Gorizia
La Castellada
0.1 km off the line
View wineryFriuli Venezia Giulia · Wine route · 2 days
Collio and Colli Orientali Wine Road Two days along the Slovenian border: the Gorizia loop of the regional wine road through Oslavia, San Floriano, Cormons and Capriva, then over the Judrio into the Colli Orientali for Prepotto, Rosazzo, Buttrio and Cividale.
84
km end to end
2
days
10
stops, Gorizia to Cividale del Friuli
3
denominations crossed
€25
tastings from
Why this drive: Collio is the white-wine hill Italy keeps quiet about, and it has two roads worth a day each. Day one follows the Gorizia loop the regional wine road publishes: Oslavia, where Gravner and Radikon made orange wine famous, the ridge to San Floriano with Slovenia across the lane, and down to Cormons and Capriva, where the tastings have prices and the beds have cellars under them. Day two crosses the Judrio into the Colli Orientali for Schioppettino, the Rosazzo abbey and Picolit, and ends in Cividale, the Lombard capital on the Natisone. About 1,600 people a year land on our Friuli page asking which wineries to visit. This is the answer.
The route, drawn
2 days, drawn in two colours
Tap a day in the legend to bring its legs forward. The map follows as you scroll the stops, and a press on any marker jumps to it.
Layers
Day 1
Day 2
Numbered stops
Estates near the route
Stop 1 of 10 · Gorizia
Day 1
Day 1 · Gorizia to Capriva, the Collio loop
1
Stop 1 · The border city
Gorizia
ZTL city, see the driving notesThe border city where the Collio DOC begins, 30 minutes from Trieste airport and European Capital of Culture in 2025 together with Nova Gorica across the line.
What to taste here
- Collio Goriziano/CollioDOC The DOC since 24 May 1968, eight comuni between the Isonzo, the Judrio and the Slovenian line
- Collio Bianco The blend the DOC rules allow from its white grapes, the bottle to order first
- Rosa di Gorizia The red winter chicory Rosenbar builds its cold-month menu around
Gorizia has 33,620 people, a castle with a museum, and a twin across an open border: Nova Gorica has been a walk away since Slovenia joined Schengen on 21 December 2007, and the two shared the GO! 2025 Capital of Culture year. The restricted streets (via Rastello, piazza della Vittoria, via delle Monache and the rest of the old core) admit authorised vehicles only, so park on the blue lines outside and walk. Rosenbar on via Duca d'Aosta closes Sunday evening and Monday.
Where to eat
Fresh fish and the garden's own vegetables, Rosa di Gorizia in winter
Ristorante Rosenbar. Via Duca d'Aosta 96; Michela in the kitchen, Piero in the room; closed Sunday evening and Monday; call 0481 522700
2
Stop 2 · The orange-wine hill
Oslavia
The hill above Gorizia where Gravner buries wine in amphorae and Radikon, La Castellada and Primosic make the skin-contact whites the world calls orange.
What to taste here
- Gravner Ribolla in amphora Skin-contact white buried in clay; the estate visit runs two and a quarter hours, by request
- Collio Goriziano/CollioDOC Radikon, La Castellada and Primosic pour the same hill in their own ways, all by appointment
Up through Piuma past the Ossario, the First World War memorial to the men who died on these slopes in 1915 to 1918. Gravner's estate visit with the amphora cellar runs about two and a quarter hours and is arranged by request; Radikon offers a stay at the estate by enquiry; La Castellada opens its cellar by appointment. None of them is a walk-in, and no table in the hamlet has its own site, so eat in Gorizia or wait for Cormons.
Where to taste
La Castellada
Booking required
Azienda Agricola Gravner Francesco
About 2 hours 15 minutes
Booking required
1 more estate within reach of Oslavia, all of them on the map.
3
Stop 3 · The ridge on the Slovenian line
San Floriano del Collio
The ridge village on the Slovenian line, on the Cherry Road the regional wine route publishes, with the Koršič osteria at Sovenza.
What to taste here
- Collio Goriziano/CollioDOC Friulano and Ribolla from vines that look into Brda across the lane
- Cherries The other half of the Cherry Road's name, ripe in June
The SP 17 runs along the crest from Oslavia. San Floriano is one of the eight comuni of the Collio DOC and the high point of the Strada del Vino e delle Ciliegie, the Gorizia loop the Friuli Venezia Giulia wine road lists at 36.4 kilometres. The vines on the far side of the road are in Slovenia's Brda. Osteria Gostilna Koršič is at Località Sovenza 7. Stay on the Italian side for the next leg: go down through Giasbana to Cormons, not over the Cerovo lanes the satnav prefers.
Where to eat
The osteria's Collio plates, Friulian and Slovene at once
Osteria Gostilna Koršič. Località Sovenza 7, on the crest; call 0481 884248
4
Stop 4 · The market town and the star
Cormons
The Collio's market town under Monte Quarin: the Cantina Produttori's Vino della Pace, and the Sirk family's starred trattoria at La Subida.
What to taste here
- Collio Goriziano/CollioDOC Livio Felluga's Terre Alte, from the family that drew the 1956 map label
- Vino della Pace The Cantina Produttori's peace wine from more than ninety growers, made with a Gorizia charity
- Sirk Ribolla vinegar La Subida's own acetaia ferments Ribolla Gialla into vinegar; buy a bottle
Down through Giasbana and Valerisce to the SR 409, Via Subida. La Subida at Via Subida 52 holds the Trattoria Al Cacciatore, one Michelin star since 2007 under chef Alessandro Gavagna, the simpler Osteria La Preda, rooms, and a vinegar house that ferments Ribolla Gialla. The Cantina Produttori Cormons at Via Vino della Pace 31 gathers more than ninety growers. Livio Felluga, whose 1956 map label put these hills on the world's shelves, is at Brazzano on the edge of town and takes tasting bookings by email.
Where to eat
Tortelli with red Cavasso onion, then grilled venison loin
Trattoria Al Cacciatore de La Subida. Via Subida 52; one Michelin star since 2007, chef Alessandro Gavagna; the Osteria La Preda next door is the cheaper sitting; call 0481 60531
5
Stop 5 · Priced tastings and a castle bed
Capriva del Friuli
Night one: Russiz Superiore and Schiopetto with priced tastings, Villa Russiz's charity foundation, and Castello di Spessa's rooms above Casanova's cellar.
What to taste here
- Collio Goriziano/CollioDOC Russiz Superiore's three tastings, 25 to 40 euro, one to two hours
- Schiopetto's five iconic wines 25 euro at the Osteria al Pompiere, 40 with the cellar and vineyard walk
- Villa Russiz Pinot Bianco From the 1869 estate whose wine now funds a children's home
Five kilometres on the SR 56. Russiz Superiore sells three tastings on its own site, 25, 30 and 40 euro for one, one and a half and two hours; Schiopetto lists five iconic wines at the Osteria al Pompiere for 25 euro and a cellar and vineyard visit with five wines for 40, plus rooms at Al Pompiere. Villa Russiz, founded in 1869 by Count Theodor de La Tour, has been a non-profit foundation since 2009 and its wine pays for Casa Elvine, a home for children. Castello di Spessa at Via Spessa 1 hosted Casanova in 1773 and ages wine in a wartime bunker rediscovered in 1987, eighteen metres down at a constant fourteen degrees; it has a hotel, a golf course and La Tavernetta al Castello.
Where to taste
Azienda Agricola Schiopetto
Tastings from €25 · 1 hour
Booking required
Azienda Agricola Russiz Superiore
Tastings from €25 · 60 minutes
Booking required
1 more estate within reach of Capriva del Friuli, all of them on the map.
Wines to Try
A few wines from the estates above.
Where to eat
Dinner in the castle that hosted Casanova in 1773
La Tavernetta al Castello. Via Spessa 1, inside the Castello di Spessa hotel and golf estate; call 0481 808124
Day 2 · Over the Judrio to Cividale
6
Stop 6 · The top of the Collio
Dolegna del Collio
The northern end of the Collio on the Judrio stream: Venica & Venica's wine resort at Cerò and Jermann's 170 hectares of vines at Ruttars.
What to taste here
- Collio Goriziano/CollioDOC Venica's Ronco delle Mele Sauvignon and Ronco delle Cime Friulano, shop open Monday to Saturday
- Jermann Vintage Tunina The white blend from 170 hectares at Ruttars that made Collio a name abroad
Back through Cormons on the SR 56, then the SP 14 up the Judrio valley, the Consorzio's 'high road' towards Plessiva and Dolegna. Venica & Venica, four generations since 1930 at Località Cerò 8, keeps its shop open Monday to Saturday 9.30 to 6 and has six rooms and two apartments. Jermann, at Località Trussio 11 in the frazione of Ruttars, farms 170 of its 200 hectares as vineyard and made Vintage Tunina famous. Ferruccio Sgubin has a guest house at the estate. No restaurant here with its own site: the next table is at Corno di Rosazzo.
Where to taste
Azienda Agricola Venica & Venica
Tastings from €35
Booking required
Wines to Try
A few wines from the estates above.
7
Stop 7 · Across the stream, a new DOC
Prepotto
Across the Judrio into the Friuli Colli Orientali: Prepotto is the home of Schioppettino, the peppery red the Consorzio names first among its native grapes.
What to taste here
- Friuli Colli OrientaliDOC 2,000 hectares and about 200 producers on the Udine side of the Judrio
- Schioppettino di Prepotto The peppery native red the Consorzio names first; this village and Cialla are its home
Two kilometres, one stream, and a different DOC. The Judrio marks the old Austrian border and now divides Collio from the Colli Orientali. Prepotto and the Cialla valley are where Schioppettino grows; four of the eight guided tours in our data for these hills stop at a Prepotto estate. Ronco Severo and Vigna Petrussa are the village names on our shelves. It is a hamlet, not a town: no table with its own site, no fuel.
8
Stop 8 · The abbey and the academy
Corno di Rosazzo
The abbey hill: Rosazzo DOCG, the Consorzio's tasting academy with 32 wines on tap, and Perusini's Picolit at Gramogliano.
What to taste here
- RosazzoDOCG The DOCG since 2011, from the abbey's own hill
- Colli Orientali del Friuli PicolitDOCG The sweet DOCG since 2006; Perusini has grown it since the late 1700s
- 32 wines on tap The Consorzio's Tasting Academy at Piazza 27 Maggio 11, weekday hours
The SP 14 south through Piazza del Municipio. The Abbazia di Rosazzo at Piazza Abbazia 5 opens Monday to Friday 9 to 12.30 and 2.30 to 6, weekends 9 to 12.30 and 3 to 6, closed 15 August, with rose gardens and a cellar selling the abbey's own wines; Livio Felluga's Abbazia di Rosazzo comes from its historic vineyards. The Consorzio's Tasting Academy at Piazza 27 Maggio 11 pours 32 wines from dispensers, Monday to Friday 8.30 to 12.30 and 2 to 5.30. Perusini, a winery since the late 1700s at Via del Torrione 13, Gramogliano, has twelve holiday houses and the restaurant Al Postiglione.
Where to eat
The farm's Friulian table, with the estate's Picolit to finish
Al Postiglione. At the Perusini estate, Via del Torrione 13, Gramogliano; twelve holiday houses on the same farm; book on the estate's site
9
Stop 9 · The road's far end
Buttrio
The southern end of the Colli Orientali wine road, with the Castello di Buttrio estate and hotel and a Michelin-listed trattoria on Via Stretta.
What to taste here
- Friuli Colli OrientaliDOC Castello di Buttrio's own wines, poured at its osteria
- Miani and Meroi Two of the hills' most sought-after whites are made here, with no visitor door
West on the SP 29 and the SR 56, Via Nazionale. The Consorzio's road runs from Tarcento to Buttrio, so this is its far end. Castello di Buttrio at Via del Pozzo 5 is winery, hotel, agriturismo and osteria in one. Trattoria al Parco at Via Stretta 7 cooks Friulian tradition with the wines of its own cellar and is listed in the Michelin guide; Miani and Meroi, two of the hills' most sought-after names, are Buttrio estates with no visitor door. Fill the tank here: it is the last town before Cividale.
Where to eat
Friulian tradition with the cellar's own wines
Trattoria al Parco. Via Stretta 7, a short walk from the Del Parco hotel; listed in the Michelin guide; call 0432 636040
10
Stop 10 · The Lombard capital
Cividale del Friuli
ZTL city, see the driving notesThe Lombard capital on the Natisone, UNESCO-listed since 2011, with Picolit and Ramandolo to taste and gubana to take home.
What to taste here
- Colli Orientali del Friuli PicolitDOCG The end-of-drive sweet wine, the one to carry home with the gubana
- RamandoloDOCG The DOCG since 2001 from the hills north of here, sweet and amber
- Zorzettig Founded 1874 at Spessa, three kilometres out, run by Annalisa Zorzettig
The SP 14 back north-east. Cividale was Forum Iulii under Julius Caesar and the Lombards' first duchy; the Tempietto Longobardo went on the World Heritage list in 2011 with the other Lombard sites. Walk the Ponte del Diavolo over the Natisone and buy gubana, the walnut-and-raisin cake of the Natisone valleys. Zorzettig, founded 1874, is at Strada Sant'Anna 37 in Spessa just outside town. The old centre closes to cars on summer weekends, and a train runs hourly to Udine in half an hour.
Where to eat
The day's Friulian plates in the lane by the cathedral
Alla Frasca. Stretta Bernardino De Rubeis 10/a; call 0432 731270
Before you go
The practicalities
Visit prices are set by the winery and availability should be checked before travelling. Bookings open on the estate page or the provider's site.
When to go
Third week of September is picking
The Collio picks its Friulano and Ribolla in the third decade of September, so the two weeks either side show the hills at work. Cantine Aperte, when 82 wineries across Friuli open their doors on the same weekend, is 30 and 31 May 2026. Gusti di Frontiera fills Gorizia from 24 to 27 September 2026 and takes its car parks with it. Jazz & Wine of Peace plays Cormons and the estates in the last week of October, 23 to 27 in 2024. The Abbazia di Rosazzo keeps its hours through 25 October 2026 and closes on 15 August. Cherries, the other crop the Gorizia loop is named for, are a June affair.
Booking reality
Two estates book at a price, the rest by enquiry
Six estates on this route have visit data in our records. Two sell tastings with a price on their own sites: Russiz Superiore at 25, 30 and 40 euro, Schiopetto at 25 and 40 euro. Gravner, Radikon, La Castellada and Lis Neris list visits by request or enquiry only. From the estates' own pages read for this route: Venica & Venica's shop is walk-in Monday to Saturday 9.30 to 6; Livio Felluga takes tasting bookings by email; Villa Russiz and Castello di Spessa by phone; and the Rosazzo Tasting Academy pours 32 wines on weekday hours with no estate to phone at all.
Driving notes
Stay on the Italian side, and mind the Judrio
Trieste airport to Gorizia is 30 kilometres and half an hour on the A34. Gorizia to Oslavia climbs through Piuma and past the Ossario; the SP 17 runs the crest to San Floriano. From San Floriano the satnav will send you to Cormons through Cerovo in Slovenia: take the lane down through Giasbana and Valerisce instead, which joins the SR 409, Via Subida, and keeps a hire car inside its contract. Cormons to Capriva is the SR 56. Day two doubles back through Cormons onto the SP 14 up the Judrio to Dolegna and Prepotto, then the SP 14 south to Corno di Rosazzo, the SP 29 and SR 56 west to Buttrio and the SP 14 north-east to Cividale. Every road is two lanes; the only traffic is the A34 and Udine's edge. Fuel in Gorizia, Cormons and Buttrio; Oslavia, Dolegna and Prepotto have none. Gorizia's old core and Cividale's summer weekends are the two places the car cannot go.
ZTL
Gorizia's core is permit-only, Cividale closes on summer weekends
Gorizia's restricted zone covers via Rastello, piazza della Vittoria, via delle Monache, via Cocevia, via Ascoli, via San Giovanni, via Bellinzona, via Garibaldi, via Mazzini, via Morelli, via Malta, piazza Municipio and the Corso Verdi pedestrian area, and admits authorised vehicles only. Park on the blue lines outside, paid 8.30 to 1 and 3 to 7 on weekdays. Cividale closed its old centre to all traffic on summer weekends in 2024, from 7 on Saturday evening to 10 on Sunday evening between 27 July and 8 September, and over Ferragosto, with Corso Paolino d'Aquileia shut from 1 on Saturday afternoon; the town is adding six camera gates. Park at Piazzale del Ricreatorio or the timed spaces, 0.90 euro an hour from 8 to 7. The fines arrive by post months later.
Getting a car
Collect at Trieste airport, and ask about Slovenia
Trieste airport at Ronchi dei Legionari is 30 kilometres from Gorizia, 27 minutes by the A34, and 43 kilometres from Cividale at the far end, so collect and return there. Ask the desk whether the car may enter Slovenia: the lanes above San Floriano cross the line without a sign, and this route is written to stay in Italy. From Cividale the train to Udine runs hourly and takes half an hour, so a one-way hire and a train out is an option; four of the eight guided tours in our data start from Trieste, Udine or Cividale for anyone who would rather not drive at all.
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Where to sleep on the route
5 estates on this road have rooms.
16
Before you ask
Collio and Colli Orientali Wine Road, answered
Two roads, two bodies. The Strada del Vino e dei Sapori del Friuli Venezia Giulia, the regional wine route launched in 2017, publishes the Gorizia loop as the Strada del Vino e delle Ciliegie: Gorizia, Mossa, Capriva, Cormons, Giasbana, San Floriano, Oslavia, Piuma, 36.4 kilometres. The Consorzio Colli Orientali's road runs from Tarcento to Buttrio with Cividale at its heart. Our two days join them across the Judrio.
About 85 kilometres and two and a half hours of driving, split over two days with a night at Capriva. Day one is 30 kilometres; day two is 55. Trieste airport is half an hour from the start and 48 minutes from the end.
At three doors. Venica & Venica's shop at Dolegna is open Monday to Saturday, 9.30 to 6. The Consorzio's Tasting Academy at Corno di Rosazzo pours 32 wines from dispensers Monday to Friday, 8.30 to 12.30 and 2 to 5.30. The Abbazia di Rosazzo sells its own wines during opening hours. Russiz Superiore and Schiopetto sell priced tastings on their sites; Gravner, Radikon, La Castellada, Livio Felluga and Villa Russiz want a request first.
In Gorizia, on the blue lines outside the old core, which admits permit holders only; paid 8.30 to 1 and 3 to 7 on weekdays. In Cividale, at Piazzale del Ricreatorio or the timed spaces at 0.90 euro an hour; the old centre closes to cars on summer weekend evenings and the town is adding six camera gates.
The third week of September, when the Collio picks. Cantine Aperte opens 82 Friuli wineries on 30 and 31 May 2026. Gusti di Frontiera fills Gorizia from 24 to 27 September 2026, which is wonderful for eating and hopeless for parking. Jazz & Wine of Peace brings concerts into the Cormons cellars in the last week of October. June is cherry season on the Gorizia loop.
Not as written, but the lanes do. The Collio DOC ends at the state line above San Floriano and Oslavia, and the vines continue into Slovenia's Brda as if nothing happened. The direct lane from San Floriano to Cormons passes through Cerovo on the Slovenian side; we route you down through Giasbana instead. Check the hire contract before you follow a satnav.
White grapes fermented on their skins like a red, which turns them amber and gives them grip. Oslavia is the hill where Gravner, who buries his wine in clay amphorae, and Radikon made the style famous. Both open by request rather than to walk-ins; Gravner's visit runs about two and a quarter hours.
A sweet white from a grape that sets only a few berries a bunch, grown in the Colli Orientali and a DOCG in its own right since 2006. Perusini at Gramogliano has grown it since the late 1700s. Ramandolo, from the hills north of Cividale, is the region's other sweet DOCG, since 2001.
Udine is 18 kilometres west of Cividale, half an hour by road or by the hourly train. Trieste airport is 48 minutes south. The Carso, the limestone plateau above Trieste where the osmize pour wine in farmhouses, is the next road in this region.
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