Tenuta Santa Maria alla Pieve

Description / History

The Bertani family owns the estate at Colognola ai Collo, the Arbizzano di Negrar Estate and Villa Mosconi. The latter is the birthplace of the legendary Amarone wine. According to official documents, the family had already making wine in the Valpolicella region back in the 1500s. In the 1800s the brothers Gaetano and Giovin Bertani established a new benchmark for excellence in the region. Very early on, they introduced the vine growing techniques of Jules Guyot while establishing a great enterprise, one unique to Veneto at the time.

The brothers were the first in the region to bottle and sell Valpolicella Ripasso, Recioto and Soave at large scale. The Guyot cultivation methods improved quality and output, while innovations as the Ripasso method was created. The term Amarone was coined in 1936. The wine had previously been produced under the name Recioto Secco,. The family acquired Villa Mosconi, located in the heart of Valpolicella where some of the finest vineyards of Veneto are located.
It was within the cellers of Villa Mosconi the name Amarone came to life.

The high-density, low yield cultivation approach adopted in the 1800s are still used today. The philosophy inludes to reduce the use of chemicals to a minimum in order to sustain an environmentally friendly approach.
The Appasimento method is used for the Amarone wine, while the Ripasso method is used for both the Valpolicella Classico and Valpolicella Ripasso wines.