Grapes: Corvina Grossa, Corvina Veronese, Rondinella and Molinara.
The vineyards are located at Pra Alto 3, Retratto 8, CAMPI MAGRI 11, Cavallero 1 for an overall area of 5 hectares.
The Cavallero vineyard flanks the steep and stony road leading to the cellars and represents our true agronomic revolution.
Vine cuttings come from careful selection in the old vineyard and the vineyard with chestnut poles has a density of 9200 vines/hectare (1.30 x 0.70). The growing system is bush-trained as already used in some of our other sites.
All our grapes have organic certification and in recent years the vineyards have been managed on the basis of bio-dynamic agriculture principles.
For this Valpolicella, fermentation begins spontaneously in oak vats; in February, the wine is racked on the still lush Amarone marcs rich in must.
This traditional vinification technique and the use of 14 hl cherry barrels, where the wine "matures" for about 18 months, ensure a sweet and intense bouquet of ripe fruit.
Tasting highlights ripe fruit, red and black cherries and superb softness and equilibrium.
Gambero Rosso / Slow Food name Marinella Camerani of Corte Sant'Alda GROWER OF THE YEAR 2009
Gambero Rosso / Slow Food , publishers of the annual Italian wine guide Vini d'Italia, has just released the top award-winners that will be published in the 2009 guide. Marinella Camerani, owner and winemaker of Corte Sant'Alda has been named Grower of the Year. This a truly prestigious honor as Marinella joins the ranks of recent honoress Josko Gravner, Romano del Forno, Elio Altare.
The prestigious Vini d’Italia awards are a coveted honor and a robust endorsement that is published annually, produced by Gambero Rosso and the Slow Food organization. Surveying over 20,000 Italian wines, grading each on a scale from one to three glasses, or bicchieri, the guide is designed to provide readers with both an understanding of the history and development of producers and their wines. The guide has helped to identify new Italian wines and wineries and introduce them to enthusiasts around the world.
Each year independent local panels collect more than 70,000 bottles from across Italy that are sampled by nearly 30 tasting groups, each composed of five judges. More than 10,000 are rejected outright, while the remaining wines are awarded one or two bicchieri. Then the 1,500 of the top-ranking wines move on to the Tre Bicchieri taste-offs. The final committee of judges is composed of seventeen experts, each a prominent local taster and the process involves multiple blind-tastings, cross-checks and controls over a period of fifteen days, concluding with three final tastings. Much deliberation is involved in the final selection, with each aspect and element of each wine analyzed and discussed at length.
The panels assessment on the portfolio of a winery is just one of the factors in naming the viticulturist of the year. A winery's commitment to terroir, their contributions to their respective wine-growing regions, their progressive wine-making and vineyard management techniques are also taken into account.
One of Marinella's most progressive techniques is her adoption of soil survey and classification methods. These methods are usually adopted by large producers on a large scale. Corte Sant'Alda's choice to establish a rigorous soil chart on a 1:2,000 scale, is extremely rare for a small boutique winery. Marinella dedicated years to develop this tool with the intentions to understand the complex idiosyncrasies within her vineyards.
"Each plant is different; you need to make spontaneous decisions based on observations…like with my children," says Marinella. These spontaneous decisions based on exceptional passion and dedication have garnered her the honor of 2009's Grower of the Year.
Shipped in a temperature controlled container.
