Zenato’s awards’ update

Zenato‘s awards’ update:  Yes, ZENATO DID IT AGAIN!

Nice ratings by James Suckling for theis Amarone Riserva, Amarone Archivio Storico and Lugana Riserva,

Produced only in top vintages, this graceful wine is made from a selection of Corvina and Rondinella grapes grown in the oldest vineyards in the township of Sant’Ambrogio in Valpolicella’s “classic” zone.

Following vinification, it undergoes long-term aging for at least 4 years in Slavonian oak casks.

It represents the very identity of the winery and its legacy throughout the world – a wine that can age and be enjoyed for more than 20 years.

With luminous and dense color, elegant complexity, and a wonderful touch of spice, it’s a wholehearted expression of the land where it is made.

Factsheet

The project: “Amarone Archivio Storico Zenato” was created to celebrate a history of caring, dedication and passion, which led to recognize worldwide the name of Zenato as a synonym of excellence and identity of a unique area: Valpolicella.

The first vintage,(2008) has rested for a decade in large oak barrels.
The milestone of this project that underlines the link to a territory in which we have believed and invested since the beginning.
This is a story of care, dedication and passion.

Factsheet

This Lugana Riserva is the fruit of the Zenato family’s genuine passion and a reflection of their history in the appellation.

The grapes for this wine come from the oldest vines on their Podere Massoni farm. They are harvested slightly late, around mid-October.

Fermentation takes place in oak cask (70%) and stainless steel (30%).

Light brilliant gold in color, this wine delivers intense multi-faceted aromas on the nose, with floral and citrus notes, spices, white plum, and vanilla.

On the palate, it’s rich in flavor, with great depth and balance. An ideal white for aging.

Factsheet

The Story:  Zenato is the story of a family that firmly planted its roots in the land. It was made possible thanks to the passion and entrepreneurial vision of the estate’s founder, Sergio, who managed to fulfill his greatest dream: to create a winery capable of harvesting the fruits of the earth and transform them into emotions with matchless flavor.
Today, more than 60 years later, the results are testament to his extraordinary vision. A wonderful story took shape thanks to his vision and today its star is his family: Wife Carla and children Alberto and Nadia.
Their eyes and their heart continue down the path that Sergio laid out with great clarity as he steadied the course toward quality and love for their land. Over time, that land wasn’t just Lugana but also Valpolicella, with its celebrated red wines and their matchless aromas.

 

Two faces:
One white, the other red, both emblems of high-quality wines that are born through a visceral passion for the land, through respect for time, through a family tradition that has championed local grape varieties for 60 years.

Valpolicella
Taking over the Costalunga estate, in the heart of Valpolicella Classica, Sergio Zenato wanted to measure himself in a new venture, after making the most out of his Lugana vineyards: to make it a model vineyard, beautiful to look at, cared for in every detail, in which to apply modern agronomic techniques and at the same time resume the traditional methods that had defined the Valpolicella landscape.

Lugana
In the flash of an eye and the wonder of Lake Garda is all there: in the beauty of the landscape; in the naturalist, historic, and artistic value of the land; in the mild climate.
The secret of Trebbiano di Lugana, a native grape variety planted on the southern banks of Lake Garda, is hidden in its origins.
With the backdrop of this pristine setting, the gates of the Santa Cristina estate open up on to a broad road with elegant red rose bushes on either side. 

More info? Check their www   →

zenato.it

Awards for Villa di Vetrice

Villa di Vetrice

Awards for Villa di Vetrice: their Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina 2005 has been awarded with a  Gold Medal, Best of class at the Los Angeles Wine Competition 2025.

Gold Medal

Best of Class

Points
0

Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina
A masterpiece where freshness and elegance  are combined with a thick mouthfeel

Fresh, focused and elegantly open with a thick and exqui­site mouth-feel. 
On the palate it shows harmonious, with oil, toffee, walnut, leather, caramel and dried apricot character. Dried fig and orange peel accents lead to an everlasting finish.

Well-known the perfect combination with cantucci (traditional almond biscuits from Tuscany) but very good also with other (nut based) cakes, liver-pate dishes and complex cheeses. thanks to its multiple layers, long finish, acidity and good structure.

Villa di Vetrice

Herebelow the list of all winners. You can find Villa di Vetrice’s in Santo on page 10.

Results Los Angeles Wine Competition 2025
How is the Vin Santo made? 

The vinsantaio, where vinsanto is made, hangs full of grape bunches, quite appropriately above the family chapel at Villa Vetrice, as ‘vinsanto or vino santo‘ means ‘holy wine’.

In the Grati family, it is a tradition that began over a hundred years ago, with which the great secret of vinsanto, the madre (mother), is also over a century old.

The madre is an aromatic sediment of inactive fine lees. She, a natural yeast, is ‘eterna’, for ever, because each new production uses some of the old that has multiplied at the end of the process and is then kept again.

Healthy bunches of grapes were picked in mid-September, and hung in the vinsantaio to slowly dry out for over three months.
70% of the grapes are white, Malvasia and Trebbiano, 30% are blue, Sangiovese.
Vinsanto is made only in years with extremely healthy grape material.
Sulfur is lit daily in the vinsantaio to clean the air of insects and unwanted critters. There is also the game of windows, which are open during the day and closed again at night, depending on the weather. The grapes have to dry properly and slowly. As an extra help, only if needed, ventilators can be used.

 

Villa di Vetrice: Vinsantaia

In December or January, when 30% of the original volume remains, the grapes are pressed. The must is then put into clean caratelli, small wooden barrels, on top of the madre. The caratelli are then sealed with cement, while 25% of the space remains empty.
Fermentation starts slowly in March, while temperatures rise and stops with the heat in summer. For three years in a row.  In winter, spontaneous clarification takes place, including the deposition of the madre.
The wine then remains in the unopened caratelli for at least ten years before being bottled.
Villa di Vetrice Vinsanto del Chianti Rùfina DOC comes with 17% alcohol and 100% class.

Villa di Vetrice: caratelli per vinsanto

Discover the other wines of Villa di Vetrice: Chianti Rufina and Chianti Rufina Riserva.

Take a look at their Facebook page

Facebook

Vinum: awards for Agricola del Nudo

Enoteca Nederland at Vinitaly

Vinum: awards for Agricola del Nudo.

GOLD Medal for their Crudelia 2024 at World of Rose’ competition.

Cheers!

Tasting notes:

“A light copper rosé. A full-bodied nose, with notes of almond, cinnamon, damp earth, candied orange peel, and acacia. On the palate, white apricot, a slender structure, and plenty of juice. The acidity permeates the entire palate, lending a flowing finish. A hint of lime juice. With aeration, the complexity increases on the nose and palate. An atypical rosé.“

Agricola del Nudo gold at Millésime Bio Challenge for Vermentino Maremma Toscana 2020

Simple, Clear and Pure:

this is NUDO

 The purpose

Nudo symbolizes “unvarnished, straightforward and purity”.
This is how the wine tastes: simple, clear and pure.
Sustainability is a top priority. Cultivated exclusively according to the rules of organic farming. The wines are fermented spontaneously. At Agricola del Nudo’s they only use sulphites in very small quantities and they only choose for the local grape varieties Vermentino, and Sangiovese but also Syrah.

The history

NUDO was born from the friendship between Stefano Bambagioni, a farmer from Maremma and Roland Krebser, a Swiss oenologist and is a project of the heart.

Stefano grew grapes using organic methods on his two-hectare vineyard. As an oenologist at a winery, Roland bought these grapes from him. That’s how they met in 2009 and that’s how the story began.

At first they only produced a small batch for families and friends. In the year 2012 the first major production of 3000 bottles for public sale started. Thanks to the wonderful cooperation and help of many friends, production was increased to a total of 24,000 bottles. Nevertheless, they have remained true to their philosophy.

The Wines: Excellent grapes from Maremma Tuscany

The wines are consistently grown and matured using organic methods. Great importance to collecting the entire harvest carefully by hand in small cassettes. The selection of the grapes takes place directly in the vineyard.

Vermentino Toscana, Rosato Toscana, Rosso Maremma Toscana, Rosso Costa Toscana

↓

DISCOVER THE WINES