SuperWhites: From Friuli Venezia Giulia to London

SuperWhites are to Friuli Venezia Giulia what SuperTuscan reds are to Tuscany. The former may be less well known – like the region itself – but this is set to change with the second UK edition of SuperWhites. Created by Slow Food Friuli, this is an event dedicated to the tasting and enjoyment of over one hundred of the finest white wines from Friuli Venezia Giulia, alongside a number of its gastronomic specialities.

A Slow Food event of international stature, the main British event will take place in London on Friday 7th July at Vinopolis, when forty-one of the region’s producers will give wine lovers a chance to taste both wines that are already highly prized in the UK and others that have not so far been available, along with the opportunity to meet the men and women who make Friuli Venezia Giulia a world-class wine region.

Smaller editions of the event took place to enthusiastic reception in Bristol and Edinburgh on 14th and 15th June respectively, and a further foretaste was offered at Slow Food London’s major event for chefs and the catering profession, “Opening up the World of Slow Food” on Tuesday June 13th. Bristol and Edinburgh featured workshops on single varietals, while the London event focused on blended wines, as will the workshops on 7th July.

One of the unique features of Friuli as a winemaking region is the respect it pays to the art of blending. Too often elsewhere in the winemaking world a blend is simply an excuse to use up grapes of lesser quality; in Friuli some of its blended wines are its best, skilfully marrying the qualities of its constituents so that the effect of the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.

According to Giulio Colomba, International Vice President of Slow Food and founder of Slow Food Friuli, “SuperWhites” is an informal and convivial event and we invite Londoners and their friends to simply enjoy the wines from our region as they were intended – with good food and in good company.”

All workshops will be led by experts from Italy and pre-booking is recommended- contact Silvija Davidson at [email protected] or call 020 86706184.

SuperWhites-3.00pm-9.30pm, 7th July 2006 @ Vinopolis, No. 1 Bank End, London SE1 9BU. For more information visit www.superwhites.it.

Press kits and information about Slow Food’s major upcoming events, Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, held in Turin October 26-30, will be available for press at the event.