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Location, location, location - Valpolicella

braindoc

100+ Posts
No, this is not a real estate show.

We would like to spend the second 3-night segment of our upcoming October trip in the Valpolicella/Verona region. The first stop is Venice; the third is Neive. The couple traveling with us for 9 nights (of our 12 night stay) is interested in tasting wine. Hence, Valpolicella and then, Piemonte. They did not have to twist our arms.

We reserved a winery/hotel in Tregnano because the inn we preferred in Fumane was booked our nights. However, I’m wondering about the Tregnano location. It seems that more of the wineries we are interested in are closer to Fumane, in towns like Pedemonte, San Pietro in Cariano, Negrar, etc.

Has anyone stayed in this region? Should we keep looking for another place, farther west?
 
Hi Braindoc
We've stayed fractionally to the east (Mezzzane di Sotto) in a very nice but fairly priced agriturismo called Massimago. I'd recommend it, especially if you like a little more luxury in an agriturismo, but without breaking the bank.

That said I don't think you're out of the way in Tregnano, indeed that area nicely spans the red dominance of the west and the white dominance of the east. Neither should be ignored.

Very close to Tregnano, in Illasi, is Marco Mosconi. Good Valpol & Soave from memory, but the Recioto della Valpolicella was in our view stunningly good. A proper vino di meditazione. Nearby Trabucchi have a Napa-like attitude to tasting charges, which our group of 4 balked at. They do employ a famous wine consultant, which might be a factor.

In Mezzane di Sotto Roccolo Grassi have that seriousness of a producer that's driving to improve. The Valpolicella is IMO stunning value and a very good wine indeed. Everything else they had was very good to our tastes, and in keeping with that serious attitude, they were playing down their Soave as 'not the best terroir', yet it was a fine example. High quality at mid-range prices.

Across in Soave (actually the nearer Monforte d'Alpone), in what seems a suburban location, Gini have a remarkably wide range, including indulging the owner's passion for Pinot Noir, yet it's the Soave wines that impressed. For me their Contrade Salvarenza from old ungrafted vines is as good as it gets in the region - including better than Pieropan La Rocca (though again, that comes with a 'to my tastes' caveat). Soave itself is a charming little place, that I'd love to spend longer than we had. A lovely day trip option.

Meanwhile in Verona, get directions in advance for Bottega del Vino (it's slightly hidden away in a sort of internal courtyard), and consider reserving if planning to eat there, though we got a table at lunchtime just turning up. It's highly reputed for it's wine, though I'm not sure it entirely lived up to the very lofty expectations (magnum sized glasses for a smallish pour was a bit silly). However the food impressed immensely and not through being pretentious or indulging flights of fancy, but rather doing whatever they did with great produce and with the skill to bring the best out of the flavours.

Thinking about 3 days, I think
1. covering Tregnano, Illasi and Mezzane di Sotto would be a semi relaxing day of not much driving.
2. Soave/Monforte d'Alpone gives you some fine whites (Pieropan, Anselmi and others can add to Gini) plus a place that is pleasing on the eye in it's own right. Moderate driving and a chance to stroll around the small historic city
3. Indulge that original intention of a day trip west to taste more, or pop into Verona. FWIW I wasn't greatly taken by Verona, but would like to venture away from the immediate centre to see if what I felt was a little blighted by mass tourism, was really representative of the city. Based on your original thoughts I'd lean towards a wine only focus on this day and to go to the places you want to go to. If you go their and also to Roccolo Grassi, I'll be interested in your comparison as I think Roccolo Grassi should offer very good competition.

Regards
Ian
 
Thank you Ian! My wife and I are grateful for your input. You’ve put our minds at ease. Unless there is a great last minute deal closer to Fumane, we will probably stay in Tregnano, at Tenuta Le Cave.

There is a small organic producer in nearby Arcandola, terre di Pietra, that we’re hoping to visit. I think we’ll be quite busy.

Now we can go back to figuring out what to do for our last three nights of the trip, up near Milano.
 
Would Gattinara appeal if you've got a wine focus? Or maybe Valtellina?

However if any of the 4 are not especially into wine, then I reckon something tailored to them might be fair!
 
There is a small organic producer in nearby Arcandola, terre di Pietra, that we’re hoping to visit. I think we’ll be quite busy.
.

That's a good tip for us, thanks for mentioning the place. How did you hear of them? Their website is lovely, but very sparse on details. If the word "organic" appears there, I missed it.
We are also hoping to be in the area this year.
 
Would Gattinara appeal if you've got a wine focus? Or maybe Valtellina?

However if any of the 4 are not especially into wine, then I reckon something tailored to them might be fair!

Those last three nights will just be the two of us. Gattinara fits the bill since we would like to be within an hour of Malpensa. Wine is defnitely a focus!
 
That's a good tip for us, thanks for mentioning the place. How did you hear of them? Their website is lovely, but very sparse on details. If the word "organic" appears there, I missed it.
We are also hoping to be in the area this year.

Just before our early 2016 trip to northern Italy a wine importer here in Rhode Island put me in touch with Indie Wineries (indiewineries.com). They deal with biodynamic/organic wines from all over the world. We visited 3 of their small producers in Piedmont - Iuli, Principiano, and Migliavacca. Wonderful experience. Terre di Pietra is one of their 2 Veneto producers. The other is Vignale di Cecilia, mentioned in Gambero Rosso.

Another thought: Several years ago we ate at Osteria la Fontanina in Verona and drank an Amarone from Montecariano. We enjoyed it and visited the winery during that stay. We are still hoarding a bottle of their Recioto di Valpolicella!

When will you be in the Veneto?
 
When will you be in the Veneto?

The Veneto part is not completely settled yet - we have five days out of a ten day trip that are contingent on the plans of a friend who lives in Verona. If things work out with him, we'll be in the area at the beginning of October. If he won't be free (he's away a lot on business), then we plan to stay the same dates in the area of La Spezia. So finalizing will be done quite close to the trip.
We visited our friend in Verona eight years ago, but didn't have time to see the countryside. We're hoping that he'll be available, because his accompanying us last time really made a difference in the trip, and I'm not sure we'll be back this way in the future.
I'll be looking for a bottle of wine to bring back as a souvenir, it just might be from Terre di Pietra - seems to reflect what we're looking for.
 
My wife found a luxurious place to finish our trip in Oleggio Castello, on the Piemonte side of Lago Maggiore. It is close to Gattinara and several other spots we hope to visit. We will keep looking, but it is nice to know something is in place.
 
Will be interested in this - we really enjoy Il Cavenago in Ghemme, but always open to different options (and a meal at the agriturismo always an option even if we don't stay there)
 
Hello Ian:

Our trip is coming up fast. We will be heading to Tregnano from Venice on a Saturday morning. We will probably stop first in Soave since it is right off the A4. If we leave early enough we might try to visit Gini. Have you eaten in any of the places right in Soave? It would be nice to walk around, maybe see the castle, drink at Pieropan, and then have a nice lunch before getting to the hotel in Tregnano.

Jeff
 
Hi Jeff
We ate at Anselmi's place in the centre (Enoteca Realda – piazza castagnedi 2). Somewhat mixed IIRC. I was lucky with my choice and it was good, but my dining companions were a little disappointed.

I haven't got any other restaurants listed for Soave, but did note the following (but we never tested them out)
Enoteca del Soave, via Roma 19 (decent wine shop wed)
La Casara e non solo, corso vittorio Emanuele 42, quality gastronomia
Zambaldo Bruno, corso vittorio emanuele 45, bread, cakes, cafe

Always an option to ask locally, at a wine producer or in a wine shop.

For winery visits, you will need to contact them to make an appointment (few have cellar doors / manned drop-in tasting rooms). Details are:
Az. Agricola Gini Sandro e Claudio
Via Matteotti, 42 - 37032
Monteforte d'Alpone (Vr)

Tel. +39 045 7611908
info@ginivini.com

Alternatively popping into an enoteca that has wines by the glass can be a very useful 'if the mood takes' alternative
 
Thanks to your recommendation, we tasted the Gini Soave Classico in Venice, at Vineria all’ Amarone (itself worth a visit), and then had a bottle of their Contrada Salvarenza at Alle Testiere. We only had time for one winery visit on our way to Tregnago and these were so good, we went to Gini.

We met several of the family, all of whom were gracious and helpful. We tasted whites and reds. The whites are all delicious. To our delight, they were tasting the first releases of their Valpolicella and Amarone. Eventually, they will open a cantina where they are growing their Valpolicella grapes.

Long story short, our friends and we are each having 9 bottles of wine shipped home.
 
It seems you enjoyed the warm hospitality as much as us!

I love the idea of tasting by the glass somewhere and following later with a visit. It's happened with a few wineries we've visited including Drei Dona (E-R), Travaglini (Pie), Anselmi (Ven), plus a few in Martinborough (NZ) and Margaret River (Aus)
 

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