Famiglia Boron Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso DOC Lison Pramaggiore – Wild Berry Veneto Red

Famiglia Boron Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso DOC Lison Pramaggiore

Boron Refosco is a full-bodied red from Annone Veneto, packed with wild blackberry, raspberry and ripe berry fruit. Made from 100% Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, it has balanced acidity, gentle tannin and a lingering fruit-led finish. At 13% ABV, there is plenty of character without the wine becoming heavy or overdone.

If Refosco isn’t a grape you know, that’s part of the appeal.

This is one of those bottles that reminds you how much more there is to Italian red wine beyond Merlot, Cabernet and Sangiovese.

It comes from the Lison Pramaggiore wine country of north-eastern Italy. The style feels made for the dinner table: dark fruit, freshness and enough structure for richer food.

It’s robust, but never clumsy.

What does Boron Refosco taste like?

In the glass it is an intense ruby red with violet reflections.

Boron Refosco opens with wild blackberry and raspberry, followed by a broader mix of dark berry aromas.

There is plenty of ripe fruit, but it never becomes sweet or jammy.

On the palate, the wine shows its more serious side. Refosco naturally brings some tannin, and Boron doesn’t try to hide it.

The wine is full-bodied and mildly tannic, with enough structure for roast meat and richer dishes.

The tannins give it grip without leaving the mouth feeling overly dry.

Fresh acidity runs through the wine and keeps the darker fruit lively.

That freshness becomes particularly useful with richer food. It helps balance fat, gravy and slow-cooked meat.

The finish is long and fruit-led, with blackberry and raspberry lingering nicely after each sip.

It’s a proper food-loving red.

What is Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso?

Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso is one of the distinctive red grapes of north-eastern Italy.

It isn’t as familiar in Britain as Sangiovese, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. That is part of what makes it interesting.

If you enjoy Italian reds with dark fruit, freshness and enough structure for dinner, Refosco is surprisingly easy to get along with.

Compared with a softer Merlot, it has a little more grip and freshness.

Compared with a heavily oaked red, the fruit remains much clearer.

Boron Refosco is particularly approachable because the tannins are present without becoming aggressive. Blackberry and raspberry give the wine plenty of immediate appeal.

It’s recognisably a serious red, but you don’t need to be a wine expert to enjoy it.

From Lison Pramaggiore in north-eastern Italy

This wine comes from Annone Veneto, within the Lison Pramaggiore DOC area of north-eastern Italy.

Lison Pramaggiore sits in the eastern part of Veneto, close to the border with Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

It is an area with a long history of grape growing and wine production.

The local soils are particularly interesting. Clay is combined with a compact layer rich in calcium carbonate, known locally as caranto.

There are also natural mineral elements including potassium, calcium and magnesium.

You certainly don’t need to understand the geology before opening the bottle.

What matters is that Refosco has a real connection to this part of Italy. It isn’t simply another international grape grown wherever land happens to be available.

That gives the wine a stronger sense of place and makes it something genuinely different to discover.

The Boron family – making wine since 1954

The Boron family’s winemaking story began in 1954, when Remigio and Amedeo Boron started building the family estate.

Today the next generation continues that work from the winery in Loncon di Annone Veneto.

Sabrina, Andrea and Roberto Boron combine the family’s experience with modern winemaking equipment and temperature-controlled fermentation.

It’s an approach we like.

Refosco already brings plenty of colour, fruit and structure. There is no need to cover it with excessive oak or try to make it more powerful than it naturally is.

Boron keeps the focus on the grape itself: dark berries, good freshness, body and a savoury edge.

How is Boron Refosco made?

This wine is made from 100% Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso.

The grapes are normally harvested between the end of September and the beginning of October.

At the winery, the juice remains in contact with the grape skins for around 10–14 days.

Fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks at approximately 24–27°C.

This draws colour, flavour and tannin from the grape skins while helping keep the fruit fresh.

After fermentation, Boron Refosco spends around four months in stainless steel on the yeasts.

It then rests for approximately two months in bottle before release.

There is no heavy oak treatment getting between you and the grape.

What you taste is Refosco itself.

What should you eat with it?

This is where the wine really comes alive.

Boron recommends Refosco with fatty meats, roasts and game. That makes complete sense once you taste the combination of body, tannin and freshness.

One of our favourite matches is porchetta.

Roast pork, herbs, crackling and fat need a red with enough freshness to stop the meal feeling heavy. Refosco has exactly that.

It’s also an excellent Sunday-lunch wine.

Our roast meat wine pairing guide is a useful place to explore the different meats and styles that work with reds like this.

For lamb, try it alongside a rack of lamb, especially with rosemary, garlic and roasted vegetables.

Game is another natural home for it.

Venison, wild boar and richer slow-cooked meat dishes all have enough flavour to meet the wine without overpowering it.

We’d happily pour it with:

• Porchetta
• Roast pork and crackling
• Roast beef
• Rack of lamb
• Roast lamb
• Venison
• Wild boar
• Game casseroles
• Beef stew
• Pork ribs
• Grilled sausages
• Slow-cooked beef
• Meat ragù
• Rich roast dinners

If you already know what’s for dinner but haven’t chosen the wine, use our food and wine pairing guide.

You can search hundreds of dishes, from Italian classics to Sunday roasts and British favourites.

Who is Boron Refosco for?

If you normally buy Cabernet Sauvignon, Montepulciano or fuller northern Italian reds, Boron Refosco is well worth trying.

You still get the dark fruit and body you’re looking for, but there is more freshness and slightly firmer structure.

It also works particularly well for people who want a red that improves when food arrives.

This isn’t a sweet, soft red designed to disappear without you noticing it.

Instead, you get gentle tannin, lively acidity and proper structure.

Those qualities are exactly why it works so well with pork, lamb, roast meat and game.

At 13% ABV, it has enough weight for those dishes without becoming an enormous, high-alcohol red.

And if you’ve never heard of Refosco before, don’t let the name put you off.

The wine itself is considerably easier to drink than it is to pronounce.

How should you serve it?

Serve Boron Refosco at around 16–18°C.

That is slightly cooler than many British rooms, especially once the heating is on.

If the bottle has been sitting somewhere warm, give it a short spell somewhere cooler before opening.

A standard red-wine glass is perfectly good.

Give the wine a little time in the glass and let the berry fruit open naturally.

There’s no need to turn it into a ceremony.

Wine details

Producer: Famiglia Boron / Azienda Agricola Boron
Country: Italy
Region: Veneto
Area: Annone Veneto / Lison Pramaggiore
Grape: 100% Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso
Classification: Lison Pramaggiore DOC
Style: Dry Italian red wine
ABV: 13%
Colour: Intense ruby red with violet reflections
Aroma: Wild blackberry, raspberry and mixed wild berries
Taste: Full-bodied, characteristic and mildly tannic
Finish: Persistent berry finish with balanced acidity
Residual sugar: Approximately 3.50g/l
Total acidity: Approximately 5.70g/l
Serving temperature: 16–18°C
Food pairing: Fatty meats, roasts and game
Harvest: Late September to early October
Vinification: 10–14 days of skin maceration in stainless steel at controlled temperature
Ageing: Four months in stainless steel on the yeasts followed by two months in bottle
Winery: Boron family winemaking tradition since 1954

Why we chose it

Boron Refosco is exactly the sort of wine we like having in the Donzella range.

You won’t find Refosco lined up on every supermarket shelf, but you certainly don’t need to be a wine expert to enjoy it.

Wild blackberry and raspberry make it immediately appealing.

The tannin and acidity then give it enough backbone for proper food.

At 13% ABV, it has body without becoming excessive.

Boron also keeps the wine in stainless steel rather than covering it with oak. That leaves the dark fruit and natural character of Refosco clear in the glass.

It is particularly good with pork, roast meat and game, but it’s also simply a very satisfying bottle of Italian red.

If you enjoy discovering wines beyond the usual Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, Boron Refosco is a very good place to go next.

You can also browse our Italian red wine collection for more reds from family producers across Italy.