Free ground shipping on 6+ bottles

There are something like 120 acres of Vitovska grown in the world—all in Carso. As rugged an individualist as the Carsics themselves, Vitovska, historically, is planted at the highest parts of the hill facing the dreaded Bora winds that roar in from the northeast. Vitovska has a thick skin that can ripen under even the harshest conditions and always produces a wine of strength, character and ageability. Kante’s is the benchmark. Edi is, he will be the first to tell you, not a maker of ‘orange’ or ‘natural’ wines. He ferments his production in his ice-cold cellar (he built a special door that opens right to the Bora!) in stainless steel and ages them in old French barriques to preserve the character of the grape. The resulting wines are clean and fresh and strongly taste of the Karst in which they are grown.

Kante’s Vitovska was on every good wine list in the region when I visited two years ago and we found it an entrancing drink all on its own on several occasions: Asian pear with a whiff of orange or mandarin peel, beach scrub, ginger, dried grasses, salty iodine and all that mineral! With its amazing natural acidity, it went beautifully with a local dish of frico, a gut-busting but delicious layered black hole of potato, apple and the melty Montasio cheese so famous in the region. And with the local seafood from nearby Trieste—a whole stuffed San Pietro, for example, or a grilled octopus with olives—it was just perfect! I think Friuli should be on everyone’s off-the-beaten-path itineraries of Italy and, though most won’t ever make it as far into the wild as Carso, you can always do second best and reach for a bottle of this! Drink now or keep. I stumbled upon a liter bottle of 2008 Vitovska in the cellar last year and it was still fabulous.

Vinous, 92 points: Crushed rocks and dried herbs combine with white peach as the delicate 2022 Vitovska evolves in the glass. It’s soft textured and round with notes of green melon and chamomile swirling across a saline mineral core. Long and citrus-infused, the 2022 finishes with gentle tension, leaving hints of young kiwi and spice to fizzle out slowly. This is an incredibly pretty interpretation of Vitovska. It’s gorgeous today, yet I’m also tempted to see what a few years in the cellar might reveal.