Corte Giara, Valpolicella Ripasso

The vineyards are situated on south-east facing hillsides in the Valpolicella DOC, at an altitude of 180-250 metres above sea level. Soils here comprise of calcareous stone and clay. The vines are an average age of 34 years and are trained using the Arbour training system, and grow at a density of approximately 3,000 vines per hectare.

The 2022 winter was, like most of Europe, cold and dry. The lack of rainfall during the winter and a rise in temperatures at the beginning of the spring, meant an early start of the growing season, almost 20 days before average. The spring was followed by a vicious heatwave so a good canopy management and effective emergency irrigation systems in the vineyards, were fundamental to survive the heat. Despite the efforts, some fruit was inevitably lost due to below average yields. but the fruit still showed a great fruit concentration, thanks to the increased night-time temperature variation in the second half of August.

This wine was made using the traditional Veronese “Ripasso” technique. The grapes were destemmed and gently crushed before being fermented in temperature controlled stainless-steel tanks, with daily pumping over. A second fermentation was started by adding Amarone pomace to the must, to add body and depth, continuing for eight to ten days. The wine was aged in stainless-steel tanks, and then in large Slavonian oak barrels prior to bottling.