Regions and grapes
Ribolla Gialla 2025 Borgo Conventi: the white wine that delivers
The Ribolla Gialla 2025 from Borgo Conventi, tasted at Farra d'Isonzo, pairs citrus and lively acidity perfectly with a vegetable risotto.
The Ribolla Gialla 2025 from Borgo Conventi, tasted and described on 14 October 2026, shows why this grape variety deserves more attention than it receives. The wine is one of the most underrated Italian whites, and Borgo Conventi’s 2025 vintage at Farra d’Isonzo is the latest proof of it. It combines two qualities that rarely coexist: a strong sense of territorial identity and a surprising modernity. For a sector used to reading Collio through its historic whites, the return of this name matters.
The convent in the name of an estate that grows Ribolla Gialla
The story of Borgo Conventi winery begins in 1975, when Gianni Vescovo founded the company at Farra d’Isonzo, in the province of Gorizia, in the heart of Collio. The name comes from a legend according to which Rizzardo di Strassoldo, the feudal lord of the area, donated land to the Dominican Fathers, who built the first monastery of the territory there. After the Folonari family, since 2019 the estate has belonged to the Moretti Polegato family, already the owner of Villa Sandi. Today the company cultivates 30 hectares of vineyard across the Collio and Isonzo DOCs, with a production of about 300,000 bottles a year.
The 2019 acquisition is one of those deals that do Italian wine good. Villa Sandi did not buy a brand to display it in a shop window; it is restoring polish to one of the most prestigious names in Collio. The family has brought to the vineyards the same low-impact environmental practices that earned Villa Sandi’s estates the Biodiversity Friend certification. Respect for history remains the cornerstone of the management.
An ancient grape variety that is changing category
Ribolla Gialla is a very ancient grape variety, at home between Collio and the Slovenian Brda for centuries. For a long time it was considered a minor white, suited to everyday drinking and little else. In recent years the success of its sparkling versions has made it better known, without always telling its true worth.
Versatility is the grape’s real strength. It can produce macerated wines of great complexity, as the tradition of Oslavia teaches, or agile and luminous wines like the one from Borgo Conventi. In both cases it speaks clearly of its territory. It is a point that those who work with native grape varieties recognize: the same variety can change face without losing identity.
What the glass really says
The Ribolla Gialla 2025 from Borgo Conventi is produced with a single grape variety, six months in steel and no concession to wood. In the glass it is clear and brilliant, with a few greenish tints. Citrus notes arrive immediately on the nose, with cedar and grapefruit zest, then green apple and a touch of elderflower. On the palate it is taut and lively, with an acidity that gives rhythm to the sip and a citrusy finish.
Ribolla Gialla has lively natural acidity, moderate alcohol and a slender body that never weighs things down: it is exactly what many consumers are looking for today.
Here lies the grape’s contemporary relevance. Wines that accompany the table without imposing themselves, that have character but do not require a lesson to be understood, answer a real demand of the market. The right lightness does not mean being thin, and the 2025 vintage proves it in every sip. It is a wine that makes you want to refill your glass, and today that is a quality far from a given.
The pairing that holds everything together
The practical test came with a vegetable risotto. The creaminess of the rice and the sweetness of the vegetables found their ideal counterpoint in the Ribolla Gialla. The acidity lightened every mouthful, while the citrus and vegetal notes of the wine conversed with the vegetables without covering them.
For a sommelier or a restaurateur, the message is concrete. A lean white, with no time in wood, can hold up a vegetable cuisine of real depth without dominating it. It is the kind of pairing that works on the restaurant floor because it requires no lengthy explanations for the customer.
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