The 11 best Friulano (formerly Tocai) labels under 20 euro awarded by Gambero Rosso

Jan 17 2024, 12:22

Among the wines of Friuli Venezia Giulia that we awarded in the Berebene 2024 guide for their excellent quality-price ratio, there are also some Friulano wines. Here's a list of them.

Do you remember Tocai? It was one of the oenological flagships of Friuli Venezia Giulia, a white wine cultivated in the region practically forever. Why do we speak in the past tense? Has it disappeared, perhaps? Certainly not, but since 2008, the grape variety and the wine it produces can no longer be called that.

The reasons are quite well-known, but it's worth refreshing our memory. When Hungary joined the European Union in 2004, a problem arose concerning one of the most important wine appellations in that country, relating to the strong homophony between Tokaji, one of the world's most famous and prestigious sweet wines, produced in the Hungarian region of Tokaj-Hegyalja (from which the wine gets its name), and Tocai, the grape cultivated in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Since the European Union protects geographical indications, Friulian (and also Venetian and some Lombard) winemakers were forced to remove the name "Tocai" from all their bottles. But is there any other similarity, beyond the sound, that links Tokaji and Tocai? No, none. As already mentioned, the former is a sweet wine obtained from Furmint, Hárslevelü, and Muscat Lunel, while the latter is a dry white wine whose genetic roots have nothing to do with the grape varieties used in Hungary.

The Friulano with the best quality-price ratio for the Berebene 2024 guide

So, what was once known as Tocai is now called Friulano (while in Veneto, they opted for the name Tai, and in Lombardy for Tuchì), a grape that genetically coincides with Sauvignonasse, a grape previously cultivated in France, especially in the Bordeaux region, and now almost entirely disappeared from the French ampelographic palette. The name change may have taken something away from the history of Friulian winemaking tradition, but it certainly has not affected the quality performances that producers have accustomed us to for several years now. The proof can be found in the following list, labels reviewed in the Gambero Rosso Berebene 2024 guide that have received a rating of 90 points or more and cost less than 20 euro