The Auswine Forum

G'day

I purchased two bottles of this when visiting the winery / agriturismo in San Matteo (5km from Verona) in 2014. No idea why I haven't opened one until now.

16% alcohol. Deep purple in colour, with crimson rim. Powerful nose with (not surprisingly) dried raisins and fruit cake in abundance, alongside savoury oak and graphite. The palate is rich and full, with more brandied fruit cake, and lots of fruit sweetness right down to the (very long) finish. Tannins are fine but powerful, without overpowering the intensity of the fruit flavours.

Not surprisingly, this is reminiscent of a fortified wine, especially on the back palate. I don't have enough experience with the style to judge peak drinking, but it's an experience now, and one that we're enjoying. We're planning to revisit when we return to Italy later this year.

Cheers
Allan

Excellent! Not a winery I've heard of, but then again I'm a huge fan of trying under the radar producers. Often the wines are very good, but additionally the experience of visiting can be that much more special / hospitable / engaging. Agriturismi are such a wonderful resource in Italy, from surprisingly well-equipped accommodation, to well-priced produce from the farm, often culminating with the wonderful convivial banquet meals they lay on, priced at a level often rather cheap for what you get.

As you'll be returning, I'll put in a good word for some other wineries in the area:
- Gini (Via Giacomo Matteotti, 42, 37032 Monteforte d'Alpone, near Soave) are superb, especially their Contrade Salvarenza bottling (IIRC ungrafted old vines), but their wider range of wines are interesting, including a rare interest in Pinot Noir. On top of that we found them wonderfully hospitable. The location as you approach feels oddly industrial business park, but it soon breaks out into vines
- Marco Mosconi (Via Paradiso, 5, 37031 Mormontea, near Illasi). Their range is good, but for us very much peaked with an exceptional Recioto di Soave. Again, the location as you approach feels oddly business parky.
- Roccolo Grassi (Via S. Giovanni di Dio, 47, 37030 Mezzane di Sotto). Wonderful seriousness from them here, and the wines across the board were excellent, even the Soave where she bemoaned the land wasn't the best. I loved that honesty. If I had to pick one wine, it would be the Valpolicella, which has superb intensity/brightness and was modestly priced for that. There's also an olive oil press in the village if that interests. We stayed at Massimago agriturismo, whose apartments are cosy but well equipped, but everything else about it feel rather luxurious / relaxing, including a truly superb breakfast served on your patio area outside the apartment.

Finally, some more general suggestions.
- Antica Bottega del Vino (Vicolo Scudo di Francia, 3, 37121 Verona) is central but somewhat hidden away, so plan your route. Oddly the wine didn't impress us as much as we'd anticipated, but the food was classic/unpretentious but done superbly well, as in being difficult to think of a better example of that dish.
- Soave. We didn't spend too long there, just a lunch at Anselmi's restaurant (Decent option, but short of being a place I'd enthusiastically recommend). It's got a charming feel and had we more energy that day, it looked like a superb place to also spend the rest of the afternoon exploring.

p.s. Spookily, we also have a 2009 Amarone in the cellar, ours also from where we stayed (Massimago).

G'day Ian

Thank you indeed for your comprehensive comments. We are still planning this part of the trip (Lake Garda is also on the list as neither of us have been there before) and I'll now jump onto GOogle and Google maps to check out your suggestions. Would I need to hire a car, or is public transport (trains) or taxis an option?

Do you know much about the area north of Verona, around Trento and Bolzano? (Alto Adige). I'm considering a stop at one or the other on the way to Austria (where a friend has arranged a couple of days in the Wachau Valley) to check out that part of the country that has produced some very interesting (in my opinion) wines, especially whites.

By the way, I still have one more bottle of the Ederle 2009. Maybe next year. Or next decade

Cheers
Allan

Hi Allan
The public transport question is one that depends on what you're looking to do / where you'll be based. Although I've not been to Lake Garda, my understanding is that getting around the lake is fine with public transport. For a better insight, there might already be stuff on this travel forum https://www.sloweurope.com/community/threads ... post-44284, or alternatively feel free to ask them, as I know a few have been there recently, and in the past. It's a smaller forum than the likes of Tripadvisor, but the quality of the insight is very good indeed. There is a focus on 'slow' travel (getting into the culture of the place rather than ticking off famous landmarks at speed), but it's not obsessive about it.

For Verona, we stayed in Mezzane di Sotto, initially without a car, taking a taxi there and back for the night at the opera (which was stunning), but then hired a car to visit some wineries and for the onwards trip to Molveno (in Trentino, nr. Trento). Driving in the area is pretty decent by Italian standards. The roads reasonably open / quiet, though road maintenance in Italy usually a bit shoddy. A car would be ideal for visiting Soave & Valpolicella vineyards, but with some careful selection by location, bus and train can be options.

We very much like Trento, and indeed what we've seen of the wider Trentino region. Some friends have stayed in Bolzano and also very much enjoyed it, though they did note that it very much flips from Italian with a Germanic influence in Trentino, to a much stronger German feel in Bolzano. If Trento (or Bolzano) appeals then that very much opens up the option of the train, which is direct and fast from Verona (and afterwards up to Austria/Germany). We love Italian trains and the views on the journey are good as well, including of the trellising systems on the vines!

Trento was described by friends as "like Verona before mass tourism descended on that city" and the city has a lovely open feel about it. Food-wise it's definitely got some influence from Austria, and generally not as exciting to me, but there are some superb highlights and eating well without daft prices is how I'd describe it. A special mention to the Malga cheese, where they spend months up in the mountains with the cows, before bringing them back down for winter. It's very good.

There's loads to do around Trento, with a visit to Foradori in Mezzocorona/Mezzalombardo (I forget which one) very strongly recommended. The reds are the standouts of the grape Toreldego ("Toh-rell-deh-go" very much not how I assumed it would be pronounced!), whilst the whites are from local grape Nosiola, Pinot Grigio and a hybrid Manzoni Bianco, and all I believe have some skin contact. All the wines are natural and biodynamic, but like most of the better examples, don't trumpet it on labels. I have however never known anyone to be quite as proud or obsessive over their compost as them! Also of note is the most wonderful quiet courtyard with lots of foliage for the birds, and it was a joy to arrive early and simply sit, watch and listen.

Other stuff: We stayed twice in Molveno, which has a lake, a picturesque large village, and lots of mountains, with no boring 'filler'. Looking out on arrival I was near to giggling at how wonderful the views were. There are buses direct from Trento, but arguably the village rewards staying there and focusing on walking around the lake and up into the mountains (with or without the aid of the cable car, sadly modernised (we loved the basic open air predecessor). A note though that driving here can be intimidating with the steepness and that much bare rock borders the road, but the quality of the roads are good. Other nearby villages, also connected by bus, are also appealing and a special word for the food/deli Bottega della Bontà in Andalo (also a nice walk from Molveno), which is a treasure trove of local produce, with some from wider afield.

Trento's cable car. From just behind the train station, a historic cable car takes you up to a village perched above Trento, for a stupidly cheap fee. The journey alone is worth the money, but the different perspective a bonus.

Plenty more mountainous appeal, plus a scenic lake with castle (Lago/Castello Toblino), and a very much under the radar vinous gem in Trentino's vino santo (note the 'o' that differs from Tuscany's vin santo). It's a late harvest dessert wine from the Nosiola grape, and unlike Vin Santo has not oxidation. Typically released with a decade's age, it seems to last very well indeed, and is wonderfully vibrant. Underpriced for the quality IMO and any of the 'Poli' family will be a safe bet, as is the bigger name of Gino Pedrotti.

As for the other bottle of Amarone, I find the DOCG generally one that's flexible on drinking window. I think our 2009 is getting to the point that I'd be keen on opening it, but don't feel stressed about having to rush to open it.

Overall, I'd recommend Trento as a rather relaxed city, with easy access into the mountains, or (Lago) Molveno if you adore mountains and walking

Regards Ian