Wines from Veneto

An unusual cuvée in the still: Riva Vecia combines Cabernet and Glera marc (the Prosecco grape), the soul of the two wine worlds of Loredan Gasparini, in a single distillate. Where other grappas are single-varietal, Venegazzù takes the assemblage route, as with the famous Capo di Stato. Distillation is carried out using the traditional discontinuous method in a water bath, the gentle bagnomaria process in small copper stills.

In 1898, great-grandfather Titta mounted a still on a handcart and travelled from house to house to distil pomace. Four generations later, Jacopo Poli runs the family empire in Schiavon near Bassano del Grappa – with five discontinuous stills, including the original copper stills from 1956. Bomb follows a traditional recipe from Bassano: fresh egg yolks, fresh milk, sugar and the symbol of the region, grappa – grappa. The result is a "cream bomb" of beguiling density.

Palazzotto is the name of the two hectares of vineyard where only Cabernet Sauvignon is grown. Fausto Maculan vinifies a fine wine from these grapes. A spicy start in the glass: cedar wood and ground ginger give way to dusty roses and redcurrants. It's elegant yet refined, with creamy textures lifted by vibrant acidity, while a wave of mineral-tinged wild berries lightly wash over the palate. Leaves a tart note of citrus and raspberry and subtle, grippy tannins that frame the wine without slowing its momentum. Although already showing very well now, this beautifully balanced version of Palazzotto should improve even more with medium-term cellaring. SUPERIORE.DE

The name says it all: "torcolare" – to twist, to braid. In Breganze, it was once a tradition to braid the Vespaiola grapes into plaits after the harvest and hang them under the cellar ceiling so that the air could circulate between the berries. An exercise in patience that takes months and ends with liquid gold. Fausto Maculan did not invent this wine – he saved it. When he took over the winery in the 1970s, Torcolato was an oxidised, syrupy relic. Fausto turned it into a modern sweet wine of international calibre: precise, fresh, lively. Today, 10–15% of the grapes are still woven and hung as Rosolo using the old method, the rest are dried in modern crates. After four months, the berries have lost almost 70% of their weight. Slow fermentation in steel tanks for around a month, followed by a year in French barriques.

Before there was Soave, there was this wine. In the fifth century, the Roman senator Cassiodorus praised a sweet wine made from dried grapes at the court of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric – acinaticum, the original form of what is now called Recioto di Soave. Fifteen hundred years later, in 1998, it became the first Venetian wine with DOCG status. And yet very few people know it. The story has been reversed: Amarone, which originated in the 1930s as a "runaway" Recioto – a barrel that accidentally fermented through –became a world star. Recioto, its ancestor, remained in the shadows. Guerrieri Rizzardi's version comes from old pergola vines in Costeggiola, planted between 1960 and 1998 on volcanic gravel. Only a third of the harvest is deemed worthy of drying in fruttaio for three to five months – a selection within the selection.

In 1973, Graziano Merotto purchased plot 86 in the Rive di Col San Martino – an overgrown patch of hillside still covered in woodland. He cleared it himself, planted Glera and began to shape the vineyard that would one day become his most important. Over fifty years later, this wine bears his name. The Cuvée del Fondatore is made exclusively from that historic plot – 230 metres above sea level, south-facing, clay and sand, with vines over 40 years old. Graziano Merotto's decisions in the cellar are unusual: contact with the must before pressing – a step most producers skip – then the must goes straight into the autoclaves, 60 days of secondary fermentation, followed by a further 180 days of ageing on its own yeasts. Almost nine months from must to bottle – a comparatively very long time for a Prosecco Superiore. 33,000 bottles, 670 magnums, 10 jeroboams.

One of the first Bordeaux blends in Italy and still one of the best. Conte Loredan Gasparini has been vinifying this classic from the Alta Marca Trevigiana, just 50 kilometres from Venice, since 1951. The Montello area, declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2016, offers ideal conditions for Bordeaux grape varieties with its ferrous clay soils (Ferreto) and cool microclimate. The cuvée combines Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec – a quartet that has found its northern Italian interpretation here for decades. Eighteen months of ageing in Slavonian oak barrels lend depth without dominating.

"This wine comes from my family's historic vineyard. It is a wine that is the result of much thought, research and experimentation, in which nothing was left to chance: Monte Grande is intended to be my great Soave wine." Graziano Prà

The name means "motherland" – and the Tedeschi family has indeed found a special spot of land with the 84-hectare vineyard between Tregnago and Mezzane di Sotto, which they acquired in 2006. Extensive soil mapping identified real crus here, including the Impervio vineyard – named after its impassable steep slope at an altitude of 400 metres. White and yellow limestone marl of moraine origin characterise the terroir and give the wine its characteristic freshness. Corvina (40%), Corvinone (30%) and Rondinella (30%) are harvested overripe in mid to late October and fermented as whole bunches – a conscious decision for structure and depth of flavour. After 20 days of maceration, the wine matures for 18 months in Slavonian oak and a further six months in the bottle.

The first year of production of the single-varietal Merlot Clos Roareti dates back to 2004. The grapes are harvested from the 2 hectare historic Rovereti vineyard in Negrar. In this 100-year-old vineyard, which is surrounded by equally old walls, Merlot has been cultivated since the 1990s and is perfectly adapted to the climate and the red clay soil. The palate is rich and full-bodied with complex and very aromatic notes. Maturation in oak barrels gives this wine its special flavour and certain opulence. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1886, Carlo Campagnola founded his winery in the Marano Valley, in the heart of Valpolicella Classico. In 1907, he won the first gold medal for the best Recioto at the Verona Wine Fair – since then, the family, now in its fifth generation, has continued what began as a small farm. The vineyards for this Amarone are located on calcareous slopes between 200 and 350 metres above sea level, where Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella are harvested by hand at the end of September. The traditional appassimento drying process takes around 100 days until the grapes have lost 35–40% of their weight. Gentle pressing in December, 30 days of maceration, then ageing: 60% matures for 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, 40% for 18 months in new Allier oak barriques.

The renowned Italian wine critic Veronelli had already rated the Colli Berici, alongside Bolgheri, as one of the finest growing regions for Bordeaux grape varieties. This rare Merlot is dedicated to its creator, Alfredo Lazzarini, whose vineyards Inama has only recently acquired, and it embodies the history of the Colli Berici. Dark ruby-garnet in colour, with violet highlights and a delicate tear. Spicy undertones of black cherries, ripe plums, forest floor, a hint of jasmine and a pleasant touch of fine wood. Juicy on the palate, with good complexity and a chocolatey texture, featuring round tannins and a subtle sweetness from the extracts on the finish. SUPERIORE.DE

In Roman-medieval times, they called this sweet wine monument Acinatium – from the Latin "acinus", the grape berry. A name that encapsulates the essence of this extraordinary wine: made only from the very best and ripest individual Garganega berries, a selection of such precision that it borders on obsession. For the Tessari sisters, this rare Recioto is more than just a wine. It is the centrepiece of their family history, the wine of holidays and family gatherings, the first drop you would give a child to taste, if it were allowed and appropriate ...

In 2017, Stefano Pola was proposed to plant a vineyard in the heart of the beautiful area of the Belluno Dolomites, more precisely about 9 hectares in the Valbelluna area on a well-exposed high plateau at about 650 metres above sea level. The soil here is medium-heavy with calcareous deposits typical of mountain regions. Some layers contain solidified sands that form sandstone, and in other areas marls, i.e. old clays, are exposed. The soil structure is very stony, which provides good drainage and aeration conditions. The high lime content gives the wines a distinct olfactory finesse.

Grave di Stecca is Nino Franco's exposed single vineyard on the slopes of the Prealpi. The south-facing vineyard is planted exclusively with the Prosecco grape Glera. Brilliantly shining white gold, gently developing perlage, a bouquet of sage with fresh fruit flavours. Very pleasantly dry flavour, silky and long – the indisputably great top-quality wine from the renowned Prosecco producer. SUPERIORE.DE

Le Rive: the steep slope. In Venetian dialect, this term describes those rugged, 45-degree south-facing slopes where only the bravest winegrowers cultivate their most precious grapes. Since 1992, the Tessari family has been harvesting their most overripe Garganega grapes from ancient vines on a single hectare in the UGA Fittà – only at the end of October, when the first mists of autumn drift over the hills. What happens in these steep rows is natural alchemy: Garganega "surmatura", overripe and concentrated by months of sunshine, develops a golden complexity that few wines in the world can match. 20 days of fermentation in large French oak barrels, 15 months on the lees without a single racking, then a further 12 months of bottle ageing. Patience as a craft.

Beneath the vineyard lie the old tunnels of the Miniere di Novare. What was once a mining site is now terroir: The 4-hectare vineyard, spread across two south-west-facing terraces above the tunnel system in Arbizzano di Negrar, forms one of the two cru selections with which Bertani has been redefining the original elegance of Valpolicella Classico since 1857. No appassimento, no ripasso, no oak ageing. Just the grape varieties of this area, the soil and time. Six to nine months in concrete tanks: a vessel that preserves freshness and imparts texture without influencing the final result. At least six months in bottle.

In 2017, Stefano Pola was proposed to plant a vineyard in the heart of the beautiful area of the Belluno Dolomites, more precisely about 9 hectares in the Valbelluna area on a well-exposed high plateau at about 650 metres above sea level. The soil here is medium-heavy with calcareous deposits typical of mountain regions. Some layers contain solidified sands that form sandstone, and in other areas marls, i.e. old clays, are exposed. The soil structure is very stony, which provides good drainage and aeration conditions. The high lime content gives the wines a distinct olfactory finesse.

Piera Dolza means "soft stone" and is the name of a very rare, historic dessert wine that was first produced in the traditional Prosecco region around Conegliano around 1600. It is only thanks to the initiative of 7 small local producers that it is being produced again today.

107 hectares. That's all. Across the entire Valdobbiadene Denominazione, which stretches across 15 municipalities and thousands of hectares of steep slopes, there is exactly one hill that has been demarcated by its own regulations since 1969 – a golden pentagon, as the locals call it, whose plots measure on average barely two tenths of a hectare. Cartizze is the grand cru of Veneto. Andreola sources his grapes from the "Cartizze Alto" sub-region – the limestone-rich ridge of the hill, where marl and sandstone alternate, the soils are flat and rich in minerals, and the perfect south-facing aspect balances the "Alta Collina" climate. Temperatures remain mild and stable – cooler than in the valley floor, warmer than the exposed steep slopes surrounding it. It is precisely this balance that produces a Glera of exceptional ripeness and aromatic complexity. The grapes come from long-standing contract growers who have been supplying Andreola for generations – because Cartizze is not a vineyard you can simply buy. If you’re lucky, you might cultivate a fraction of it.

When Roberto Anselmi talks about his sweet wines, his eyes light up in a different way. Here, the rebel suddenly becomes a traditionalist – for I Capitelli embodies the centuries-old Venetian art of crafting golden nectar from dried grapes. Yet whilst others seek at least DOC status for their Recioto di Soave, Roberto once again breaks all the rules: his Passito is simply a "Vino Bianco" – a table wine. The most radical form of protest.