La Ponca Unveils a Summer Pairing for Sauvignon 2023 With Red Prawn Raviolo

La Ponca, the winery based in Scriò in Dolegna del Collio in northeastern Italy, has introduced a new summer food and wine pairing built around its Sauvignon 2023 and a signature seafood raviolo served at Il Porto Ristopescheria in Livorno. The collaboration links two Italian regions with different landscapes and culinary histories, but with a shared focus on raw materials, family tradition and local identity.

The pairing brings together La Ponca’s Sauvignon with a fresh pasta raviolo filled with red prawns, ricotta and lemon, a dish created by the Frati family at Il Porto. The raviolo is served over red prawn bisque and finished with red prawn tartare, stracciatella and black truffle. According to the producers, the idea behind the match is to let each element keep its own character while finding balance between the wine’s acidity and structure and the sweetness and richness of the seafood dish.

La Ponca said the Sauvignon’s freshness is meant to support the sweetness of the red prawns, while its body stands up to the creaminess of the ricotta and stracciatella. The lemon in the filling adds brightness, and the black truffle contributes an aromatic note that the winery says fits the wine’s profile without overwhelming it.

The Sauvignon 2023 comes from vineyards planted between 190 and 240 meters above sea level in the Collio area, close to Italy’s border with Slovenia. The winery said the vines grow on ponca soils, a local mix of marl and sandstone that is widely associated with the character of wines from this part of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The vineyard sites used for this wine have a northwestern exposure.

In production, La Ponca uses a 48-hour cold skin maceration before fermentation. The must then ferments slowly in stainless steel. After that, the wine ages for 15 months on fine lees in a combination of stainless steel tanks, large oak casks and barriques. The winery describes the result as a Sauvignon with clear varietal aromas, marked freshness, full structure and a long finish.

The dish at the center of the pairing reflects Il Porto’s roots in Livorno’s fishing culture. The restaurant and fish market is run by Maurizio Frati, whose family history is tied to the port city’s maritime economy. According to information released with the pairing, Frati’s grandparents were fishermen from Naples who moved to Livorno in the 19th century. His father continued in the trade and supported a family of ten children while passing down what the family describes as values of work, dignity and respect for the daily catch.

Maurizio Frati later built on that background first through seafood production and then through Il Porto, which operates near the quay where fishing boats arrive with fresh fish. The business presents itself as closely tied to local supply, with seafood sourced directly from daily landings whenever possible. Its kitchen combines traditional seafood cooking with more contemporary presentation, while maintaining a strong connection to Livorno’s port identity.

For La Ponca, the pairing is part of a broader effort to present its wines through specific dishes rather than general tasting notes alone. In this case, the winery is using a seafood preparation with strong regional meaning to frame its Sauvignon as a wine suited not only to aperitif service or simple shellfish dishes, but also to more layered plates that include dairy, citrus and aromatic garnish.

The collaboration also reflects a wider pattern in Italian food and wine promotion, where producers increasingly use chef partnerships and regional storytelling to position bottles in a crowded market. By linking Collio’s white wine tradition with Livorno’s seafood cuisine, La Ponca and Il Porto are presenting not just a seasonal recommendation but also a narrative about place. On one side is Collio, known for hillside vineyards and white wines shaped by ponca soils. On the other is Livorno, one of Tuscany’s historic port cities, where fishing remains central to local food culture.

The producers describe that connection as a meeting of two territories that speak through ingredients and inherited knowledge. In practical terms, it is also a commercial message aimed at consumers looking for summer dining combinations rooted in recognizable regional products. Sauvignon remains one of Friuli Venezia Giulia’s most established white grapes, while red prawns carry strong appeal on Italian seafood menus during warmer months.

The release was issued on July 8 from Scriò, where La Ponca is based. No pricing or limited-time restaurant menu details were announced with the presentation of the pairing. What was emphasized instead was the identity of both sides: a Sauvignon shaped by site and cellar work in Collio, and a raviolo shaped by generations of one family’s relationship with the sea in Livorno.