Friuli Venezia Giulia

The land splits in two. Along the Slovenian border the hills of Collio and the Colli Orientali stand on ponca — layers of marl and sandstone laid down in the Eocene, crumbly enough for vine roots to push deep. Below them the Grave plain is gravel and sand carried down by the rivers, and above Trieste the Carso is bare limestone, home to Vitovska and Terrano.

It was here, in the 1960s, that Italian white wine learnt modern cellar work, with Mario Schiopetto among the first to bottle his own. Since the mid-1990s some growers have gone the other way, leaving white grapes on their skins for weeks to make amber wines. Friulano — called Tocai on labels until the European ruling that reserved the name for Hungary's Tokaji took effect with the 2007 vintage — shares the vineyards with Ribolla Gialla, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, Schioppettino, Pignolo, Picolit and Verduzzo. Four DOCGs: Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit, Ramandolo, Rosazzo and Lison, the last shared with Veneto.