQNPI National Quality System for Integrated Production. Its vineyard programme is intended to reduce phytosanitary inputs drastically; herbicides have been eliminated and replaced by mechanical under-vine cultivation that cuts the roots of competing weeds.

Pruned vine shoots are shredded in the vineyard to reduce fertiliser requirements and return material to the soil. Green manuring is a central practice: mixtures of herbaceous species are sown between rows, cut and incorporated into the ground. This returns organic matter, improves soil structure, increases water retention and resistance to erosion, fixes atmospheric nitrogen, provides biological control against pathogenic fungi and nematodes, and promotes biodiversity.

Almost all of the approximately 260 ha under vine are equipped with drip lines. Micro-perforated tubing is positioned a few centimetres beneath the grass cover to irrigate with limited water loss. Planned water-management improvements include raising the efficiency of existing irrigation systems and installing purification equipment so wastewater can be recovered for irrigation, partly in response to climate-change pressures.

Phytobac treats wastewater generated when agricultural equipment is washed, using natural biodegradation to break down pesticide residues. Additional investment encompasses machinery designed to reduce chemical inputs and spray drift, manage grass cover physically and mechanically, handle crop residues, distribute fertilisers and crop-protection products more precisely, and advance conservation and precision-agriculture techniques.

The resistant varieties were developed after years of trials with the University of Udine and Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo. They result solely from pollination between European and American vines rather than genetic modification. They resist downy mildew and powdery mildew, are less susceptible to water stress and weather changes, and require no vineyard treatments. Avoiding tractor treatments reduces machinery-related CO₂ emissions and allows flowering vegetation and wildlife to develop with less disturbance.

Harvesting is carried out at night so that fruit reaches the cellar at the coolest part of the day. The overall quality programme is based on deliberately low yields per hectare, although no numerical yield target is given.

Winery and quality control

The current winery was inaugurated in 2014 within the Camino al Tagliamento vineyards. Its architecture was designed to integrate with the landscape, while its estate location shortens grape transport and reduces vehicle use, atmospheric pollution and fossil-fuel consumption. A 180 kW photovoltaic system produces all the energy required by the cellar, which is described as carbon-free.

Bottling takes place on site in a sterile environment with automated quality-control technology. Lightweight bottles reduce the glass required and the associated processing emissions. An internal laboratory follows grape ripeness, fermentation and maturation and monitors chemical and physical parameters throughout production. The food-safety management system is certified to FSSC 22000 and maintained in alignment with ISO 22000.

Fruit reception and white-wine production

Grapes are harvested at night and received while cool. Vacuum presses work at a negative pressure of approximately -0.2 bar under reduced-oxygen conditions, allowing gentle pressing while limiting oxidation and uncontrolled fermentation without relying on corrective chemical additions for those purposes.

White musts are transferred to stainless-steel vessels and fermented with added yeast at controlled temperatures. Named protocols range from approximately 10–12°C for aromatic and resistant varieties to around 16°C for Pinot Grigio, generally for about ten days. Certain aromatic grapes undergo a few hours of cold skin maceration at approximately 12–14°C in Ganimede equipment to extract aromatic terpenes and, where desired, colour.

After fermentation, the wines are racked to remove coarse particles and may mature on their fine lees. Remaining suspended solids are separated by cold settling, after which the wines rest before bottling. Stainless steel is the principal maturation vessel for the white wines.

Red-wine production

Red grapes ferment and macerate on their skins in large stainless-steel Ganimede fermenters, generally for about two weeks depending on the vintage. The system uses the natural pressure of fermentation gas to circulate the cap, avoiding mechanical pumping and limiting the extraction of green tannins. The skins then undergo gentle pressing for approximately three hours before separation from the wine.

Initial maturation lasts several months in stainless-steel vessels. Malolactic fermentation occurs during this period, followed by micro-oxygenation to stabilise colour. After further rest, bottling is conducted without oxygen to limit oxidation, using natural cork; maturation then continues in bottle under controlled temperature and lighting.

Sparkling wines

Sparkling bases are gently pressed under reduced oxygen, fermented in stainless steel and transferred to autoclaves after a short initial maturation. Yeast and sugar initiate the second fermentation. Under the Charmat Lungo approach, the sparkling wine remains on its fine yeast lees for an extended period to develop secondary aromas. Suspended material is removed through cold settling, and finished sparkling wines are bottled isobarically to prevent pressure loss.

Clarification

No substances of animal origin are used for clarification. Bentonite, a freeze-dried clay that binds suspended particles and causes them to precipitate, is the stated clarifying agent.

Forchir presents environmental adaptation as a core part of contemporary winegrowing. Its position is that older, polluting models of vineyard and cellar management are no longer sustainable and that quality must be pursued through both careful farming and modern technology.

The vineyard philosophy combines low yields with integrated production, mechanical rather than chemical weed control, soil-building green manure, biodiversity, efficient irrigation and varieties capable of resisting fungal disease without treatments. Resistant vines express the principle of adapting to water stress, changing weather and disease pressure instead of attempting to overcome each problem through repeated intervention.

Technology is treated as a tool for preserving the qualities already present in the grapes: cool night harvesting, reduced-oxygen pressing, controlled fermentation, gentle extraction, laboratory monitoring and sterile in-house bottling are intended to protect aroma, ensure consistency and maintain food safety. At the same time, stainless steel, patient maturation and avoidance of animal-derived clarification agents define a restrained production model.

Family continuity remains part of the identity. Retaining the Forchir name after the 1984 succession connected the founding family with the Bianchini era, while the symbolic association of “F” with Franco, Friuli and Family places regional identity and family stewardship at the centre of the modern business.

The environmental programme extends beyond farming to the physical winery: renewable electricity, landscape-integrated architecture, shorter internal transport, lightweight bottles, waste reduction, water recovery and the reuse of an existing building are all intended to reduce the operational footprint.