Vinitaly 2019: old friends and new entries

Verona during Vinitaly, the capital of wine and spirits

Every spring, Verona becomes the capital of wines: Vinitaly is the most awaited international wine and spirits exhibition of the year, with exhibitors and visitors coming from all over the world for this unique experience. The 53^rd edition of Vinitaly just took place, from April 7 to April 10, furthermore establishing this event as a real evolution in the wine sector, making it one of the most dynamic and exciting realities in the primary industry.

As every year, we dedicated a couple of days to this unmissable event: a perfect opportunity to meet all our friend wineries under the same roof and to discover new possible contacts for our tours.

We focused on pavillions 4-5 and 8 — those dedicated to our region, Veneto, the largest producer of grapes in Italy, with the highest bottling and exportation capacity.

Here are some of the wineries we visited: some old friends, some new entries, always featuring great wines!

The wineries we met, the wineries you will meet

First of all, we tasted a glass of Soave Classico Grisela 2018 by Cantina Tessari of Antonio, Germano e Cornelia Tessari, based in Monteforte d’Alpone; their Soave Classico can boast an organic certification, which makes it even better. If you want to taste it, too, book your place on our “Soave, lunch and Amarone” wine tour!

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Then, we entered the realm of Valpolicella, tasting the great wines of Gabriele Dalcanale, an enologist hailing from Trentino but working in Negrar: Valpolicella Superiore Classico Ca’ Besi, Ripasso della Valpolicella Classico and the great Amarone della Valpolicella Classico La Dama; all these wines are certificated as organic.

Cantina Lavarini, in Negrar, has been experiencing a strong and steady growth during the last years thanks to the self-will of its owner, Massimo Lavarini; we stopped to taste their Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore Classico, the Amarone della Valpolicella Classico and their Rosso Verona IGT “Piassaron”. You can find both these wineries during our “A taste of Valpolicella” wine tour and our “Valpolicella and Amarone with lunch” wine experience.

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And now for something completely different: Avant Garde is a classic-method spumante made with 100% Corvina grapes by Cantina Damoli, based in Negrar. This wine was presented as a first preview during Vinitaly — and, if you have already toured with us, you might recognize a friendly face behind the counter…!

Talking about grapes: not many wineries use Oseleta for a single-variety vinification — Oseleta by Cantina Corte Archi of Fernando Campagnola, in Marano di Valpolicella, is a notable exception!

Then, we moved to taste a great classic by Cantina Bonazzi in Marano di Valpolicella: I Camponi Rosso veronese IGT, always a safe bet.

Time for a new entry: Cantina Veronese Beatrice is a new winery, for the first time on display at Vinitaly with their creations. We tried their Prosecco, Pinot grigio, Lugana and Bardolino Chiaretto — a great addition to the wine panorama! Speaking of Lugana, we met also Cascina Maddalena, Domenico Fraccaroli Wines, Citari Wines and Famiglia Olivini wines: check out their creations during our “Lake Garda, lunch and Lugana” wine tour!

Extended Valpolicella goes as far as to Val d’Illasi, the farthest area east to Valpolicella: here, Cantina Villa Merighi of Alessandro Gallo, based in Sona, owns some hectares of land that produce Valpolicella and Amarone, in addition to their Fiore Rosso IGT Verona and Custoza DOC.

Our beautiful tour ended with a tasting of Pinuar (Pinot noir) and Oseleta by Cantina Corte Quaiara of Giovanni Montresor, from Sona: two wines that embody the experience of the Montresor family and the brave creativity of a new-generation winemaker. Our "On the hills of Garda Lake" private wine tour features both Cantina Villa Merighi and Cantina Corte Quaiara.

While not tasting their creations, during our tour we stopped to meet many more wineries and friends — such as Gabriele Dalcanale of Cantina Le Bignele, Claudia and Giulia Benazzoli of Benazzoli Winery with their wine project dedicated to women, Azienda Agricola Le Marognole of Marano di Valpolicella, Piccoli Daniela Wines of Parona di Valpolicella, Cantina Salgari of Negrar, Cantina Santi (part of Gruppo Italiano Vini), Azienda Agricola Le Bertarole of Fumane, Tenute Salvaterra and Tenute Falezza.

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So, we can’t wait to introduce you to all these wineries and their incredible wines during our tours: check our calendar to see all our solutions and book your favourite wine tour in advance!