In the homeland of Schioppettino

Since the Middle Ages, there have been reports on the cultivation of Schioppettino, locally called sclopetin or Ribolla Nera, and the wine, produced in limited quantities, was sought after and renowned for its rarity and quality.
Schioppettino, historically, was cultivated on an area of land limited to a few square kilometres. It was common knowledge at the time that, if cultivated outside its area of origin, Schioppettino would lose part of its finesse and spicy characteristics that made it unique.
For centuries, Schioppettino was cultivated in Cialla and in the neighbouring area of Prepotto.

For centuries, Schioppettino was cultivated in Cialla and in the neighbouring area of Prepotto. In the middle of the nineteenth century, with the advent of phylloxera (a phytopagus parasite of American origin that attacks and jeopardizes the root apparatus of the vine), Schioppettino was almost completely destroyed. The winemakers of the time had no way to preserve some specimens from destruction: the variety was cultivated on a very limited territory that was not spared by the parasite. At such a crucial time in our wine history, it was thought better to replace the native varieties and to introduce the more famous French vines, much easier to cultivate and more productive. A rich documentation on this topic can be found by leafing through the periodicals of the Friulan Agrarian Association (organ of the Agricultural Institutions and of the Provincial Technical-Agrarian Commissions of Friuli and the Agrarian Society of Trieste) about the various vintages between 1890 and 1930.

In spite of its millenial history, at the end of the 1960s, Schioppettino had almost disappeared and was considered extinct by bureaucrats who did not even put it in the list of grape varieties approved to be grown.

As a recognition of so much work and foresight, in 1976, the Rapuzzis were awarded the very first of the prestigious Risit D'aur Prize (Golden Vine), from the Nonino distillery of Percoto for the following motive: "... for giving rational impulse to the cultivation, in its most suited habitat in Cialla of Prepotto, of the ancient and prestigious native vine Schioppettino, of which absurd laws had decreed the extinction... ".
On the jury, there was also Luigi Veronelli who fell in love first with the story and then with the wine Schioppettino.
After more than forty years, Schioppettino is sold and appreciated all over the world. Many vintages, kept in our cellars in Ronchi di Cialla, have been subjected to topping up. Schioppettino, from an extinct grape, thanks to Ronchi di Cialla and to the Rapuzzi family, is experiencing a rebirth and a renewed period of popularity.