In the Veneto province of northern Itlay between Lake Garda and the historic city of Verona stretch the bucolic valleys of Valpolicella.  Forests give way to the indigenous grape varieties of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara.  These ingredients combine to great effect in yielding such favored wines as Amarone, Recioto and Valpolicella.  Pilgrims flock year round to Valpolicella's rolling, vine clad hills to steep in its history and taste their inimitable wines.  As it was in ancient Rome the favorite wine of Caesar Augustus, the Corvina variety is praised for its breadth of flavors and its thick skins that lend so many of these qualities.  These leathery skins also lend themselves to the local appasimento process whereby the grapes of Valpolicella are naturally dried over the course of four months.  Concentrating every aroma and flavor to matchless clarity, the appasimento approach raises what is delightful about the playful Valpolicella to that of the sublime in transcendent Amarone and luscious Recioto.  None know the merits of concentration better than Corteforte.

Vines have been fostered here since the wines of "Pagus Arusnatium" were celebrated in ancient Rome but this Fortified Court was a strategic stronghold since the 15th Century.  Today Corteforte combines the best of age-old traditions with select technical expertise to craft the regions' most lucid wines.  Corteforte's Valpolicella is a delightful red bursting with fresh fruit and balanced by moderate tannins and an even acidity.  Their range of Amarone shows how low yields of one ton per acre are made even more potent by the appasimento process -yielding a serried mass of fresh cherries, almonds, exotic spices and floral nuances.  Imagine selecting only the ripest clusters of a small harvest to fashion the rare Recioto, a dessert wine that combines all Amarone's merits with a silky sweetness.

 

Seldom does a region offer such a scope of delectable wines.  Corteforte tenders all of these and each serves as a paradigm for its type.  Corteforte's are Valpolicella, Amarone & Recioto par excellence.  Last December Amarone and Recioto della Valpolicella were promoted to the loftiest status of Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita rightfully recognizing these among Italy's finest wines and thereby validating our indefatigable campaign to get people to try these exceptional wines.