Wine from the Ponca Hills of Goriška Brda
Davide Gaggiola is a natural winemaker based in the Goriška Brda region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, on the Italian-Slovenian border. Born and raised in Friuli, he developed a passion for agriculture early in life, pursuing agricultural studies and becoming an agricultural expert with a degree in agricultural sciences. [^70^] His professional journey includes working in various wineries and serving as an agronomist consultant across Italy and Europe. Since 2021, Davide has been collaborating with the historic Villa Job estate near Udine, where he divides his time between vineyard management and winemaking. [^70^] In parallel, he cultivates less than one hectare of 60-year-old Malvasia Istriana vines in Goriška Brda, producing a single, focused wine that has already earned recognition as one of the most promising natural wine projects in the region. [^79^]
Born in Friuli, Trained Across Europe — A Return to the Borderlands
Davide Gaggiola was born and raised in Friuli, a region where agriculture is not merely an occupation but a way of life. From an early age, he developed a deep passion for the land, for the cycles of growth and harvest, and for the alchemy that transforms grape into wine. He pursued this passion formally, studying agriculture and obtaining a degree in agricultural sciences, becoming an agricultural expert with a solid technical foundation. [^70^]
His professional journey took him far beyond the borders of Friuli. He worked in various wineries, gaining hands-on experience in cellar work and vineyard management, and served as an agronomist consultant for an important studio, travelling across Italy and Europe to advise on viticultural practices. [^70^] This exposure to different terroirs, different philosophies, and different approaches to winemaking gave Davide a broad perspective — but it also reinforced his desire to return home, to work the land he knew best, and to apply what he had learned to the specific conditions of the Friulian borderlands.
Since 2021, Davide has been collaborating with the historic Villa Job estate near Udine, one of the most respected names in the region. There, he divides his time between vineyard management and winemaking, contributing his expertise to a project with deep roots while simultaneously nurturing his own vision. [^70^] It was during this period that he began to focus on his own project — a tiny plot of 60-year-old Malvasia Istriana vines in Goriška Brda, situated between Zugliano and Vipolze, on the slopes that straddle the Italian-Slovenian border. [^70^] [^75^]
In Cormons, the heart of the Collio wine region, Davide has connected with a new generation of natural winemakers who are reshaping the area's wine culture. Alongside Luca Dellisanti, he has started a beautiful natural wine project that is very promising for the future — part of a small but growing movement of young producers who are bringing fresh energy and a natural approach to a region that has historically been dominated by more conventional winemaking. [^79^] Davide is also a founding member of Senza Meja ("Without Borders"), an association of natural winemakers from both sides of the Italian-Slovenian border, committed to organic or biodynamic farming and spontaneous fermentation. [^76^]
"Luca Dellisanti together with Davide Gaggiola in Cormons started a beautiful natural wine project a few years ago, which is very promising for the future."
— Nikolas Juretic, Winemaker & Senza Meja Co-Founder
Organic Viticulture, Minimal Intervention & 60-Year-Old Vines
Davide Gaggiola practices organic viticulture with a focus on minimal intervention and maximum respect for the vineyard ecosystem. He avoids the use of herbicides, synthetic fertilisers, and fungicides entirely. [^70^] The vineyard is managed with a light touch, allowing natural processes to thrive. Cover crops are mowed late to encourage pollination, benefiting both the vineyard and the surrounding ecosystem — a small but significant detail that reflects Davide's holistic understanding of agriculture as an interconnected web of life. [^70^]
The vineyard is situated in Goriška Brda, an area known for its distinctive soil composition called "Ponca" — a marl and sandstone mix that is the signature geology of the Collio and Brda regions. [^70^] This stratified soil, composed of ancient marine deposits, provides both excellent drainage and a mineral richness that is unmistakable in the wines. The Ponca imparts a distinctive salinity and structure, contributing to the complexity and depth that define great wines from this border territory. The vineyard spans the Italian-Slovenian border, a crossroads of Italian and Slovenian culture, rich in history and blessed with a terroir that transcends political boundaries. [^70^]
The vines are 60 years old — a remarkable age that gives them deep root systems, accessing layers of soil and mineral complexity that younger vines cannot reach. [^70^] These old Malvasia Istriana vines produce fruit of extraordinary concentration and character, with small berries and thick skins that are ideal for the kind of skin-contact winemaking that Davide employs. The vineyard is less than one hectare, a tiny plot that allows for meticulous, hands-on care. Every vine is known, every row is walked, every decision is made with intimate knowledge of the specific needs of this small, ancient vineyard. [^70^]
No herbicides, no synthetic fertilisers, no fungicides. The vineyard is managed with minimal intervention, allowing natural processes to thrive. Cover crops mowed late to encourage pollination. [^70^]
Distinctive marl and sandstone mix — the signature Ponca of Goriška Brda. Stratified marine deposits providing drainage, minerality, and a distinctive saline character. [^70^]
Less than one hectare of ancient Malvasia Istriana vines. Deep roots, small berries, thick skins, and extraordinary concentration. A tiny plot, meticulously cared for. [^70^]
Vineyard situated between Zugliano and Vipolze, spanning the Italian-Slovenian border. A crossroads of cultures, rich in history, with a terroir that transcends boundaries. [^70^] [^76^]
Spontaneous Fermentation, Skin Contact & Large Oak Barrels
In the cellar, Davide Gaggiola takes a simple, yet considered approach. Fermentations occur spontaneously with indigenous yeasts — no selected yeasts, no enzymes, no artificial aids. [^70^] The wines are not filtered or clarified, preserving their natural cloudiness, their living yeasts, and their full complement of polyphenols. This natural, artisanal approach in the cellar, combined with respectful and healthy cultivation, results in exceptional wines with an authentically territorial flavour. [^62^]
The Fuorizona is made from 100% Malvasia Istriana, fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in large oak barrels. [^70^] The wine undergoes a short period of skin contact — approximately four days — which gives it a subtle amber hue, a creamy texture, and a structural depth that sets it apart from conventional Malvasia. [^68^] The extended time in large oak barrels rounds the wine, adding complexity without masking the fruit, and allowing the distinctive minerality of the Ponca soils to shine through. The result is a wine that is fresh yet structured, creamy yet saline, aromatic yet grounded in its terroir.
Davide's winemaking is characterised by patience and restraint. He does not rush the fermentation, he does not force the extraction, he does not correct what nature provides. The wine is allowed to evolve at its own pace, in its own time, becoming what it wants to become rather than what a recipe dictates. This approach demands trust — trust in the grapes, trust in the yeasts, trust in the process — and it rewards with wines of genuine character and authenticity. The Fuorizona is bottled with minimal sulphur, if any, and is left to express itself without the safety nets that conventional winemaking provides.
The result is a wine that is unmistakably of Goriška Brda — a wine that carries the salinity of the Ponca soils, the aromatic complexity of old-vine Malvasia Istriana, and the gentle texture of brief skin contact and large oak ageing. It is not a wine that shouts; it is a wine that whispers, that reveals itself gradually, that demands attention and repays it with layers of flavour and a sense of place that is rare in the modern wine world. Davide's project may be small in scale, but it is large in ambition: to prove that a single hectare of old vines, farmed with care and made with patience, can produce a wine that stands among the great natural wines of Friuli. [^68^] [^81^]
Fuorizona — "Apricot, White Blossoms, and Mediterranean Spices"
The Fuorizona is Davide Gaggiola's signature wine — and, for now, his only wine — made from 100% Malvasia Istriana grown on less than one hectare of 60-year-old vines in Goriška Brda. [^70^] [^75^]
The name Fuorizona — "beyond the horizon" — evokes the border-crossing nature of the vineyard, which sits on the Italian-Slovenian frontier, and the sense of looking beyond conventional boundaries in both geography and winemaking. The grapes are hand-harvested from ancient vines, spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts, and aged in large oak barrels. A brief four-day skin contact gives the wine a subtle amber hue, a creamy texture, and a structural depth that elevates it beyond typical Malvasia. [^68^]
In the glass, it is a revelation. The nose offers apricot, white blossoms, and Mediterranean spices — a bouquet that one reviewer described as "WOW" and "really one of the best Malvasia I ever had." [^81^] The palate is fresh and structured, with a creamy texture and a salty finish that speaks directly to the Ponca soils and the border terroir. It is a wine of precision and poetry — a testament to Davide's belief that the wine must express the territory, not the winemaker's ego. ~€24–€30 / ~$26–$33.
The Davide Gaggiola Range
Davide Gaggiola currently produces a single, focused wine from less than one hectare of organically farmed, 60-year-old Malvasia Istriana vines in Goriška Brda. [^70^] The wine is spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts, unfiltered, and aged in large oak barrels. As the project develops, additional wines may emerge from his collaboration with Luca Dellisanti and his work at Villa Job. Prices are approximate and in EUR/USD.