Roberto Felluga passed away after suffering from cancer, according to the Messaggero Veneto newspaper. He was a fifth generation winemaker who led the Marco Felluga winery in Gradisca and the small Russiz Superiore winery in the hills behind Capriva. The wineries are two of the most prestigious in the northeastern region Collio region, known for its indigenous and international white wines. 

Roberto Felluga's roles over the years included vice president of the Collio Consortium and president of the viticulture economic section of the agriculture association, Confagricoltura Fvg.

He took over the family business founded by his father Marco Felluga and collected many awards along the way. The last was the inclusion of the Collio Sauvignon Riserva 2016 Russiz Superiore, defined as a reference point for Italian white wines, among the best one hundred wines in the world of 2020, Italy 24 News reported.

Messaggero Veneto quoted Felluga as saying a few years ago about the family wine business: "It is a responsibility and a privilege, which you naturally feel if you were born in these hills, grew up among these rows of vines, breathed the scent of the must and the air that comes from the Adriatic."

Felluga's daughter Illaria, who studied viticulture at the University of Udine, is now expected to take over the estates.