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Appellation · Italy

Friuli Colli Orientali

Collio’s northern neighbour on the same flysch hills, with a stronger line in indigenous red varieties.

Friuli Colli Orientali DOCcontinentalmoderate
What to expect in the glass

Textured dry whites in the Friulian mould, and dark, high-acid reds from Refosco with sour cherry and a herbal edge.

About Friuli Colli Orientali

The Colli Orientali run north from Collio on the same ponca flysch, and make broadly similar white wines.

The difference is in the reds. Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso — dark, high in acidity, with a herbal bite — is taken seriously here, as are the rarer Schioppettino and Pignolo.

The zone also contains Ramandolo and Colli Orientali Picolit, two sweet-wine DOCGs made from dried grapes.

What the name means

Legal name
Friuli Colli Orientali DOC
Type
Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC)
Set by
MASAF
Recognised
1970
Regulates
Origin, plus grape varieties, maximum yields, minimum ageing.

The delimited area, permitted varieties and their proportions, maximum yields, minimum alcohol and — for riserva and similar terms — minimum ageing.

Grapes

Wines from here

orange

Orange (skin-contact) wine

White grapes fermented on their skins, producing amber-coloured wine with tannin and savoury character.

white

Friuli white

Italy’s most textural dry whites, from Collio and Colli Orientali — more weight and structure than the Italian norm.

Rules worth knowing

Confirmed in the EU register

Friuli Colli Orientali is registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), file number PDO-IT-A0953, protected at EU level since 1973.

Article 107 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013

Specification published: Official Journal C, C/2026/988, 11.2.2026 · Official Journal

Only the rules that change what to expect in the glass or on the label. WineHQ does not reproduce production specifications, and each entry carries the date it was last checked because appellation rules change.

The designation is confirmed above. WineHQ has not read this appellation’s production specification, so it publishes no yields, ageing minima or permitted-variety lists for it — those come from the document linked above, not from a summary of it.

What to eat, and how to serve it

Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.

Friuli white

Serve at 10–13°C (lightly chilled).

Try with fillet steak, turkey or bloomy-rind cheese.

Orange (skin-contact) wine

Serve at 12–16°C (cellar cool).

Try with fillet steak, bloomy-rind cheese or brie and soft cheese.

Where to go next

Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.

  • Collio — Hills on the Slovenian border producing what many hold to be Italy’s finest dry white wine.
  • Friuli-Venezia Giulia — Italy’s benchmark region for structured, textural white wine, and the modern home of orange wine.

Sources

Sources consulted