The Rapuzzi family are legends in the winemaking world in Friuli. Like Walter Massa in the Colli Tortonesi in Piedmont (whose timorasso we featured back in July), the Rapuzzi's were almost solely responsible for the saving of a native grape varietal from extinction. In the case of Paolo Rapuzzi, the red varietal schioppettino was basically lost save for a few vines extant in the Cialla Valley when he and his wife Dina first purchased land there in 1970 (supposedly there were only 60 vines left that could be found).

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The Rapuzzi sons, Pierpaolo and Ivan, now run the winery and do the winemaking. The Cialla Valley has a warm microclimate compared to the surrounding valleys of this northeastern section of Friuli (they're a mere 10km from the Slovenian border, and only an hour and a half from the Austrian border), meaning it's surprisingly perfect for red wines. In addition to schioppettino they also produce pignolo and, our selection here, refosco.

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This 2017 opens with twiggy, dark cherry and spiced fig, super light tannins on the finish and lots of baking spice. Medium bodied, just a touch of that classic Italian bitterness, with bright acid and some balsamic notes. It's good with roast chicken, spiced tomato-based pastas, or something like barbacoa.