🍇 Ribolla Gialla

Ribolla Gialla is a white grape from Friuli in north-eastern Italy that the VIVC catalogue lists as a wine and table variety. In neighbouring Slovenia it is called Rebula. VIVC records 284 ha in Italy (2000), whereas in 1982 there were only 78 ha. The Collio appellation has a separate wine, "Collio Ribolla gialla".

According to DNA markers, one parent of Ribolla is Gouais Blanc (Heunisch weiss); the other is unknown. VIVC lists 54 synonyms: Rebula, Rumena rebula, Ribolla di Rosazzo, Ribolla bianca and others.

In the Slovenian appellation Goriška Brda, Rebula is one of the main grapes. The file describes vineyards on the terraced hills of Brda, where the bunches ripen fully and often overripen; 15 white varieties are permitted here.

In the Friulian DOCG Rosazzo, Ribolla is one of the secondary grapes of the white wine alongside Friulano; the main ones are Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Pinot Bianco. According to the file, Rosazzo wine is straw yellow and dry, with at least 12 % vol. The zone covers the communes of Manzano, San Giovanni al Natisone and Corno di Rosazzo in the province of Udine, and yields are limited to 56 hl/ha.

Why it matters to you. On Italian bottles look for Ribolla Gialla, on Slovenian ones for Rebula: it is one grape. If the grape is named on an EU wine, it makes up at least 85 % of it. White wines are served at 4–10 °C and stored lying down, in the dark, at 10–16 °C.