The following story by Lorenzo Comelli arises as part of the ongoing series on Colli Orientali del Friuli, and the #cof2012 trip our group took at the beginning of April, 2012. The wine makers of Ramandolo were generous enough to host us for a comfortable, and easy going lunch at the top of their village. We tasted their beautiful, rich, wines–Ramandolo really is a fascinating wine made from the complex grape Verduzzo–and Lorenzo Comelli told us of his “Oro ETERNO ORO” project, with its focus on preserving the uniqueness of what they do in Ramandolo.
Lorenzo Comelli’s and Margherita Ferri’s “Oro ETERNO ORO”
“I traveled to Bordeaux to study wine making. We visited Chateau d’Yquem while there and they showed us a very old bottle with a cork, and their wine. The wine had become less and less in the bottle so that it was down very low. It was full of their Sauternes, a rich gold dessert wine, but with the cork it had evaporated away. I began to wonder, what could we make that would let a wine last hundreds of years, forever. And, then I realized, instead of cork, we would have to close the bottle with glass so it would be sealed. I decided to do this.
“So, I contacted an artist from Venice. A very very good woman that had come here to live in Friuli, Margherita Ferri. I talk to her about my idea. Ramandolo is a rich, gold wine, an ancient wine, and it can be preserved in her art. So, she make this for me. She had to speak to a lot of people. She spoke to people in Milano to find out if it would be possible to make a bottle like mine, a bottle we would close on top with glass so it would be sealed. She found, it is possible. So, together we made this bottle to close with glass in Milano.
“Agulia 2000 years ago made glass. I took the form for the bottle from Aguila and we went to Milano. We designed the form of this bottle. So, we made the bottle–the shape of an angel–we made the bottle and left only a very small hole at the top to put the wine in. Then I made my wine, my Ramandolo, and we put it inside the bottle through the very small hole. Then with the glass we closed the very small hole. We sealed the wine inside completely. We brought this bottle back here with us, to Udine.
“People say it is a most important moment in Udine. A symbol. The bottle is an angel and it has a gold top, and inside is our Ramandolo, a gold wine. And so it is called “Oro ETERNO ORO“–Eternity Gold. The wine will last into the future. We made only one bottle like this, and they asked, I made presentation in the art gallery. They had artists from all over Italy make art for the presentation, all of angels, and we dedicated it, and now the bottle stays there in this place, our eternal gold wine.”
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The other wine makers of Ramandolo spoke of Comelli’s “Oro ETERNO ORO” project as quite well known throughout the extended area. The exhibition appeared in numerous papers, and enjoyed a large reception. The bottle currently remains on exhibit with the other art of angels at the Galleria la Loggia, a celebration of the unique, long-standing history of Ramandolo.
To see photos of Lorenzo Comelli’s and Margherita Ferri’s beautiful bottle of Ramandolo, view the Galleria la Loggia’s Exhibition Catalog here: http://issuu.com/laloggiaudine/docs/catalogo-sottolealidellangelo
Great job and wonderful idea! It is a unique example of the mixture of quality wine production and fine arts. (a picture of Miss Ferri instead would have been nicer, though… hahahaha…) Saludos
Dear Elaine,
I’m so happy that you understood my idea and my passion for winemaking and specifically about the production of “Oro eterno oro”. I’m lucky because now a lot of people can read your article and receive and appreciate my message.
Excuse me but I would like to point a couple of minor mistakes. In your article you speak about Milano but the right name of the place is Murano, a little island in Venice which is very famous for the production of glassware.
Another little problem is the word for the name of the old city of Roman time “Agulia” but the correct name is Aquileia.
I beg you to change, also, the link for Margherita Ferri and her website is margheritaferri.com
Thank you so much for your article and I hope that we will meet again in the near future.
Best regards and ciao,
LORENZO COMELLI
Hello Lorenzo, Thank you! It is so nice to hear from you. I very much enjoyed meeting you, and hearing your story about “Oro eterno oro.” Happy to share it here, and glad to hear from you that you enjoyed the post about your lovely wine, and beautiful project. Thank you! Elaine