Nikolas Juretic
Gorizia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
Nikolas Juretic was born in a family of winemakers. His ancestors used to cultivate a piece of land for the earls of San Floriano. Cultivating wines was a part of it and with the few grapes that were left over they used to make wines following rudimentary methods. Nikolas remembers well how his grandfather used to live, he would be considered a biodynamical guru nowadays but for his generation it was normal to live in harmony with animals and plants. This way of permaculture inspires Nikolas in his present work.
Nikolas himself studied oenology and traveled the world to gain experience at various estates. He also spent some time working with Simon & Sirch, specialising in the pruning of vines. It was in 2018 that he started his own production of wine. He uses the grapes of his family vineyard. His parents, Elena and Robert, help him by tending to the vineyard while he kan focus on his work in the cellar.
The vineyard spreads out over 2 hectares near the border with Slovenia. The soil is locally called Ponka or Flysch and consists of sandstone, marl and is rich in limestone. It allows the roots of the vines to grow deeply into the earth, making it very suited for viticulture. The vines are over 50 years old and grow mostly local varieties. The vineyards are great in biodiversity as wild grass is allowed to grow and animals and plants from the nearby forest all are welcome. Nikolas and his parents really walk alongside nature instead of trying to control it.
The cellar is an interesting place for Nikolas. The climate is favourable for ripe grapes, which he likes. In order for the wines to be not only rich and complex but to also keep some freshness Nikolas uses whole bunch maceration. After a couple of days of maceration and spontaneous fermentation the must is transferred into wooden barrels or concrete tanks to ripen on the lees for a long time. They are then bottled without fining or filtering and with minimal amounts of sulphite. The wines are rich and complex, with notes of rip fruit. Yet they keep a surprising freshness. These wines need time to be drunk and also to be understood. Elegant, deep and never ordinary.
The colourful labels are painted by Nikolas himself.
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