"How much Corvina did you use?” asks Giacomo Bretzel. The photographer is my travel companion in the Valpolicella wine region, located in the Veneto. We’re currently in the Pasqua cellars about to complete the final phase of the winemaker’s new tasting experience. In the aging room sits a table topped with various tools of the trade: two “wine thieves” (pipettes used to draw small amounts of wine from the casks), two beakers, paper and pens, blank labels, two empty bottles, and two aprons. Off to the side are a small corking machine and a burner topped with a small pot of bubbling thick, red liquid: sealing wax. We’re creating our own personal wine that we get to keep, and after tasting the contents of the casks, I combine three varietals. Over the last few days, I’ve discovered that Corvina Veronese is the area’s noblest grape, known for elegant, soft, fruity reds, though it’s at its finest when blended. Fiddling with pipettes and beakers, we’re having as much fun as children playing with chemistry sets.
The experience strengthens my conviction that, despite Pasqua’s almost century-long history, the work, currently overseen by the third generation, is also a creative act — in fact, two earlier occasions verified this for me as well. The first: when we tasted Hey French: You Could Have Made This But You Didn’t, a white produced in the Soave area the combines the four best vintages of the last decade. Its name is not only a taunt but also a tribute to the territory’s winemaking history.
The second was our visit to the meeting room, presided over by the word “BOOM” written in big, colorful letters, along with a punching bag complete with boxing gloves. “This was my uncle’s office, and I wanted to transform it into a more welcoming place,” says Riccardo Pasqua. “The punching bag represents any potential clashes during a meeting, and ‘Boom!’ is an exclamation that comes up often during business talks.”
The Valpolicella landscape, photo: Giacomo Bretzel
A blessing in disguise
We continue with visits to two Verona winemakers from the Gruppo Italiano Vini: Bolla and Santi. Bolla played an instrumental part of the territory’s history as it was here, in 1953, where the first Amarone wine was sold: the now-famous Amarone Bolla Riserva del Nonno 1950, which Alberto Bolla’s children and grandchildren bottled for his 80th birthday. The area’s most famous red, however, had already been created a few years earlier and was born from Recioto, the sweet passito wine. Legend has it that in the 1930s, a cask of Recioto sat forgotten, and consequently continued to ferment. It’s said that when the cellar master tasted the wine, expecting it to be amaro (bitter), he exclaimed, “This wine isn’t amaro, it’s amarone!”
However, no one knows for sure how exactly the superlative form of the adjective became the name of one of the world’s most famous Italian reds. Cristian Ridolfi, winemaker at the Santi cellars, explains the territory’s distinctive differences. Its 8,000 hectares of vineyards span 19 municipalities north of Verona. The classico area lies within the borders of Negrar, Marano in Valpolicella, Fumane, Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella and San Pietro in Cariano.
Corvinone and Rondinella, in addition to Corvina, are the most important grapes for local reds, to which small percentages of other varieties may be added — among them, Oseleta, which is currently undergoing a revival. Valpolicella reds are known for intense cherry aromas that are undercut with a hint of bitter almonds. In Valpolicella Classico, the cherry is fresh and crisp, becoming more mature in Valpolicella Ripasso and denser in Amarone and Recioto.
Giancarlo Tommasi pours wine from one of the barrels at his winery, photo: Giacomo Bretzel
Cherry trees, olive groves, and villas
Valpolicella’s classico zone is flanked by Valpantena, where, in addition to grapes, olive trees also thrive due to the particular microclimate. We visit Costa Arènte, Genagricola’s winemaking estate nestled in a landscape of rare beauty, equally divided into vineyards and olive groves, and taste three different oils, accompanying them with glasses of Amarone and an excellent Ripasso, another typical local wine, which is made by “repassing” a Valpolicella base over an
Amarone pomace.
Yet Valpolicella isn’t all vineyards and olive groves. During the height of the season, the cherry blossoms are breathtaking, while Venetian villas captivate visitors year-round. Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio designed the Villa Serego, which, along with the 18th-century Villa Mosconi Bertani, is UNESCO-protected. Originally constructed for farming and winemaking, the latter currently serves as the headquarters of the Bertani family’s Tenuta Santa Maria.
We pass through its elegant frescoed halls, the cellars and the lofts with the arele, wood and bamboo racks used to dry the grapes, and a dainty English garden. A great deal of local winemaking history came to pass within these walls. After an exile in Burgundy, the Bertani brothers returned to their native land with many innovative ideas, such as the Guyot system. When they noticed that consumers had started to favor less-sweet wines, they began to produce drier Reciotos, the forefathers of modern-day Amarone.
Inside the Zýmē winery's karstic cavern, photo: Giacomo Bretzel
Did somebody say Dante?
We make our way to Possessioni Serego Alighieri to meet Massimilla di Serego Alighieri, a direct descendant of Dante Alighieri, the monumental Italian poet. Pietro, Dante’s son, purchased the estate in 1353, having accompanied his father on his exile to Verona. Today it is home to Valpolicella’s oldest cellars, and the prestigious Masi Group, helmed by Sandro Boscaini, oversees the winemaking.
As we stroll the manicured gardens, I ask Massimilla about her favorite wine. “If I were on a deserted island I would want Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Vaio Armaron [one of the world’s top ten wines, according to Wine Spectator], but my ‘travel wine,’ the one I always pack alongside my little black dress, is a Possessioni red because just like the dress it’s perfect for any occasion, and it goes well with any dish, including fish.”
In the bottle, Corvina and Molinara grapes encounter Sangiovese, the dominant varietal in Chianti. The 17th-century Villa Quaranta is a four-star hotel with spa, the villa is owned by the Tommasi family, wine-makers since 1902. Its wellness center offers wine therapy treatments using the grapes’ healthful substances, such as the Divino Amarone, which includes a grapeseed oil bath and an Amarone compress.
The family's wines can be enjoyed at the villa’s Borgo Antico restaurant or the onsite shop. We ask the Tommasis to suggest some food pairings for the wines. “Valpolicella Classico is an everyday wine; it’s fresh, versatile, and goes with everything, even pizza. Ripasso is a bit more structured but still casual: it’s nice at a barbecue or a Sunday dinner with tortellini and a roast. Amarone is the wine for special occasions, brought out for a birthday or a special dinner, but it’s also highly recommended for an evening of company and conversation. Recioto remains unsurpassable with desserts, blue cheeses, and chocolate.”
Save the date
Before our journey ends, we visit Celestino Gaspari, a former collaborator of cult Amarone producer Giuseppe Quintarelli. His Zýmē winery, which sits partly in an ancient sandstone quarry, is outfitted with a corkscrew-shaped elevator and staircase, karstic cavern with a water spring and soft, dramatic lighting.
We taste a few rarities, such as a wine made from oseleta or From Black to White, a blend with Rondinella Bianca, a natural genetic mutation of the traditional variety. At Vigneto dei Salumi, we sit at the round table in the all-wood meat aging room and choose from among chef Walter Ceradini’s creations. The Isabella is a tender 24-month-seasoned pork leg while the polvere del Vinappeso is a lean cut of oven-dried pork that's been pulverized. Valpolicella’s response to bottarga, it’s perfect for flavoring risottos and vegetable dishes — it’s also nice on top of gelato.
Cover photo by Giacomo Bretzel: Giancarlo Tommasi pours wine from one of the barrels