Radikon, Venezia Giulia Merlot IGT

About Radikon

Radikon is a 12-hectare estate on the Slovenian border of Italy and is a truly unique winery. The vineyards were originally planted by Stanko s grandfather Franz Mikulus with the local favourite, the Ribolla Gialla grape. In 1948, Stanko s parents, who had inherited the property from his mother s father, planted Merlot, (Tocai) Friulano and Pinot Grigio. He realised that the local indigenous grape, Ribolla Gialla, needed to be treated differently to other varieties so he turned to his grandfather s method of vinification, which involved seven days of skin maceration. Stanko experimented with this technique and today's wines have around three months of maceration, along with long periods of barrel and bottle ageing. Working this way has meant that he has been able to cut out the use of sulphites entirely. The specially designed bottles allow for better development in bottle, and he only uses the highest quality corks that avoid cork taint. In the cellar, the grapes are de-stemmed and then macerated on the skins for 30 days more, with the experimentation of 6/7 months for the whites, and 35 days for the reds. The pressing is done softly using a pneumatic press. All phases of the vinification are conducted in Slavonian oak barrels, first in wood vats and then in large barrels in which the wines are aged for about three years before bottling. The vinification is done using only the natural yeasts present on the grapes. There is no sulphur added at vinification or bottling.