It was in 1973 that Giuseppe Ceschin purchased 35 hectares on the slopes of the Colli Orientali del Friuli to dedicate himself to the dream that in 1960 had brought him to Friuli - wine.

For Giuseppe, it was a beginning, a "springtime" after which he named his new estate, La Viarte.

It took many years of hard work to complete the terracing and plant 21 hectares to vine. The remainder of the estate was left as woodland, partly for aesthetic reasons and partly to maintain the estate's bioclimatic equilibrium.

At last, the first bottles were released in 1984. La Viarte's products married modernity with tradition, featuring both the stainless steel vinification characteristic of white wines and the use of oak barrels.

Now, Giuseppe's son Giulio is determined to develop the estate's potential. Following in his father's footsteps and sustained by his father's experience, he purchased a further six hillside hectares in 2003.

Alongside the range of blended bottles that bring together the qualities of different grapes, Giulio has focused more attention on native varieties that emphatically express the territory. Their wines offer unique sensations that will always be associated with these superb hills.

Today, the La Viarte estate extends over 41 hectares, distributed in two hillside holdings between 80 and 180 metres above sea level. These splendid east-facing slopes are situated in the municipalities of Corno di Rosazzo and Prepotto, a few hundred metres from the border with Slovenia.

The soil here is known as "ponca". Its origins lie in the Tertiary era, 58 to 38 million years ago, when a slow process of sedimentation created massive geological formations that gradually emerged from the receding sea. The present-day deposits are formed by alternating strata of marl (calcareous clay) and sandstone (calcified sand) with a highly characteristic appearance.

The land is extraordinarily well-suited for viticulture by reason of both its configuration and its composition. La Viarte vines cover a total of 25 hectares and are planted at high densities (3,000-7,000 vines per hectare). Yields per hectare are well below the levels permitted by the production regulations.

Fastidious care and attention in the vineyard culminates in the manual selection of the bunches at harvest so that the cellar can vinify only perfectly healthy, ripe fruit...

...time rounds out the wine's personality, bringing it to a perfect balance of sensations.