The 2008 Vinnae is a blend of Ribolla Gialla, Friulano and Riesling meant to represent the elements of Slovenian, Friulian and Austrian traditions that inform Friuli’s rich cultural fabric. This is a layered, expressive wine laced with generous, perfumed fruit. The wine offers excellent persistence and a refined finish. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2011. This set of new releases from Silvio Jermann is once again mixed. Some of the wines are outstanding, but a number of bottlings, the Pinot Grigio and Pinot Bianco in particular, are far off the pace of the region’s leading producers. In addition to the wines below, I also had a chance to taste Jermann’s 1999 Vintage Tunina, Dreams and Capo Martino. The wines have aged quite well, most notably the Capo Martino, which showed terrific freshness and minerality. Readers should be aware that Jermann is owned by my wife’s uncle. I have always viewed education as an important component of wine criticism. An article on Friuli without these wines would have been incomplete and ultimately the consumer would have been poorer for their exclusion. For those reasons I have chosen to include the wines in this report. Neither my wife nor I have any financial or other interest, direct or indirect, in this property.Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900