The little oasis of peace in the Collio where you can enjoy generous breakfasts and drink outstanding wines

The roads winding through the hills of the Collio, the neatly kept vineyards and the quiet little villages. The surroundings of the Pichech estate give a sense of peace. The Bed & Breakfast looks like a family home, with an adjoining cellar and vine rows stretching as far as the eye can see. No flashy signs, no artifice. Everything conveys a sense of calm.

The Collio experience

You are welcomed by a genuine smile: that of Roberto and Alessia. Few formalities, a coffee, a chat under the porch, and you already feel like a guest, not a client. The rooms are upstairs, with windows overlooking the rows of vines. The furnishings are simple but warm: wood, natural light, silence. There’s a scent of cleanliness with a warm, natural note. Night falls slowly, with a sky full of stars and air scented with earth and must.

In the morning, the light wakes us. The sounds are few: footsteps in the courtyard, a tractor in the distance, the wind in the leaves. Breakfast is served on a long wooden table. The table is laden, and luckily there’s no rush: there’s time to taste everything. Slices of homemade cake, jams, fresh bread, local cheeses and cured meats. Between bites, conversation with the owners keeps us company.

Among vines and villages

What to do next? Walk among the vines, read in the shade, take a stroll to Cormòns (just a few minutes by car or reachable by bicycle). A reliable alternative is visiting the cellar, which is far removed from a “brochure-style” experience. You are accompanied directly by the winemaker, Roberto Pichech, who speaks about his wines in a straightforward, natural way, without too much emphasis, but with pride. He shows us the vats, the barriques, and offers a taste of his work. He tells us about Ribolla Gialla, Friulano, and Merlot, which here has a character all its own. Each wine has a name, a story, a piece of land from which it is born.

In the evening, as the sun sets behind the hills, the best thing is to sit on the terrace with a glass in hand, sipping one of the labels tasted that afternoon – perhaps from an older vintage, to discover how it evolves over time. You don’t need much else. With the glass in hand, there’s a suspended air, as if the world had shrunk to the small balcony of the rooms, to slow sips, to the words of conversations and thoughts that drift in and out.

Pichech’s production

Pichech is more than a winery; it is a home. A family-run reality where wine is the fruit of a philosophy that follows the rhythm of nature. You can sense that here the land is worked with patience, the harvest is done by hand, and there is a willingness to wait. No rush. Only the desire to do things well.

The cellar is functional, enriched by different materials that add variety to the vinification of the labels: steel, cement, wood. The vineyards are located on the hills between Cormòns and Capriva, in an area well suited to vine cultivation. Mostly typical Collio varieties are used: Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia, Sauvignon, along with a few reds such as Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Among the wines, the Collio Athena ’20 stands out – made only from Friulano grapes, with skin maceration for 14–16 days in a large 25-hectolitre cask, without temperature control and without the addition of selected yeasts, allowing nature to guide the process. The wine has an intense aroma of mandarin, apricot jam and honey. On the palate it is juicy, fragrant, and full of Collio flavour.

Azienda agricola Pichech – Cormòns (Gorizia) – pichech.com – 0481 60347