The compact region of Friuli - Venezia Giulia, which borders on Austria, Slovenia and Croatia, is the realm of Italy's new-style white wine. (Interestingly, the names Friuli and Giulia refer to Julius Caesar whose armies conquered the territory, which, at the time, separated east from west.) Drawing from worthy native varieties and the noblest of the international array, Friulians have applied studied vineyard techniques and avant-garde oenology to the production of highly distinctive whites, as well as some eminently attractive reds. There are seven DOC zones in the region ranging in style from the foothills of the Alps to low hills and plains.