Behind the Label: Valerio Civa, Tenimenti Civa
Long celebrated in Friuli but only recently discovered by international consumers, Ribolla Gialla is rapidly emerging as one of Italy's most exciting indigenous grape varieties. Few people have done more to champion its potential than Valerio Civa, founder of Tenimenti Civa. In the first edition of our Behind the Label series, we sit down with Valerio to discuss his journey into wine, his passion for Ribolla Gialla and how a combination of tradition, innovation and research is helping shape the future of one of Italy's most compelling white wine categories.
Q: For those discovering Tenimenti Civa for the first time, can you tell us a little about your background, your journey into wine and what inspired you to create Tenimenti Civa?
A: "My journey into the world of wine didn’t start overnight; it has been a lifelong evolution driven by a deep fascination with Italy’s rich viticultural heritage. Before founding Tenimenti Civa, I spent years working closely with the commercial and distribution sides of the wine industry. This gave me a unique vantage point: I didn't just look at wine from the cellar, but through the eyes of the consumer and the global market.
What inspired me to create Tenimenti Civa was a desire to shift from curation to creation. I fell in love with Friuli, specifically the Friuli Colli Orientali and the Ribolla Gialla grape, because I saw an extraordinary, yet partly unfulfilled, potential. I wanted to establish an estate that combined absolute respect for local tradition with a modern, dynamic entrepreneurial vision."
Q: Ribolla Gialla is rapidly emerging as one of Italy’s most exciting indigenous white grape varieties — what convinced you to dedicate so much focus to it?
A: "I fell in love with Ribolla Gialla many years ago. What initially attracted me was its incredible energy and personality, but the more I worked with it, the more I realised its extraordinary potential.
Ribolla Gialla combines vibrant acidity, distinctive salinity and remarkable versatility. It can produce fresh, approachable wines, complex age-worthy expressions and even outstanding sparkling wines. At the same time, it has a unique ability to reflect the terroir where it is grown.
For me, Friuli Colli Orientali is the ideal home for Ribolla Gialla. The Ponca soils give the wines a distinctive mineral character that makes them truly unique. As global consumers increasingly look for authentic indigenous varieties, I believe Ribolla Gialla has all the qualities to become one of Italy's most recognised and exciting white grapes."
Q: You’ve become one of the leading modern ambassadors for Ribolla Gialla. How important has your personal background and experience in wine been in shaping that journey?
A:"I don't really see myself as an ambassador for Ribolla Gialla. Rather, I see myself as someone who strongly believes in its potential and works every day to share that belief with others.
My background as successful wine supplier for many famous Italian wineries, certainly helped. I understand how wines are positioned in different markets and what drives consumer interest. This experience has been invaluable in building awareness of Ribolla Gialla, particularly in Italy.
Internationally, the challenge is different. The goal is not only to sell the wine, but to educate consumers about a grape variety that is still relatively unknown outside Friuli. We do this by working closely with the people who influence purchasing decisions, wine buyers, sommeliers, educators and journalists, helping them discover and communicate the unique character of Ribolla Gialla to the final consumer."
Q: What do you believe Ribolla Gialla can offer today’s consumer that more established Italian or International white varieties cannot?
A: "Today’s consumers want freshness, and gastronomic versatility. They want wines that pair beautifully with food but are equally engaging on their own. Ribolla Gialla offers a brilliant alternative to Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc because it trades heavy aromatic dominance for exquisite minerality, vibrant acidity, and a distinctive savory finish.
While international varieties can sometimes feel uniform across different continents, Ribolla Gialla is a pure expression of origin. It offers a story in every glass—a sip of history that feels incredibly modern because of its brightness and lower alcohol potential. It is an intellectual wine that remains effortlessly drinkable."
Q: What do you believe you do differently from your neighbours and why does it matter in the glass?
A: "Friuli Colli Orientali is a relatively small appellation, but it is home to many outstanding producers making exceptional wines. Rather than doing things completely differently, I would say our advantage comes from starting with a blank sheet of paper.
Because we established the winery recently, we had the opportunity to spend years studying our terroir and selecting the most suitable clonal material for each variety before planting a single vine. Every vineyard was designed with a clear vision of the wine style and quality level we wanted to achieve.
We also built both the winery and the vineyards using the latest technologies and sustainability practices available today. This allows us to work with great precision, both in the vineyard and in the cellar, while respecting the character of the fruit.
Ultimately, what matters in the glass is purity and site expression. Our goal is to produce wines that are precise, vibrant and authentic reflections of Friuli Colli Orientali."
Q: If someone tasted your wines blind against five competitors, what would give you away?
A: "It would undoubtedly be the balance between vibrant energy and textural elegance. Many Ribolla Giallas on the market tend to lean either too far into simple, neutral freshness, or too far into heavy, rustic maceration.
Our signature is the 'Civa.' Even in our most youthful, fresh expressions, there is a distinct undercurrent of mineral complexity and a beautifully managed phenolic grip on the finish that keeps you coming back for another sip. You would recognize our wines by their pristine aromatic clarity—no fuzziness, just pure, bright, terroir-driven precision."
Q: Which vineyard site best tells your story and what makes it unique?
A: "The vineyard that best encapsulates our identity is undoubtedly the Bellazoia vineyard. What makes this site extraordinary is its unique positioning and soil profile. It is rooted in the classic ponca soil—a fascinating flysch of alternating marl and sandstone.
This specific microclimate enjoys a perfect dialogue between the cold alpine winds from the north and the warm Adriatic breezes from the south. This dramatic diurnal temperature shift allows the grapes to develop an incredible aromatic complexity while retaining their vital acidity. This vineyard tells our story because it demands hard work, but gives back a wine of unmatched elegance and longevity."
Q: What’s the biggest misconception about wines from your region and how are you challenging it?
A: "The biggest misconception about Friuli, and Ribolla Gialla in particular, is that we only produce simple, easy-drinking white wines meant to be consumed within the year, or conversely, that we only make extreme 'orange' wines.
We are actively challenging this by proving that Ribolla Gialla is a noble variety capable of incredible evolution. Through rigorous vineyard management and longer, more thoughtful aging processes, we are showing the world that our wines possess a brilliant capacity to age, developing fascinating tertiary notes of petrol, dried honey, and flint over time. We are shifting the narrative from 'young and fresh' to 'complex and age-worthy."
Q: Name two wines from your range which you think are underrated and/or deserves more attention and explain why?
A: "The first is definitely our Ribolla Gialla Cuvee 12. It deserves much more attention because people often relegate sparkling Ribolla to a simple, commercial aperitif. We take a completely different approach by focusing on a long Martinotti (Charmat) method, letting the wine rest on its lees for 12 months. This choice enhances the grape’s natural, vibrant acidity and saline drive, transforming it into a sparkling wine of unexpected depth, creamy texture and gastronomic dignity that can easily champion an entire meal.
The second is our still “Bellazoia” Ribolla Gialla. It is an underrated gem because the market is saturated with white wines that prioritize loud, immediate aromas. Our still version, instead, is a masterclass in balance and restraint. It relies on a beautiful phenolic texture, crystal-clear minerality, and a structural tension that evolves wonderfully in the glass. It deserves more focus because it proves that Ribolla Gialla doesn't need to hide behind oak or extreme maceration to be profoundly complex and memorable."
Tenimenti Civa ”Cuvée 12” Ribolla Gialla Extra Brut
Tenimenti Civa “Vigneto Bellazoia” Ribolla Gialla Friuli Colli Orientali DOC
Q: How has your winemaking philosophy evolved over time and where do you see it heading over the next two or three years?
A: "When we started, our primary focus was achieving precision, consistency and a clear identity for our wines. Today, that foundation allows us to look further ahead and invest in research that can help shape the future of Ribolla Gialla.
One of our most important projects is a long-term collaboration with the University of Udine. In our experimental vineyard, we are studying all 12 available Ribolla Gialla clones across different rootstocks and training systems. Through micro-vinifications and detailed vineyard monitoring, we are evaluating how each combination influences wine style, vineyard resilience and adaptation to future climate challenges.
Over the next two to three years, we aim to translate this research into even more precise and distinctive expressions of Ribolla Gialla. At the same time, we will continue to push the quality of our sparkling wines through longer ageing on the lees.
Our philosophy remains unchanged: to express the unique character of Friuli Colli Orientali through wines defined by freshness and salinity."