Radikon Sivi Grigio 2018

Country: Italy

Region: Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Type: Orange Wine

Grape: Pinot Grigio

Radikon's 750ml bottlings are Sasa Radikon's addition to his father Stanko's original 500ml line: they are still "orange" wines but less intensely so due to a shorter period of skin contact and aging. Otherwise, all of the wines are made identically: the Pinot Grigio is destemmed and fermented with natural yeasts in oak vat, with no temperature control and no sulfur. Maceration lasts for 10-14 days (as opposed to 3 months). After a gentle pressing, the wine is put in Slavonian oak barrels for a year and a half on its lees; it is bottled without filtration and with only a tiny amount of sulfur. This Pinot Grigio bottling was dubbed "Sivi" starting in the 2016 vintage; it means "gray" in Slovenian, in reference to the grayish-pink color of the grape's skin.

Beautiful pink/orange hue. The skin contact gives the wine body and texture, along with a range of flavors, and also adds a slightly savory backbone to the wine. Complex, with notes of candied fruit, tangerine and spice. Immensely fresh, with lovely acidity.