Attems

With almost 1,000 years of wine-related family history, the Attems estate in Friuli Venezia Giulia is truly exceptional. Despite its long tradition, the wines primarily impress with light-footed freshness and a young, modern character. 

Attems Estate – A Millennium of Tradition 

The origin of the winegrowing tradition in the house of the Counts of Attems goes back to the year 1106, when Conrad de Attems received the land as a gift from the Bishop of Salzburg. Even then, wine was already being cultivated here. Commercial wine production on the land near Gorizia did not begin until 1935. At that time Douglas Attems inherited the estate, introduced a new understanding of quality and opened up the market at the same time.

Ideal conditions for local and international vines at the Attems estate

The vineyards of Attems lie less than 15 kilometers from the Adriatic Sea and thus receive exactly the right amount of dry summer warmth, which naturally benefits the white varieties in particular. The combination of proximity to the Alps and the Adriatic, coast and hinterland, Mediterranean dryness and European moderation enabled the region’s winemakers to realize, even hundreds of years ago, that these are ideal conditions for international grape varieties as well, which were then cultivated with great success. 

The Attems Cicinis

Douglas Attems realized that plenty of sunshine and an ideal microclimate with optimal temperature variation form the best basis for standing out from the competition. With the Attems Cicinis, the estate also quickly created its own small niche for white wine. Cicinis is the name of a single vineyard in Collio, an extremely rich subregion of Friuli. Cicinis itself is a crisp Sauvignon Blanc cuvée that seduces with intense herbs, white blossoms and highly aromatic fruit. With this refined white wine, a wonderful calling card for Collio was created.

Seeing new paths and moving into the future

Count Douglas remained involved in day-to-day business until 1999 and allowed the next generation to take an important step toward the future: since the year 2000 the blue-blooded family has been working with the Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi winegrowing enterprise – one of Italy’s largest wine producers.

The Attems estate stands for the enjoyment of wine without much fuss. Even if you are more of a white wine lover, because this region simply does that best: red wine such as Attems Merlot will send your palate on a new voyage of discovery. Nevertheless, nothing surpasses the zesty joie de vivre of the white wines. Not an easy decision, then. 

And these are the grape varieties of the Attems estate: 

• Chardonnay
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Pinot Grigio