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THE FOODS
In this attractively secluded region where the Alps almost touch the Adriatic, the homespun cooking of the Friulian hill country presented historical contrasts with the more refined Venetian-style fare eaten along the coast. Over time, though, the two cuisines have reached a happy union in dishes accented, often rather sharply, by the tastes of Austrian and Slavic neighbors, who remember Trieste as their gateway to the Mediterranean.
In Alpine Carnia and the vine-draped hills of Udine and Gorizia, the open hearth fogolar with conical chimney is used for grilling beef, lamb, kid, poultry, sausages and mushrooms. The indispensable polenta goes with cheese, meat stews, blood puddings and game: hare and venison often cooked in salmì (highly seasoned wine sauce) and a mixed flock of fowl, including woodcock, duck and little birds called uite.
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THE WINES
The compact region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, commanding the northern Adriatic Sea with borders on Austria and Slovenia, continues to set the pace with modern Italian white wine. Drawing from worthy native varieties and the choicest of the international array, Friulians have applied studied vineyard techniques and avant-garde enology to the production of highly distinctive whites, as well as some eminently attractive reds.
Friuli has two DOC zones of exceptional status in Collio Goriziano, or simply Collio, and Colli Orientali del Friuli, adjacent areas that follow the border of Slovenia from Gorizia west and northwest to Tarcento. The exchange of air currents between the Alps and the Adriatic has created a highly favorable habitat for vines on the terraced slopes called ronchi. Carso is a unique zone in the hills above the seaport and regional capital of Trieste. The other six DOC zones cover low hills or plains, but quality there can be convincing, most notably from Isonzo, which rivals Collio and Colli Orientali for the class of certain wines.
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