In 2007 Cav. G.B.Bertany winery celebrated 150 years of history, promoting a philosophy hinged on traditions that gave rise to many important wines like Secco Bertani, Soave and, from the middle of last Century, the one that is recognized as one of the most important wine in the world: the Amarone.

The History of the Bertani winery.

The winery was founded in 1857 at Quinto di Valpantena by the brothers Giovanbattista and Gaetano Bertani. Bertani’s philosophy went on drawing the image of the whole Veronese production. For example, in 1888 the local Chamber of Commerce, Handicrafts and Agriculture studied the wine production in Valpolicella Valpantena. According to the committee members the winery promptly reacted to the economic crisis due to Risorgimento riots (1866) introducing logical improvements both in the vineyards and in the wine production system. The result of such a managerial approach was Secco Bertani, a revolutionary wine for that epoch. In 1900, during Verona International Exhibition, the Agricultural, Science and Literature Academy conferred an honour upon Bertani brothers referring to the introduction of new varieties of vine, the training system methods and new wines.

Bertani’s top wines: Soave, and Amarone.

During the years Bertani brothers were deeply involved in reaching the maximum quality and the presence of Bertani wines in prestigious events and menus both in Italy and in Europe proved that. In fact Soave Bertani was chosen in 1937 to be the only white wine at the coronation of George VI of England. Secco Bertani then, became very quickly an icon of Italian quality wine in the world, being aboard the most luxurious cruise ship and the best restaurants and being supplied even to the Savoia’s royal catering. Because of this in the early ‘20s the winery was appointed firstly by the queen mother and then officially by the king as official supplier and allowed the use of the royal crest as one of the Italian particularly distinctive products.

As it was for the first bottle of Soave, the new Amarone wine, one of the earliest Amarones produced from the Fifties became a landmark for the whole local wineries. Amarone Classico Bertani has always been keeping its character intact and its power in a perfect balance. A style that goes behind the time and grant long-lasting wines.

Bertani wine making today

Bertani today owns about 200 hectares (494 acres) of vineyards in the most important DOC regions that are in Verona district, namely Valpolicella Classica, Valpolicella Valpantena, Soave and Lake Garda. The winery headquarters is the cellar situated at Grezzana, built in 1860 in Valpolicella Valpantena valley, North-East side of Verona.

Amarone Cellar tours

The cellar, a beautiful example of industrial heritage, is open for tours. During a guided tour visitors can hear the history and the learning that made Bertani’s wines an unique expression of the Veronese land and they can even see tools used in the past that are exposed in the cellar wine museum. In this historical atmosphere, it is possible to taste the winery’s most famous wines.

Amarone

Amarone is a rich Italian wine made out of raisins. It is made of dried grape varieties of Corvina, Morlinara and Rondinella. As far as the name is concerned, it means ‘bitter wine’. As far as the process of making this wine is concerned, grapes bunch are taken wherein the fruits are placed not very close to each other for air passage and kept on straw racks for around 6 months before the process actually begins. When the juice gets concentrated, wine is made from the juices by squeezing raisins. In Amarone, the quality of outer coating of grapes holds importance because that is what brings good color and gives good flavor to wine. During the drying process, the acid in the grape goes through changes and affects the quality of finished wine. This drying process takes around 4 months and leads to loss of weight. After drying comes the fermentation stage which stays for around 2 months. The last stage is when this wine is aged in oak casks.

Ripasso

Ripasso, as a new style of wine only came into being in the 20^th century. In Ripasso, the skin of Amarone is used in the sense that fermenting grape must be put into it. By doing this the wine gets more colorful and gets definite structure. It can be very well taken with meats and salami. In the 21^st century with the increase of Amarone wine, the wine market has also seen the growth in production of Ripasso wine. Earlier this wine was not included under DOC rules, but in the present day Ripasso is used freely and you can see several wine bottles stating that the particular wine is made in Ripasso style and has also succeeded in achieving the DOC designation.

Recioto

Recioto is a sweet form of red wine. This wine came into being when the winemakers of Veneto tried to increase the concentration of wine by making it more complex. In order to make the wine sweeter the grapes are dried just after harvesting process. This helps in maintaining the flavor and sweetness in wine by removing water from it. As far as the process to prepare this wine is concerned, the grapes are taken in bunches and kept in room for drying for around 3 months. Previously it was dried on straw mats while in the recent times steel has taken its place. After the drying process, the grapes are squeezed and fermentation takes place until the wine gets concentrated and acquires desired sweetness. It is then aged in containers called barrels for around 2 years.

Valpolicella DOC

Made out of Corvina, Rondinella and Morlinara grape varieties, Valpolicella DOC is a red wine that is light in flavor. This wine is brought out only some time after harvesting process. It is aged for minimum 1 year and has 12 percent alcohol content in it. Valpolicella Doc is the signature wine around Lake Garda. This wine can be easily taken with dishes that you consume everyday especially pasta. It is light and thus generally liked by drinkers.