葡萄详情

Picolit is an Italian white-wine variety used in the production of sweet late-harvest and passito wines in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The variety has a long and proud history, and was for several centuries made into a wine served to the clergy and nobility of northern Italy. It is still in production today in the Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit DOC and is widely regarded as a cult favorite among those who are familiar with it.

Picolit is thought to have originated in the Rosazzo region, just south of contemporary Picolit vineyards, although this region is better known for its dry wines made from Fruliano. In Friuli, Picolit has traditionally been made from semi-dried grapes and was once regarded as producing some of the finest (and most expensive) wines in Europe. Now, late-harvesting is more common, but both styles still exist.

In the vineyard, Picolit can be a difficult variety to cultivate. It is named after its tiny yields (piccolo means "small" in Italian), which are a consequence of the difficulty experienced in trying to pollinate it. Picolit is also very delicate, both as a wine and as a vine, meaning that it must be harvested by hand so the fruit does not get damaged.

Modern winemaking practices allow Picolit to be blended with up to 15 percent of other permitted grapes (Verduzzo is a common example), though this is generally frowned upon from a quality perspective. As a wine, Picolit displays delicate stonefruit aromas (apricot and peach) and is generally consumed as a meditation wine (vino da meditazione), to be enjoyed without food once the dinner table has been cleared.

Picolit should not be confused with the similarly named (but quite different) Piculit Neri, which also hails from Friuli.

Synonyms include: Piccolit, Piccolito.

Food matches for Picolit include:

• Mille-feuille (French custard slice)
• Ice cream with caramel sauce
• Gorgonzola cheese