Verona and Vino

One weekend after our trip to Verona for the Opera, we were back in the area for a long day trip, without the kids, for some wine tasting in the Valpolicella area of the wine-producing Veneto region of Italy. We had a group of about 30 from our squadron, a bus, 3 winery stops, 1 lunch stop, and a whole lot of fun. The first stop was at Villa Moscani Bertani, a beautiful old villa set in a valley that has been producing wine since Roman times. The picture below is of a fountain on the grounds, fed by a spring, and constructed using stones from Roman ruins found in the area. In fact, part of the Villa built in the 1700s is situated over the site of a Roman settlement. And in the late 1800s, Roman Aqueduct ruins that ran from Villa Mosconi Bertani to the city of Verona were unearthed during the construction of railway lines. The wine, the tour and our guide, one of the Bertani sons, were wonderful. We left with a magnum of Amarone, a wine characteristic of Valpolicella. And also 95 less euro in our pockets. Further down in the pictures is a little cottage on a small lake on the villa grounds, used as a coffee house. Yep, the Bertani Family of the 1700s were rich enough to build a cottage on a lake for the sole purpose of drinking their coffee in. Makes sitting in my sweatpants in my kitchen drinking my cappuccino feel downright trashy. Where oh where is my lakeside coffee cabin?!

Our next stop was the Fratelli Vogadori Winery, also in the Valpolicella Classico area. Fratelli means “brothers” in Italian, because the winery is run by the three Vogadori brothers. They are dedicated to making their wine without chemical treatments and to operating the vineyard with energy conservation in mind. The wine and olive oil produced here was good and we ended up with a few bottles of something or other. All the wine names, grape types, and flavors started running together at this stop, and not just because I had too much to drink, but because my brain just does not remember information about wine. In my mind, there are two types of wine: type one is “oh, me likey!” and type two is “oh, yuck, here Steve, finish this for me!”

Our third and final stop, after lunch, was at the Serego Alighieri winery, also in the Valpolicella area. This winery was started in 1353 by the Dante Alighieri’s son, Pietro. 21 generations later, the estate and house still belong to the direct descendants of Dante. We tasted some more wine here and I was having more of the same problem, too many choices, all tasting slightly different, but very much the same after an entire day of tasting. Luckily, Steve had made some notes and sent me inside to purchase a few bottles of number 2 and number 4. Then the bus made it’s way back to Verona, where we stayed around for dinner with our friends, after which, most of the group headed off to the Opera, and we drove our newly acquired boxes of wine home and into the safety of our wine cellar/basement. Next month we are probably going on another tasting trip to the Prosecco Road area, which I am looking forward to since I’ve never met a bubbly Prosecco I didn’t love at first sip! Cheers!