Itinerary of the Berici Hills
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The zone The Berici Hills rise in the middle of the Veneto valley, between Verona and Padua, located to the south of the city of Vicenza. The hills are of volcanic origin, enjoy a mild welcoming climate, ideal for vine growing, an activity already present in these places since very ancient times. Grape pips from the bronze age, of the "Vitis silvestris" variety, were found in the remains of the piles of lake Fimon. The wines Tocai red: this comes from a vine which is cultivated in small quantities in Veneto, also in the region's eastern zone, but here it has found a suitable area and special characterisation.This wine has a nice ruby red colour, transparent and brilliant, not in keeping with the red wine panorama of Veneto. It is obtained almost in its pure state (if present in the vineyard, a small quantity of local Garganega grapes is also permitted). It has an intense characteristic aroma, which sometimes recalls figs, and a smooth, right taste, sometimes tending to bitter. It can be slightly tannic. A noble wine suitable throughout a meal, and combining well both with roasts and farmyard animals and with Vicenza style baccalà (dried cod).Garganego: the grapes used to produce it come mainly from vines of the same name. Typical, characteristic white, straw yellow colour, winy perfumed aroma, bitterish, slightly acid, which makes it excellent, not just through an entire meal, but above all with dried cod and difficult fish dishes such as eel, pike and mackerel. Chardonnay Colli Berici: a vine with great merits, can be grown anywhere with good results, it has found a suitable soil in these zones too, and has what it takes to make a good product. Vinified pure or with the addition of a small quantity of White Pinot, the colour is straw yellow, the wine has a good body, perfumed, elegant, with a composite smooth, fruity taste. It should be drunk cool and young, it is suitable through an entire meal, and is recommended for fish or light meat dishes. White Tocai: obtained from grapes of vines with the same name, but small quantities of Garganega can be used. Its colour is straw yellow, the aroma is characteristically winy, while the taste is smooth, dry and fresh. Excellent as an aperitif, it accompanies an entire meal, but prefers first course and fish dishes. Sauvignon: has a delicate, intense characteristic nose, the taste is dry, full, fresh and smooth. Should be drunk in the company of others, it is easily suitable through the entire meal, preferably with fish dishes. White Pinot: obtained from grapes of vines of the same name, but a small quantity of Grey Pinot can be added. Light yellow colour, intense, characteristic and delicate nose. The taste is full, velvety, complete, and pleasant. A nice white wine to be served cool, it is suitable both as an aperitif and throughout the meal, especially with fish and shellfish. Merlot from the Berici hills: ruby red colour, a intense, winy, characteristic nose, the taste shows a good body, soft, smooth and full. A complete wine, to be drunk also in between meals, it accompanies all dishes, including strong roasts and meats. Cabernet from the Berici hills: obtained indiscriminately from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. It is a red wine to be respected, with dark ruby colour tending to brick red when aged. A pleasant intense nose, a dry, well bodied, slightly tannic taste. Suitable throughout a meal, especially with strong dishes, however, it does not disdain light cuisine. If it is obtained from selected quality grapes, and if it is put on the market after at least three years of ageing, it can bear the extra qualification of "Reserve". Berici Hills sparkling wine: obtained by applying the sparkling wine process to the following grapes: Garganega (50%), White Pinot, Grey Pinot and Chardonnay. Perfumed, with a good body, it is an interesting sparkling wine, well worth trying. ITINERARY OF GAMBELLARA The zone The low del Chiampo valley, Vicenza land on the border with the Verona area, where the last spurs of the Monti Lessini terminate. The zone lies around the built-up area of Gambellara. This area has always been well regarded by connoisseurs for the production of the local wine, of which there are signs from the Roman period onward: so much so that, today, Gambellara, Montorso, Zermeghedo and Montebello Vicentino are by far, more famous for their product rather than for the glorious and inglorious events of wars.In this zone, between alternately gentle or rougher slopes, the land is mainly formed of earthy, basalt and tufa of volcanic origin. The easily friable rocks, make up most of the hills. The soil is ideal for the vines of the Garganega, and Trebbiano del Soave grapes, which produce Gambellara: a white wine available in many different forms. The wines Gambellara: obtained from grapes similar to its Veronese neighbour, Soave. It is yellow (from straw yellow to golden), has a winy nose, with a characteristic perfume, this D.O.C. wine has a dry taste, is medium bodied, and just a little bitterish. If its grapes come from the most dedicated zone of the oldest tradition, it can proudly add the name "Classico": in this case, the quality of the grapes produces a higher minimum natural alcohol content. On the dining table, it combines magnificently with starters, first courses, light second courses, cheeses and fish dishes.Gambellara Recioto: it is born of Gambellara grapes, picked and allowed to rest on the grids, and crushed after drying for a certain time. It is the only wine outside the Verona province which is allowed to bear this ancient name, a sign of its uniqueness and distinction in the world's oenological heritage. The colour is golden yellow, the nose is intense and fruity, the taste is smooth and sweet, amabile, with a slight raisin wine taste, with a bitterish after-taste, and with a few sparkling veins, very pleasant indeed, thanks to the fermentation process continued in the bottle. The minimum alcohol content must be 12%, but it is easy to find a higher proof. It is recommended as a dessert wine and a wine for meeting people. In this case, be careful: its pleasantness when consumed should never make us forget its alcohol content, not exactly a light one.It can also be made to sparkle, using the Charmat method, with brief fermentation in an autoclave.Vin Santo of Gambellara: this is the only Veneto wine that bears a name, which usually distinguishes similar wines of other regions. It is obtained from the best grapes, allowed to dry for long in order to increase the sugary concentration as much as possible. The grapes are crushed gently. The must thus obtained is placed in small bottles, in turn left outdoors to be wholly subjected to the winter's cold. This process encourages natural decanting of the wine. In the spring the wine is limpid and is transferred into barrels to allow fermentation to continue. Fermentation is very slow, and the wine stays in the barrels for at least one year. The process is completed by the definitive transfer into bottles, in which the Gambellara must rest for another year. Its alcohol content is 14%, it is amber-yellow, has a strong aroma of raisin wine and is velvety, smooth and sweet to taste.This process leads to a precious product, in all senses of the words, in terms of quality, taste and commercial value. ITINERARY OF BREGANZE The zone This area extends among the hills and some initial valley zones, a the foot of the Seven Municipalities plateau. The area starts in the Astico valley and reaches as far as the Brenta valley, including the Bassano area on the right of the river. The wines Vespaiolo: produced pure with grapes from the vine of the same name. It's a classic: has a rather intense yellow colour, an intense fruity nose, with a slightly aromatic characteristic, the taste is fresh, pleasant and acid. That is why it combines well with fish dishes, but also with traditional local cookery, from cheese to asparagus with eggs. Extra qualification: Superiore.Torcolato: traditional raisin wine, excellent with dessert, obtained by crushing, before February, grapes left to dry in the first winter months, with grape bunches knotted (torcolati, in the local dialect) on a cord hung in ventilated rooms. It has a typical golden yellow colour, rich with perfumes, which recall honey and raisins. The taste is sweetish, smooth and velvety. According to the process used, it can acquire a pleasant hint of wood. Additional qualification: Reserve.: Reserve. White Breganze: essentially a Tocai, which can contain a small quantity of white grapes if present in the vineyard. It is straw yellow, has a delicately intense winy nose, with a dry, rounded, well bodied taste. A good white wine to enjoy throughout a meal, it combines well especially with fish dishes, but also with light meats. Excellent also between meals. Breganze Chardonnay: obtained pure from vines of the same name, it offers us its extraordinary characteristics: a well-balanced, pleasantly soft, velvety and smooth taste. Its perfume is intense, characteristic, and pleasantly aromatic, the colour is a nice straw yellow. It is a wine for all occasions. Additional qualification: Superiore Breganze Sauvignon: obtained almost pure from grapes from a vine of the same name, it enhances - with the personality of soils and climate - the characteristics which have made it famous: a delicate, sweet more or less aromatic nose, which supports a fine, pleasant, smooth taste, in some cases, rounded with the taste of wood. Additional qualification: Superiore Breganze Red: offers the strength and characteristics of Merlot, from whose grapes is obtained pure, with the possibility of using a small percentage of other grapes present in the vineyard. Vivacious ruby red, the nose is winy, pleasant, expressive, characteristic and some times slightly herbaceous, the taste is dry, robust, smooth, with a slightly tannic body. It gives its best after 2-3 years. Excellent with meals, and, when aged, it does not fear roasts. Additional qualification: ReserveBreganze Cabernet: obtained with Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a reasonable natural alcoholic content, is dark ruby red with garnet highlights, accentuated by ageing, the nose is highly intense, pleasant and characteristic. The taste is well bodied, robust, dry, slightly tannic, and sometimes herbaceous. Ageing increases its natural nobleness. Additional qualification: Superiore or ReserveBreganze Cabernet Sauvignon: the son of the latest D.O.C 'brood', it is obtained almost pure from grapes with the same name as the vine, whose characteristics it reproposes: intense ruby red colour, with a tendency to become brick red as the wine ages, its perfume is intense and herbaceous, winy, sometimes softened by the aroma of the wood where it is worked - this rounds the dry, full and velvety taste. An excellent wine with meals, fine, personal, it accompanies all dishes. Additional qualification: Superiore or Reserve. Breganze Marzemino: this is a D.O.C. wine too. It underscores the pleasantness of a centuries old wine making tradition. Obtained pure from the grapes of the vine of the same name, it has a nice ruby red sometimes vivacious colour, with an intense, characteristic nose, and a full, personal and pleasant taste, sometimes - according to the work method - softened by the taste of wood. Additional qualification: Superiore or ReserveBreganze Pinot Nero: vinified in red exclusively with grapes originating from a special local biotype, deriving from the famous noble vines of the same name. The colour is ruby red with hints of brick colour, the nose is delicate, and the taste is dry and sapid, with a bitterish after-taste, all of which put it at peak national level among the wines obtained from these grapes. A good companion of meat and roast dishes. Additional qualification. Superiore or Reserve Breganze White Pinot: obtained pure from grapes from the vine of the same name, its colour is clear straw white, while the taste is dry, very smooth and velvety. Has a delicate, pleasant and characteristic nose. A white wine to be drunk with meals, ideal with fish dishes. Additional qualification: Superiore |
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