Friuli Food and wine festival

Every September for the past 25 years, the town of Udine has hosted the Friuli region's most important gastronomic event: 'Friuli.doc'. During the celebrations, the streets in the historic centre are transformed into a showcase for local products, an event that attracts thousands of visitors who come to experience the rich flavours of this diverse region.

The city is closed to traffic so that the crowds can wander around the stalls and kiosks tasting food and wine which is strongly influenced by both Slavic and Mediterranean traditions. Friuli-Venezia-Giulia sits just below the Alps bordering both Slovenia and Austria, and as a result you will find a mix of languages and cultures across this region.

In 2009, the event focused on products from the Friuli Riviera. This part of the coast runs between Grado and Lignano, an important wine route in Roman times of which the ancient city of Aquileia played a key role. There are 9 winegrowing areas in Friuli. One locally produced wine is Ramandolo with its distinctive flavours of apricot, honey and chestnuts. There are also the doc. wines of the Aquileia and Latisana regions, including the red 'Refosco dal Peduncle', a direct descendant of Puncinum, rumoured to be a favourite wine of Livia, the second wife of Emperor Augustus.

This is also a great place to enjoy shellfish, with traditional recipes handed down through generations of fishermen from the nearby Morano Lagoon. Specialities include 'Boreto Grade' (a fish soup), Istrian Scampi and 'Bisato in Speo' (fish kebabs on skewers).
Or you could try 'frico', a crispy cheese patty, or its modern variant mixed with potatoes, onions and pears. Another dish to sample is 'Cjarsons of Cercivento' (a type of ravioli), accompanied by one of the locally produced beers from the Sauris area. Other dishes include Villanova smoked trout, sausage and turnips in vinegar, speck, deer cooked with dates, pork shin or gnocchi with cinnamon plums. The central European influences of this region clearly shown on this atypical Italian menu.

September is a perfect time for visiting the region, so why not combine a tour of the mountains, lagoons and ancient towns with a visit to Friuli.doc for your Autumn holiday? You can spend a happy weekend wandering the traffic free streets and piazzas sampling the local cuisine, and enjoying the entertainment.