Cooperatives in Valpolicella with Cantina di Soave

I’ve long been a fan of the wines of the Veneto for such a wide variety of options they provide for consumers.  Some years back I had the luxury of touring the Valpolicella wine appellation on a couple of press trips so got to get a deep dive understanding of what these wines are all about.  Such a beautiful place to tour as well.  I based myself out of Verona both times and there are so many options for day trips with easy convenience to venture to.  I recently bought a bottle, Villa Alberti Valpolicella Superiore, at Trader Joe’s and I’m always intrigued at what some of these wines taste like when they’re at such great price points. Let’s find out!

The Winery ~ Cantina di Soave

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any specific information about Villa Alberti itself, but it is a brand under the known Cantina di Soave winery, which is a cooperative of growers that have been in existence since 1898 when a group of local growers decided to band together to produce wines.  Later in 1930 Cantina di Soave became officially established.  The headquarters is located in Soave, a town east of Verona in the Veneto region in northeastern Italy.  The vineyards of Cantina di Soave span over a number of established wine appellations in the Veneto to include Soave, Garda, Custoza, Bardolino, Lessini Durello sparkling wines and Valpolicella.

When most folks think of cooperatives they may think of wines that are produced with less attention to quality and/or are mass produced.  Although that may be true for some, there are a number of cooperatives throughout Italy that although are large, are producing wines worthy of attention with a focus on quality.  What was interested to learn of Cantina di Soave is their software system that they began utilizing in 1997.  This system provides them real-time data into the soils, climate and vineyard health along with a number of other factors of their growers vineyards and grapes.  Also, when the grapes are harvested they are analyzed on 17 different parameters to ensure high quality.  They also have a sustainable focus on their environment, packaging and energy consumption, which tends to be a hot topic for many producers around the world today.

Valpolicella DOC copyright of Consorzio Tutela di Valpolicella

The appellation ~ Valpolicella

Valpolicella is a wine appellation in the Veneto region, which stands for the “valley of many cellars” due to the geography of the land that is stretched across a number of valleys.  It is located at the foot of the Alps and the valleys reside amongst the Lessini Mountains. 

The Valpolicella wine region of the Veneto produce a variety of styles all from a combination of various percentages of the same grapes.  The most prominent grape typically used is Corvina along with Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara.  The styles of Valpolicella wines include all reds starting with the basic Valpolicella wine, Valpolicella Superiore, Valpolicella Ripasso, Recioto della Valpolicella and Amarone della Valpolicella.   

The standard Valpolicella DOC wines are your entry into this regions wines and grapes that are young, fresh and enjoyable for your every day.  The Valpolicella DOC was established in 1968 and Cantina di Soave actually manages 49% of the vineyards in this zone across the Cazzano, Illasi and Mezzane valleys.  Valpolicella Superiore wines are select grapes from better parcels that are aged 1+ years with a minimum of 12% abv.  The Valpolicella Ripasso stands for “repassed over” as these wines are fermented with the pomace of grape skins of either the Recioto or Amarone.  The Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG has grapes that are dried out until about January and fermentation is stopped before all the sugars convert over to alcohol. At the top of the chain are some of Italy’s best wines, Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG, where the grapes are also dried out in a similar style to the Recioto, but the grapes are full fermented resulting in a big wines with amazing raisin-like aromas and complexities.

The Wine

The 2018 Villa Alberti Valpolicella Superiore DOC was ruby red in color with cherry notes. A medium-bodied, approachable, easy drinking Valpolicella, smooth on the palate with juicy acidity, cherry flavors combined with subtle tannins.  For a price point of $6.99 you can’t go wrong.  ABV 12.5%

Have you tried the wines of the Valpolicella and what is your favorite style?

We're a small, but mighty group this week.  Join my fellow Italian food and wine lovers for a live chat on Twitter this Saturday at 11am EST as we chat all about the wines of Valpolicella.

• Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla is serving up Fagioli all’Uccelletto + Allegrini's 2019 Valpolicella
• Cindy of Grape Experiences is Romancing the Menu: Valpolicella, Classic Lasagna and “Letters to Juliet”
• Nicole of Somm's Table adds Allegrini: Feeling Posh in Valpolicella at Villa della Torre.
• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator...Gwendolyn Alley posts Wine Media Conference 2022: A Family Reunion in Italy with Ca’ dei Frati 2016 “Pietro dal Cero” Amarone della Valpolicella.
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm writes Le Calendre Valpolicella; Romance is not just for special occasions.

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An Amarone Pairing with a Visit to Brunelli

The Valpolicella wine region is one I have probably explored the most in depth as it was my first press trip as a wine blogger.  I’ve even been a number of times including my own personal travel there so I have a pretty good understanding of the land, the grapes and the styles of wine grown there.  Our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group this month is exploring passito wines.  It gave me the perfect excuse to open a bottle that I brought back from Italy when I traveled through this wine region in 2009, prior to being a blogger at that time.   

Passito Wines 

What are passito wines?  They’re wines that undergo a unique process of drying the grapes, known as the appassimento process, before they go through fermentation. The grapes are either laid out of mats to dry or as I saw from my journey there they were laid in crates with fans blowing on them.   As you can imagine this concentrates the sugars in the grapes developing a more richer, complex style with depth.  Think about your average grape and then think about raisins.  Very different flavor there as the water evaporates from the end product.   

These weren't from Brunelli, but during my travel in the region.

Amarone stems from the word amaro meaning bitter as this wine can be compared to its sweeter counterpart, recioto della valpolicella.   Amarone is the dry version of a recioto.  Back in the day producers let natural fermentation take place until some discovered by accident that the sugar of the dried grapes had all been metabolized.  It was initially labelled as Recioto della Valpolicella Amarone until the 1990’s when it stood on its own as you see it today, Amarone della Valpolicella.    

The Land ~ Valpolicella 

The Amarone DOCG wines are an appellation within the Valpolicella wine region of the Veneto.  Just north of Verona this wine region borders the Monti Lessini Range along the Adige River on the western side.  The name Valpolicella stems from a Latin word meaning “valley of many cellars”  and wineries here are a plenty.  I remember from my travels that the valleys fan out throughout the region looking almost like fingers.  It reminded me a little of the Finger Lakes wine region of upstate NY I travel to annually.   

The Grapes 

Amarone wines are produced from a variety of grapes at differing percentages including corvina, corvinone, rondinella and molinara.  The Brunelli Amarone I’m sharing today is  made of 65% corvina, 25% rondinella and 10% corvinone.     Corvina is the primary red grape produced in the Valpolicella wine region.  Rondinella is another popular varietal of the region typically blended in many of the red wines found in Valpolicella as well as the wine area of Bardolino.  It’s considered a relative of the former corvina mentioned.  Corvinone is used in smaller percentages, but adds some beefiness and body to the blends in which it is used. 

The Winery ~ Brunelli 

The Brunelli winery is located in San Pietro in Carino, within the Amarone Classico wine zone.  This is the most western part of the Valpolicella wine producing area and like most classico wine zones is considered the heart of the wine region.  Considered the best wines of the area, although I hate to generalize as we know there are always diamonds in the rough. 

The history of the Brunelli winery starts back in the 18th century when three brothers were sharecroppers that worked the land of a noble family out of Verona.  They produced a variety of crops and took care of the farm animals.  At one point they decided to produce recioto and valpolicella wines giving half to the owner of the land.  Word got out of the quality of the wines they were producing by locals and a visiting bishop.  At the beginning of the 20th century they had an opportunity to become full owners.

My visit back in 2009

The great grandfather of today’s current manager, Alberto Brunelli, started the winery in 1936.  After World War II past he passed the winery down to his son, Giuseppe, whom started to bottle the wines.  This was at a time when most growers of the area were selling their wines in bulk.  Alberto’s father, Luigi, took over the winery in 1976 purchasing 2 parcels of land in the Classico area.  These parcels were called Campo Inferi and Campo del Titari.   

I love that these parcels of land have such meaning as Luigi had a childhood horse whom he named the vineyard of Campo del Titari after.  It produced wines that reminded of grace and power.  The tobacco and leather notes reminded him of the horse’s saddle while the deeper color reminded him of the black horse.  The wines produced there are considered to have a “determined and enigmatic character” like himself.  The other parcel, Campo Inferi, has more gentler, feminine style traits like his wife.     

          

The Wine 

The 2006 Brunelli Amarone della Valpolicella Classico that I opened was quite the treat.  Amarone wines are ones that definitely need some oxygen to open up.  I personally like to taste it through its many stages upon opening, some hours later and even the next day if some is left over.   

This Amarone was a deeper ruby in color, paler on the edges.  With a nose of dark cherries and rich raspberry notes.  Upon tasting at the back of my mouth it left a beautiful silkiness or glycerol taste you’ll find in some of the wines of this area.  A well balanced wine with softer tannings, good acidity an nice concentrated fruit.  More feminine in style with elegance.   

It was drinking well for being 13 years old and I’m glad I opened it at this point.  Amarone wines are ones that can age for decades if you have the time and patience.  At an SRP at $45 it’s not a wine you can splurge on every day, but its one I always typically enjoy with my Thanksgiving meal and the occasional splurge.  ABV 15%  

Pairing: Since the cool weather is upon us I chose to pair this Amarone with a pot roast drizzled with an amarone based gravy.

Join us live this Saturday September 7th on Twitter at 11am EST to learn all about passito wines from the rest of our winelovers.

Jeff at Food Wine Click will share “Dip Your Biscotti in Montefalco Sagrantino Passito“
Linda at My Full Wine Glass will share “Passito and peaches –perfect late-summer fare (#ItalianFWT)”
Camilla Mann at Culinary Adventures with Cam will share “Polpette al Forno + Sartarelli Verdicchio Passito 2013”
Wendy Klik at A Day in the Life on the Farm will share “Appassimento Method explained in Layman Terms”
Kevin Gagnon at Snarky Wine will share “Great Sweet Wines of the World Part 2: Passito”
Cindy at Grape Experiences will share “Italian Night? Pair Appassimento from Abruzzo with Homemade Wild Mushroom Ravioli“
Nicole at Somm’s Table will share “The Sweet Side of ILatium Morini: Sette Dame Recioto di Soave Classico with an Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake“
Gwendolyn at Wine Predator will share “Pasqua Puts a Little Love in Your Life Part 2: White and Red Appassimento“
Katarina at Grapevine Adventures will share “3 Different Italian Appassimento Wines That You Will Love”


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It's All About Being Different with Tenuta Sant'Antonio

Time to visit a wine region I have had much personal experience with thanks to the Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella.  I have taken a couple trips over to the Valpolicella wine region over the last few years tasting through the wonderful wines including Valpolicella, Soave and the prized Amarone wines that hail from this region.  Plus, as an added bonus this is a beautiful region to visit starting with the city of love, Verona.  It’s the perfect place to base yourself and take many wonderful day trips easily accessible by Italy’s most convenient train system or rent a car and be independent to go wherever you want.   

The Land 

Set in northeastern Italy, the wine area of Valpolicella is located just north of Verona nearby to Lake Garda and the Lessini Mountains.  The land is laid out via a series of valleys enriched with rolling hills.  The area of Valpantena as seen on the map is one of the areas with the highest quality.   

 

Copyright of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella

The Winery 

Tenuta Sant’Antonio is owned by the Familia Castegnedi family that is operated by 4 brothers: Armando, Tiziano, Massimo and Paolo.  Their father started the dream of owning a vineyard, which is located in San Zeno di Colognola ai Colli within the hills of Illasi and the Mezzane valleys.  In 1989 the brothers bought land and property in Monti Garbi since they didn’t want to continue to sell off the fruits of their labor to cooperatives as they were with their father’s vineyard.  Their aim is to be different and not traditional and I sensed that as well from my tasting.  Here are some examples:  

• The Telos project is where they are experimenting with producing wine without sulfites
• The use plant compost instead of manure and fertilizers
• They believe in a green cover without weed control
• Nitrogen is used as an anti-oxidant as a protectant to the wine throughout the process.

The Grape 

Amarone della Valpolicella is one of the top respected wines of Italy.  What makes this wine unique is the style in which it is produced, known as passito.  The process in producing these wines, appassimento, is when they harvest the grapes and dry the grapes, therefore, concentrating the sugars.  This process goes on for around 90-120 days. This results in fuller bodied, structured wines, high in alcohol, but that carry a nice elegance.   

Amarone is a wine where multiple grapes make up the blend of various levels including the primary grape, corvina, as well as corvinone, molinara and rondinella.  These wines retail at higher price points, but understanding the process and time period to produce these wines makes it understandable.  The law requires at least 2 years of aging and 4 years for a riserva.   

The Wine 

2015 Tenuta Sant’Antonio Amarone della Valpolicella Antonio Castagnedi selection DOCG 

Made of 70% corvina, 20% rondinella, 5% croatina and 5% oseleta.  These grapes were dried for about 3 months.  They were fermented with selected yeasts for 25 days in stainless steel and then aged for 2 years in 500 litre casks of French oak.  The wine was a deep garnet color with an intense nose of rich cherries and notes of raisins.  A full-bodied wine as Amarone typically is with good acid, elegant tannins and dried red fruits.  Some warmth on the finish, expected at about 15% alcohol.  I have tried a lot of Amarone from my visits to this region and I found this wine to be quite unique from the others, but I can appreciate wines for their differences.  The recommended aging on this wine is 15 years.  ABV 15% SRP $45 

I did try a couple of their other wines, the 2016 Tenuta Sant’Antonio Valpolicella Superiore Nafre DOC and the 2015 Tenuta Sant’Antonio Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso Monti Garbi.  As always, regardless of whether I received the wines as samples or not, I like to share with you the wines that I enjoyed the most and would recommend to my readers so I chose the Amarone to share with you.   

I hope to get to visit this area if you haven’t already as it has a lot to offer along with some great wines.
 

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*This wine was provided as a sample, but opinions are my own.