Bertani were established more than a century and a half ago. In 1850 wine merchant Gaetano Bertani visited his wine-maker friend Jules Guyot [who introduced the Guyot system of training vines] in Burgundy and learned about modern techniques of wine-making and viticulture. Seven years later he founded his own winery with his brothers Giovan and Battista in Grezzano in the Valpantina region of the Veneto in north east Italy, applying the new methods learned in France which were revolutionary at the time. The business grew quickly, leading to Bertani wines being exported world-wide in 1880; one of the first Veronese producers to export wines on a significant scale. Expansion continued with the acquisition of the Villa Mosconi in Negrar; it was here, in 1936 that the term “Amarone” was coined in reference to a wine Bertani had been making called “Recioto Secco” since the early 1900's, to distinguish it from the sweet Recioto wines that were being produced at the time. Their reputation soared and in 1937 Bertani's Soave was served at the lunch for the coronation of King George VI. Today the estate continues to be family run, now fourth and fifth generation, led by founding brother Gaetano's great-grandson, also named Gaetano, and his sons Giovanni and Guglielmo, and they are certainly one of the oldest wine-making families in Italy. Their range of wines express both the classic traditional Bertani style, and the latest advances in ecological technology. Vineyards are located across the Veronese zone. The classic red Valpolicella grapes are grown in three different valleys, Valpolicella, Illasi and Valpantina, and their Soave vineyards are in Colognola ai Colli, with additional vineyards owned near Lake Garda. The wines are made in two winery locations. At their Tenuta Novare, Arbizzano di Negrar estate, where the Villa Mosconi is situated, their Amarone Classico della Valpolicella, and Valpolicella Ripasso flagship red wines are produced under Bertani's Tenuta Santa Maria alla Pieve label. Other vinification and bottling takes place at their winery in Grezzano. These pioneers of Amarone continue to impress, and the passion Bertoni applies to the historic Veronese methods of wine production result in extraordinary wines of matchless quality - the name Bertani is practically synonymous with Amarone!
www.bertani.net