Simon di Brazzan, Friulano “Blanc di Simon”

Somehow, I still feel the need to litigate the case for Friulano, the native grape of Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Not enough of my peers have embraced this variety as the world-class white I’m convinced it is.Furthermore, as Friuli has become the epicenter of the ‘orange wine’ (i.e. skin-fermented white) movement, current fashion doesn’t necessarily favor the style of today’s wine: varietally pure, steel-fermented-and-aged white wine with an emphasis on bright fruit and mineral expression. This is the style Friuli originally became famous for, and the style I first encountered when I was first getting into Italian wine. I still prefer it, especially when it’s as well-executed as this 2016 from Simon di Brazzan, whose wines only recently made their debut in the US. Daniele Drius’ impressive lineup includes skin-macerated and “fresh” whites alike, but the standout for me was this fragrant, focused Friulano—and not merely for sentimental reasons. Called “Blanc di Simon,” it is m