Sig. Ferdinando Zanusso organized  the winery in the early 1990’s.  His philosophy at the onset still holds true today, trying to “recapture the authentic character of the wine in this ancient land.”  Along with his son he acquired twelve hectares of very old vines on two locations in Friuli:  eight hectares in Corno di Rosazzo, within the Collio Orientali del Friuli DOC, and four hectares in the Brazzano di Cormons district of the Collio.

Ferdinando said of his winery:

My idea was to let history speak through the wine, by making as “transparent” a wine as possible, in which soil, climate and tradition may come fully through and be perceived without interferences.  A wine truly grown, whose character is shaped entirely in the vineyard by soil, climate and vines and is in no way altered in the cellar.

From these twelve hectares I Clivi produces four varietals from an average of 60-year-old vines, with some of the oldest vines on the property reaching over 80 years.