Terpin Franco

Franco Terpin is an important man. The fifth of six brothers, he has an imposing appearance: frank and direct, open to dialogue and ready for a joke, through the marks he wears on his hands he proudly expresses his hard-working belonging to his homeland. His passion for viticulture stems from a family tradition dating back to the 1970s. However, it was not until the early 1990s that Franco's father decided to embark on the adventure of winemaking on his own and bottling under his own company name. This was the moment when his perception of the environment and the winemaker's sensitivity changed, and he began to move away from the use of chemicals. Quality and care of the wines become the new mantra to be pursued, moving away from the mere quantitative discourse demanded by the market: and unavoidable emerges the need to devote oneself to the care of the vines and grapes, recognised as the true heritage that binds the labels to the land. The family-run business involves his wife Daniela and two daughters, Sara and Valentina.

Franco Terpin resides in Valerisce, in the municipality of San Floriano del Collio, an area designed by rolling slopes, nestled between the valley of the Isonzo river and the Slovenian border, which is no more than a few steps away. On the heights of Mount Calvario, at a modest altitude of almost 200 metres, the vineyard covers an area of about 10 hectares and is populated by the emblematic varieties of the area: Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Grigio and Friulano, which due to notorious bureaucratic vicissitudes has had to change its original name of Tocai and is now labelled, not without a certain irony, Jakot. Completing the picture are some internationals that are now at home in this corner of Venezia Giulia: Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The soil represents the true peculiarity of the region: stratification of marls, sandstones and clays from the Eocene epoch, locally referred to as ponka and so intimately connected to the character of the wines derived from it. Work in the field follows the natural course of the seasons, without any kind of forcing and without any use of synthetic products.

In the cellar, Franco Terpin always pursues the idea of skin contact vinification, even for the whites, and fermentation using only indigenous yeasts. Three lines are produced, labels that are graphically distinct and express different degrees of complexity: the flagship is the Sialis cru, a 70-year-old micro vineyard from which the Pinot Grigio rosé originates. Next we find the Terpin range, composed of single-varietal creations, and finally Quinto Quarto, understood as the most immediate wines, the result of blending as well as pure vinification.