Marco Felluga 2 Items Follow

The Marco Felluga family traces its wine-industry lineage to the late 1800s, when Ilaria Felluga's great-great-great-grandfather, Michele, started a business buying and selling wine in Istria (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Michele's son Marco added winemaking to the business, growing grapes and making some wine on the family farm just south of Trieste in what is now southwestern Slovenia. After World War I, Marco's son Giovanni continued the family wine trade, selling Istrian wine in Trieste and in Grado in southern Friuli. He also opened a cellar in Gradisca d'Isonzo in Collio in 1938, but World War II soon broke out, disrupting life for a decade. After the war, Istria became part of Soviet-dominated Yugoslavia; the family lost their farm there, and Collio became their home. 

Two of Giovanni's seven children ultimately established wineries nearby. After graduating from the enology school in Conegliano, Marco Felluga worked for his older brother, Livio, before Livio started his own winery in Rosazzo. Marco stayed in Gradisca d'Isonzo and founded his winery in 1956. In 1967, he acquired the Russiz Superiore estate in Capriva del Friuli, which continues to operate as a separate winery. The Marco Felluga estate has vineyards in four parts of the Collio—Farra d'Isonzo, San Floriano del Collio, Oslavia, and Cormòns—allowing strategic grape selection. About 75% of production is white wine from international and local varieties. Russiz Superiore has 50 ha of vines, mainly from single vineyard lots, with some white wines vinified in oak. 

In the 1990s, Marco's son Roberto began managing both estates, officially taking over in 2000, improving quality through sustainable viticulture. In 2017, his daughter Ilaria joined after studying viticulture and enology. Roberto died unexpectedly in 2021, and Marco in 2024, leaving Ilaria to manage the estates. The Tommasi Family partnered with her, aiming to preserve and enhance Collio's wine heritage. Today, Ilaria leads both estates, focusing on sustainability and high-quality wines, gaining recognition for her personality and deep knowledge of Friuli and her family's legacy.