Venturini
Azienda Agricola Venturini is located in San Floriano which is a village in part of the town of San Pietro in Cariano (Verona). It was established in 1963 and continues to grow thanks to love, experience and hard work of three generations. Beginning with Grandfather Antonio who passed it onto his son Massimino, who in turn placed it in the hands of his children: Daniele carefully follows the wine making process, Mirco passionately takes care of the vineyards and Giuseppina manages the business sector.
The estate, located on the hilly area of the Valpolicella Classico, extends for 22 acres all planted to vineyards at an elevation of 800 feet above sea level. The vineyards enjoy a southwestern exposure and are planted on terraces held up by stonewalls called “marogne”. The vine training system is typical of the area: “simple” and “double” pergolas. Using only estate grown grapes: 70% Corvina Veronese, 20% Rondinella, 10% Molinara, the Venturini’s make high quality Valpolicella wines certified “Denominazione di Origine Controllata”: Amarone, Recioto, Valpolicella Classico and Classico Superiore.
The Romans applied the term Rhetic to the wine coming from the area around and to the south of Lake Garda but the beverage highly praised by Pliny the Elder, Virgil, Martial and Suetonius was quite clearly the wine known today as Valpolicella. That wine, named for the valley situated to the north of Verona, which is today the center of its production, is different from those made in other areas strongly influenced by the mild climate produced by the water of Lake Garda in that it has a bigger body and a more intense color. A great part of Valpolicella’s worldwide reputation, however, must be attributed to two versions of the wine, the Recioto and Recioto Amarone. In making them, grape clusters are carefully selected and then dried, after the harvest, for a period varying between 30 and 90 days. Pressing and fermentation occur at times, under environmental conditions and according to methods that are different from those of the normal Valpolicella. In addition, the wines’ degree of sweetness can be altered by moving the first racking forward or back in time. The Amarone is differentiated from the Recioto by the fact that all of its sugars are transformed into alcohol. That factor, along with the concentration of the must through the drying of the grapes and aging in oak casks for at least one year, is responsible for the development of exclusive characteristics that set this wine apart from all others.