Bertani

The Bertani wine company was founded in 1857 by two brothers, Giovan Battista and Gaetano Bertani, in Quinto di Valpantena to the north of Verona. Gaetano was already a wine-making expert, having learned the new techniques in France under Professor Guyot, who is still considered today to have been one of the greatest wine-making experts of all time. The start of the Bertani brothers’ work coincided with a new spirit of innovation which inspired them to use the latest production techniques, in both grape-growing and wine-making; they applied these techniques to all the vineyards they owned at the time, in the Valpantena and in the Soave area, but always respecting the territory and local agricultural traditions.

The two brothers immediately became famous throughout the Verona area for their high degree of professionalism and the quality of their wines, as well their business acumen and entrepreneurial skills. Bertani was one of the first companies in Italy to understand the value of bottled wine; right from the start major investments were made in the vineyards and the cellars in order to bottle and export Italian quality around the world with Bertani wines, which by the end of the 19th century were already crossing the Atlantic to be enjoyed in many cities of the United States.

Bertani was born at the same time as the unification of Italy, with the determination and pride to represent the excellence of a new nation boasting a culture going back a thousand years. In 1923, thanks to this commitment and to the quality of its wines, Bertani was rewarded with the symbol of the excellence it had achieved: the Royal Warrant issued by the Italian Royal Family. Even if this symbol is no longer what it once was now that Italy is a Republic, to us it still represents the achievement of the very highest quality.

For this constant commitment to grape-growng and wine-making, the Verona Academy of Agriculture, Arts and Commerce singled out Bertani in 1870 as a model agricultural company thanks to its professionalism, the introduction of single-variety vineyards and new vine training systems, which immediately became the trademark of the family’s entrepreneurial spirit. But that is not all: Bertani wines became so famed for their excellence that Soave was on the menu at the Coronation of King George VI of England in 1937.

In the mid-20th century, with the purchase of the magnificent Villa Novare in the Valpolicella, together with its 220-hectare estate, Bertani finally brought to fruition a 50-year research project aimed at producing "The Wine", a wine born to live for ever. It is here that the story of Amarone starts, an intense wine that is the symbol of the land from which it is born; the first vintage was 1958.

Participation in national and international wine fairs, new research and the introduction of new techniques to improve on tradition without ever altering its nature, attention above all to quality (Bertani is one of the leading founder members of the Unione Italiana Vini - Italian Wine Association - , which boasts the largest wine analysis and certification laboratories in the country), these are still today the guidelines driving the development of a company that has successfully kept its spirit of initiative alive over the years.

In 1957 the Bertani family bought the Tenuta Novare, a unique place in the heart of the Valpolicella Classica area. The estate is situated in a green hollow, in a sort of natural amphitheatre, where the vineyards alternate with woods and lush nature. It is an extraordinary land where constant water is guaranteed by 7 natural springs. Amarone Bertani wouldn’t be the authentic and distinctive wine we know today, if this unique place didn’t exist.

Tenuta Novare has a continuous and unusual alternation of soils: clay at the bottom of the valley, calcareous soils rich in iron and manganese and soils rich in basalt, ideal for producing grapes destined to making great red wines.

The mild climate, as shown by the presence of cypresses and olive trees, defines this welcoming and noble profile of Valpolicella.

The technique of drying the grapes (appassimento) has been known and used in the Verona area since the time of the ancient Romans. The lofts of the Valpolicella, an area which enjoys the benefits of the dry winds from Lake Garda, are the ideal location for the appassimento of the bunches of Corvina and Rondinella, which are placed on racks in a single layer and left to dry for 120 - 140 days. The racks consist of a frame made of wood and river cane, which is particularly suitable to absorb any surplus humidity fom the grapes, thus preventing any unwanted rotting.

All working processes, from monitoring the grapes in the vineyard to picking the best bunches, arranging them on the aréle (cane racks) and daily checking of the drying process, are carried out manually.

The appassimento process causes a loss of water and therefore a concentration of sugar and of all the other grape components. But that is not all: many other changes take place in the grape, and a series of aromas and pre-aromas are formed which make grapes pressed in January and February very different from those pressed in September and October.

The ripasso technique

Ripasso is a well-known traditional technique used to produce a fruity, soft and long-lasting Valpolicella.

The ripasso process consists of allowing the Valpolicella produced in October to ferment a second time: in March and April it is placed over the pomace of Recioto and Amarone, because after the must of the wines has been separated the skins left over are still rich in yeast, sugar and aromas, which provide vital and precious nourishment to enhance the characteristics of the Valpolicella. By refermenting slowly for about a week at low temperatures (16-18°C), the wine takes on new aromas of spices and dried plums, and increases the intensity of the notes of cherry, wild black cherry and nuts which are already present in the Valpolicella. The sweet tannins, acidity and longevity of the wine are also increased.

Bertani produces two wines using the ripasso technique: the historic Secco-Bertani and the Valpolicella Ripasso Villa Novare. The Secco-Bertani, which ever since the company was founded has been produced from Rondinella and Corvina grapes grown in the Valpantena, is given its second fermentation in the spring (first fermentation is in the autumn) on the rich pomace of Recioto and Amarone. For the Valpolicella Ripasso Villa Novare, made from Rondinella and Corvina grapes grown on the Novare estate, the process is the same, the only difference being that during the second fermentation a small percentage of dried grapes is included, to give the wine a pleasing fruity nose and greater roundness in the mouth.

Fermentation vats

Over the last twenty years or so we have extended the use of wooden vats for fermentation to white wines, particularly Gargànega. This variety, the most important indigenous white grape in the whole Veneto region, is a generous one, which can easily produce large quantities when grown on the plains but gives the best results when grown on the slopes, where the lower yield is compensated for by the stronger aromatic component and body of the wine. The must obtained from grapes that have been allowed to over-ripen slightly on the vine is fermented in large French oak vats, each with a capacity of 75 hl.

Fermentation in the wood produces aromatic molecules, for both nose and mouth, which are more complex than those obtained from fermentation in steel because a series of combinations occurs between the must (therefore aromas from the base grape), the yeast and the wood (with its taste and olfactory components).

Once the tumultuous fermentation phase is over, the wine can stay on the "fecce fini" (known as maturation on the "lees"). The yeast cells, having accomplished their fermenting function, give the wine secondary aromas,definiti di prodotti da forno and greater longevity.

Glazed cement wine tanks

In our cellars at Grezzana and Novare we still use the historic glazed cement tanks. The inside walls of each of these tanks are completely coated with glass tiles which constitute a minor masterpiece of "embroidery". Thanks to the painstaking work carried out more than half a century ago by skilled craftsmen it is still possible today to preserve unaltered the characteristics of the wine which ferments in these monumental wine tanks.

The optimum insulation and stable temperature provided by these glazed tanks are ideal for the ageing and secondary fermentation of red wines such as Bardolino and Valpolicella Classico.

Vinification tanks

Bertani’s long history of vinification has always featured constant innovations aimed at improving traditional techniques, without abandoning them. One of the more recent innovations has been the introduction of stainless steel fermentation tanks which are wider and lower than those normally used.

By reducing the amount of mechanical handling of the must amd the skins, these tanks keep the organoleptic characteristics of our wines intact, thus making it possible to produce wines of the highest quality, both fresh young wines such as Valpolicella Classico and longer lasting wines which need to be aged for a long time before tasting, like the Amarones