Various fashions come and go, although the lumberjack shirt seems to be in fashion on a worryingly regular basis. Fashion does appear to be a consideration when it comes to wine and there are a few examples that struggle to get out of their particular period or ubiquity. Valpolicella seems to be one of those wines - for a certain generation it was the cheap and cheerful carafe or house wine in old style Italian restaurants or for others it’s the Amarone version, a big, powerful, almost sweet red wine.

In order to combat this myth, I travelled to Verona to visit our fantastic supply partner Cantine Bertani alongside a dozen or so participants from around the world to take part in their Amarone Academy. This is an annual event that is designed to spread the message that not all wines in this area are the same, that the area is relevant in the modern age and that the Bertani “style” is something very different, something that can dispel any preconceived ideas that the drinker may have.

The week was led by the chief winemaker and CEO of the company (and newly qualified Master of Wine to boot – only the second in Italy), Andrea Lonardi, and ably assisted by numerous colleagues and even a journalist with a specific interest in Valpolicella wines. The setting was amazing. The classes were held in the 13^th century Ognisanti di Novare Church (the church of the All Saints) in the heart of Valpolicella Classico, specifically the Negrar area and the Tenute Novare. This was a very bright, cool space, the perfect place to sample and learn about some excellent wines.

Firstly, we needed to look at why Valpolicella was maybe seen as something a bit light and easy to dismiss. Back in the 1970s the grapes were being harvested in October. The harvest temperature was 15°C whereas now the temperature is around 25-30°C at harvest and the picking begins in early September. The resulting wines in the 1970’s rarely got above 9.5% ABV whereas now the wines are regularly 12% or just above, making a big difference to the style. However, perhaps the biggest influence is a wine making practice known as appassimento: the drying of grapes. As the wines tended to be light in body and flavour, the appassimento method of concentrating the sugars and removing moisture increased the alcohol and/or the sweetness of the resultant wine. Bertani were masters of this process, they historically produced a sweet wine made with appassimento grapes; Recioto della Valpolicella, once the main product but now only accounts for 0.5% of the total wine produced in Valpolicella. They also realised that there was a growing demand for dry wines and were the very first winemakers in the area to produce and bottle a dry red wine – Secco Bertani (which hit the shelves in 1860  - after the original Bertani brothers travelled to Burgundy and fell in love with the dry wines produced).

Fast forward to the 1950s and there was a buzz in the area about making a dry wine that could utilise the Appassimento or, in Bertani’s case, the “Messa a Riposo” grapes. “Messa a Riposo” grapes are dried the most traditional way, in the lofts above the winery on large mats with the grapes only one bunch deep and the only airflow coming from the open windows – the grapes are drying much slower and completely at the pace of the outside conditions – so the autumn and early part of winter following the harvest can be just as important as the weather before picking. The wine was called Amarone della Valpolicella which meant big and bitter wine from Valpolicella (i.e. dry). The wine was kept in large oak casks for a long time. However, suddenly in the 1980s this style of wine became the thing, not just the Bertani wine, but they were at the forefront, in part due to the stock they had, but also because of the sheer quality of the Amarone Classico they produced.

What sets Bertani apart, I believe, is the commitment to the original style. Many great things are open to interpretation including the rules of the DOC and newly introduced improved DOCG rules. Not all variations are bad and there is no attempt to be critical of other producers, but Bertani have a particular style and believe they have a unique place in the history and the future of this wine. Even within the 60 or so years that Bertani have been making the wine, there has been attempts by some of the previous winemakers to alter the style a bit however these were all thwarted when it came down to it as they were veering away from the classic style. When Andrea Lonardi took over the reins in 2012, he wanted to push further into the roots of the “Bertani style” and then take that as a blueprint for his future work. There are many producers making Amarone and many making Amarone that is excellent but what exactly is the “Bertani Style”? To start with, I believe it’s being true to the terroir, true to the grapes and true to what the wine should actually be (Amarone, Ripasso, Valpolicella, Soave etc).

We ventred into the vineyard which was a great experience as the grapes were ripe and the harvest had started already. We experienced the three typical terroirs within the vineyards at Novare: the dark soils containing decomposed volcanic rocks, the white limestone (in the Ognisanti vineyard – which is made as a single site Valpolicella Classico) and the red limestone of Le Miniere (the Mines vineyard) – again made as a single plot Valpolicella Classico. The soils are different and the aspect and altitude in each is also slightly different but the common thread is the Corvina grape. These produce varying results: the limestone soils produce powerfully flavoured grapes and the salinity of the Volcanic soils was also very noticeable – which again showed in both the glass and the grape.

What does this have to do with the Bertani Style? The harnessing of these characteristics and not allowing over the top residual sugar (RS) to get in the way of this – the RS levels are low – hovering around 5g/ltr whereas some well-known producers are around 8-9g (9g is generally the maximum permitted but there is allowance within the rules of the DOCG for more if the grapes reach 15, 16 even 17% ABV - which is very possible these days). Although this does not sound like much, it makes a big difference in the character, perceived body and luxurious nature of the wine but also the ability of the wine pair with food. Great wines always show their best with food but if the sweetness gets in the way it can make food pairing clumsy.

 Another aspect of the Bertani style is the use of oak. Never is the wine made in new oak. The barrels are large, not the stereotypical barriques of 225 litres, but rather, barrels of usually 6000 litres which have less influence of oak flavour but harness the micro-oxygenation of the wines over the course of time they are in barrel (6-7 years for the Classico).

The type of oak they use is often French but increasingly also Slavonian oak, which is more dense. The forests of eastern Croatia grow slower than those in France and this generally slows the aging process down because less oxygen can get into the barrel. There is even talk of using Austrian Oak, which is very rare in winemaking but is thought to be very suitable. The old tradition of using cherry and chestnut wood has virtually disappeared due to the mixed results achieved because these wood types are much harder to work with and lack the consistency of oak.

Another factor to consider is the acidity. Acidity is never the most attractive aspect to talk about but the thing I noticed in all of the wines that Bertani produce is an unflinching line of acidity in the palate, always balanced, which seems to hold the wines together and keep a much need freshness in the wines – which maybe for me the most distinctive ingredient of the “Bertani style”. Perhaps the most exciting part of the event, and what we were building up to, was the introduction to the “The Library”. As mentioned before Bertani have an unrivalled back catalogue of Amarone Classico in their Grezzana cellars – they hold the back vintages in huge quantities.

Going back to the 1960’s they have good volume available of each vintage they produced (not every year was made). We were selected seven different vintages starting with 2013 and then travelled through the decades until we hit the fabled 1964 vintage. As the glasses were lined up it was pretty difficult to tell which wines were the oldest, they all had a lovely garnet colour with an attractive amber note towards the rim. Even the wines that had been in barrel the longest seemed to show this  - the 1964 had been in the barrel until 1983 (19yrs) plus another 40 in the bottle!

The nose was where you could see the vintage variation. As expected, the 2012 and 2013 were the most primary although if anything the 2013 was showing more maturity on the nose. The 2008 was amazing, it had a slightly muted nose still quite closed but with a savoury character and a touch of very dark cocoa powder. The mouth was superb, beautiful balanced notes of orange peel, dried herbs, bacon, plum, bramble and the salinity that comes through from the volcanic elements in the soil. Completely dry to taste - with real elegance and “Harmony” – the back catalogue of Bertani are given a rating of either “Harmony”, “Exuberance”, “Finesse” or “Gentleness”.

We moved through the decades getting older as we went. 1994 was very interesting, the wine was probably the most different in style to the others, classed as “Exuberant”, this was one of five vintages made by a consultant through the early to mid-90s. The wine is very good but perhaps, is an example of something moving slightly away from the “Bertani style”. To me it seemed more thick, more viscous and there was more power to the wine. I liked it but I can see why Andrea and the team have moved towards the traditional style which marks them out.

I read an article on the US sommelier site, Guild Sommelier about a tasting held in 2017 of perhaps all the Amarone (from different producers)  you would expect to taste in a benchmark and the 2007 (not tasted here) was the only wine that tasted completely dry. If this was done again, I would happily expect any vintage tasting of all these wines to show the Bertani as the dry one.

We eventually arrived at the 1964. As I mentioned the colour was very similar to the others – perhaps a little more orangey amber at the rim but nothing that really set it apart. The nose was surprisingly fresh (this wine is 59yrs old!). Most of my experience with mature wine is that the nose is usually shouting that it’s an old wine, but this wine is gentle, and the aged notes are not the prominent character. This was still showing some primary fruit but also herby, floral notes that seem to be present in most vintages and even a hint of tar and cooked apple. The palate was rich, spicy, meaty (salami and smoked bacon) with a fine tannin structure. What sets this wine apart though is that freshness I spoke of. The acidity is measured and balanced and helps deliver a freshness that I don’t think you will find in any other wine of this age (I am ready to be proven wrong but in my experience the freshness (for a wine this old) is unrivalled – a great, great wine).

However, it’s not all about aged wines, the younger wines they produce still show the Bertani Style. I want to point out the two single vineyard Valpolicella wines that are made by Bertani (the “Bertani Cru”). The Valpolicella Classico “Le Miniere” and the Valpolicella Classico Superiore “Ognisanti di Novare”. Both wines made in the vicinity of the Tenute Novare where we had our week of learning. Both are made without the use of appassimento grapes – unusual for this kind of wine. They both have a majority of the Corvina grape – (although Le Miniere has 30% blend of Corvinone (an unrelated grape that was once thought to be a clone of Corvina) and Rondinella as part of the wine). The Ognisanti is aged in new French Oak - pretty much the only wine on the estate to be made in new oak and Le Miniere is aged in concrete only. They both display an elegance that you don’t normally associate with Valpolicella and they also show the place where they come from without the interference of additional wine making techniques. I was always told that the best way to make wine is to produce the best grapes possible and do the least amount of work possible with them in order not to ruin what you have achieved in the vineyard. I believe these are great examples of this approach. Not to say that Amarone is mucking about with the grapes, the appassimento (or Messa a Riposo) system used by Bertani is very careful to retain as much of the grape as possible and you can tell this in the finished product.

The thing about these wines is they don’t necessarily fit in with what your expectations of Valpolicella, especially at the premium end of the scale, but they are great examples of wines that show terroir. Perhaps in the same way that red burgundy shows its sense of place in France, as does Nebbiolo in the northwest of Italy. This is also a message that was pushed to us. The fine Burgundies and Barolo are seen as being great indicators of their terroir – why shouldn’t fine Valpolicella have the same reputation?

It wasn’t all learning though – we were based in Verona and what a city that is. I have visited many times before (its an important city for the Italian wine trade – hosting an amazing annual wine event – Vinitaly – you must visit this at least once in your life). Small enough to get around on foot but big enough to be surprised by something new at an unexpected turn. We ate in some of the finest restaurants with the finest Bertani wines to match up as well.

The fortunes of Bertani were made in the early part of the 20^th century with the wines they make in Soave and on one night we were treated to a seafood restaurant and some back vintages of their Soave Sereole (newly relabelled as Soave Classico) as well as their “Vintage Edition” Soave Classico, a recreation of the original Soave they made, which was served at the coronation banquet of King George VI in 1936 and was one of the most revered wines in the early 20^th century.

Soave is perhaps not seen as a wine for keeping but the 2005 (18yrs old) was showing really well. It still had fresh minerality but with a richness that doesn’t come across in its youth. The grape, Garganega, is seen as one of Italy’s best white grapes but is rarely seen in a bottle label so still relatively unknown outside wine circles but with the limestone and volcanic soils of Soave can make marvellous, great value wines that are fresh and mineral and have the ability to age (as the 2005 proves).

We were treated to a chance to “live like a local” on the various islands in Venice. Multiple boat trips, including a special tour by the first official motorised boat training scheme for women. The Venetian professional boating fraternity is still very heavily male dominated (there are only a couple of registered Gondoliers) and there are even fewer motorised boat drivers.

This was after a very special visit to the Berengo glass studio on Murano. Perhaps a visit to the island of Murano is to be expected on such a tour – the island is famous for its glass worldwide. What sets Berengo apart is their collaborations with artists to produce something unique for each of them. The star of the show at the moment is the Chinese dissident artist Ai Waiwei. In collaboration with the master craftspeople of Berengo, he has created some of the most spectacular pieces ever seen in Murano. I was taken particularly by his version of a Chandelier which is made using the traditional methods that would have been practiced by glass makers on the island for the last couple of centuries. He has a subversive take on the subject and the chandelier includes individual parts that relate back to his time in China, including his time as a political prisoner. Fantastic and only around £500k – a bargain!

This trip was a once in lifetime chance to get into what makes a great Valpolicella, and indeed a great Amarone della Valpolicella. I was very honoured to be given the chance to participate in this very exciting event and I got to meet some great people not only from the winery but also participants from all around the world. A week of “work” like no other and one which I will always remember.