About Primosic
Primosic is a family-owned estate based in Oslavia, in the Collio zone of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northeastern Italy. The winery focuses primarily on white wines from indigenous and international varieties, holding vineyards across the Collio DOC and IGT Venezia Giulia appellations. Ribolla Gialla, Friulano, and Pinot Grigio are among the grape varieties central to their production.
Prices are for take away and shipping. The wine bar serves from its own list.
The winery
About Primosic
History
The Primosic family has farmed at Oslavia, on the hills above Gorizia near the Slovenian border, for a very long time. In the Theresian land register of 1751 a Primosic is already listed as owner of vineyard land there. At the end of the nineteenth century Karlo Primosic made wine in bulk and sent it by the Transalpina railway to Vienna, when Oslavia belonged to the Austro Hungarian Empire. The First World War destroyed the village and its vines, and Karlo's son Jožef came home to rebuild the house and replant.
Jožef died at 55, and his son Silvan became head of the family at twelve. In 1956 he took over the business and began making wine, first in bulk and soon in bottle. The 1964 harvest was the first bottled entirely under the label S. Primosic, with first labels drawn by his wife Lilijana. Silvan was among the first members of the Collio Consortium, and the very first bottle of Collio DOC, a Tocai of 1967, came from the Primosic cellar.
The land and the vineyards
The vineyards sit at an average of 180 to 200 metres on the soil called ponca, a marl and sandstone of Eocene age that is poor in organic matter, drains well and is rich in iron and manganese. The cold Bora wind from the northeast, which can reach 120 km/h, dries the bunches and brings sharp swings between day and night temperatures. The family names Klin in Oslavia as one of its historic crus.
The wines
Ribolla Gialla is the family's grape. It entered the Collio DOC rules only in 1989 and was long seen as a poor variety. Silvan's sons Marko and Boris worked to change that, and in 1996 they made the first Ribolla di Oslavia with a long maceration on the skins. The range is split into the Oslavia Collection, the Collio Collection (Klin, Chardonnay, Metamorfosis), single variety Collio wines, native varieties and the sparkling BollaNoir. The Chardonnay Gmajne 2018 was named white wine of the year by Gambero Rosso for 2024.
Today
Boris and Marko run the winery with their father Silvan, and a fifth generation is beginning to take part. In 2005 Marko, together with Stanko Radikon, started the Association of Producers of Ribolla di Oslavia.
- Founded
- Land recorded 1751; bottled under S. Primosic from 1964
- Main grapes
- Ribolla Gialla, Chardonnay, Collio varieties
- Owners
- Primosic family