In Friuli at Buttrio Castle, the heart of a prestigious and ancient wine-growing world
Nestled in the Collio hills with extraordinary views, it is an oasis animated by the passion of four women Maria Vittoria, Michela,Maria Eugenia and Alessandra Felluga
Key points
According to recent analyses on tourism in Italy, 75 per cent of travellers focus on 4 per cent of our territory, leaving out 96 per cent of a wonderful country. Among these large areas neglected by travellers is Friuli Venezia Giulia, a region rich in geography (from the golden beaches to the Dolomites) and artistic, cultural and gastronomic heritage. If you tell a foreigner about Friuli, he turns up his nose in doubt. Yet it is the region of Illy coffee, Nonino grappa, delicious San Daniele ham, many gourmet restaurants and excellent wines.
There are no five-star luxuries that shine on Italy's map around the world, but this is above all an advantage. It means more humane prices, less crowded places and genuine, often family-run hospitality.
A 13th century mansion
In the Colli Orientali, in Buttrio, in the province of Udine, there is a 13th-century castle that Marco Felluga, a historic wine producer, gave to his daughter Alessandra to continue the winemaking tradition of the house. The castle, for several years home to Alessandra and her three daughters Maria Vittoria, Michela and Maria Eugenia, has since been transformed into a country hotel with 16 rooms furnished with family furniture, canopies, fine fabrics and a few ethnic pieces to warm the atmosphere. The room in the tower is a jewel with a view of the surrounding park.
As in a castle, the large stuccoed lounges, the more intimate lounges with their bookcases and lit fireplaces are spaces to be experienced pleasantly. But like a contemporary hotel, there is also a large swimming pool in the lawn to enjoy the sun and the beauty of the surrounding landscape. One step at a time, Alessandra and her daughters, four modern and passionate women, are building an oasis of pleasure in the Friulian hills, even though the vineyard around it is the real driving force behind the winery, what prompted Felluga to buy the estate. Because the Buttrio hill, at the foothills of the Collio, rich in clay and limestone and well ventilated, yields round, pleasant wines. And the vineyard itself has always been part of the castle park along with pomegranates, figs, cypresses and two monumental mulberry trees. An agricultural place and at the same time a place of recreation and contemplation overlooking the mountains. Then it's down to the farmhouse, where there are four more rooms and a beautiful garden with a view of the rows of vines, and then there is the wine cellar, where six wines are produced that can be tasted or paired with the vaguely fusion menu of Friulian tradition and oriental techniques.
A trip to Cividale
It is not easy to get out of those idyllic walls, but there is plenty to do and see in the surrounding area: walking paths through the greenery, cycling tours, visits to Unesco World Heritage sites, such as Cividale, the fortress city of Palmanova and the archaeological site of Aquileia, Tiepolo's frescoes in the Palazzo dei Patriarchi in Udine. But these are just examples of an area that still has much to reveal.
