Since at least the 1980s, Friuli-Venezia Giulia has been an area chiefly dedicated to the production of white wines. The white wines of Friuli are among Italy’s most highly appreciated and prestigious. They have a distinctive character due to their unique terroir and to a know-how consolidated throughout the centuries. This type of terrain, known, scientifically, as a Flysch, is called Ponca in the local dialect: it is a sequence of sedimentary rock layers that formed in the marine environment - when the region was still covered by water - with little limestone and many mineral substances Grape varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Riesling grow alongside native grapes such as Ribolla Gialla, Istrian Malvasia and Friulano (known until 2007 as Tocai). The Vitovska variety is also grown on the Karst plateau. The cooler and more humid environment in the eastern part of the province of Udine, with its high peaks and steep slopes, produces Friuli Colli Orientali DOC wines; Friuli Colli Orientali Picolit semi-sweet or sweet white wine, rich in heady aromas; Ramandolo DOCG a sweet wine, from the Verduzzo Friulano grape variety; Rosazzo DOCG wines are dry and originate from the hill of the same name. 

Collio is the border area between the province of Gorizia and Slovenia, Collio DOC whites are wines characterised by complex aromas, notable structure and salinity, produced with a blend that can include both native varieties (particularly Friulano) and international varieties (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay). Carso DOC wines come from an extreme territory, on the plateau behind Trieste, characterised by arid, stony soils. The whites are made predominantly with Istrian Malvasia and Vitovska, while the area’s typical reds are made with the Terrano grape variety. Here, there are many producers of so-called 'natural wines', i.e. they use production philosophies that transcend the constraints of organic production in the quest for an ‘ancestral’ taste. A tradition common to the territories of Collio and the Karst plateau is that of Orange Wine: wines with great character and structure obtained from white grapes, which then undergo red vinification, i.e. maceration on the skins, often in open vats or amphorae. The flat part of the region gives simpler wines such as the Friuli Grave DOC; these are immediate wines, to be drunk young. Friuli Isonzo DOC which grows in a hillier terrain, is one of the region’s best.