30% Corvina, 30% Corvinone, 30% Rondinella & 10% a combination of Molinara, Rossignola, Oseleta, Negrara & Dindarella grown in the Monte Olmi vineyard with its red clay and limestone (30% of which 5% active) soils of moraine origins. This 2.5 hectare vineyard is located at Pedemonte di Valpolicella in the heart of the Valpolicella Classico zone and has south-western exposure. It is designed on terraces to ensure water removal in case of abundant rainfall. At the same time the depth and the clay structure of the terrain function to retain water during dry periods. The grapes are harvested by hand at the end of September/beginning of October, and are placed in a single layer of plastic trays which go into a fruit-drying facility (at controlled humidity and temperature) and the grapes are left to dry for about 4 months. This partial dehydration of the grapes leads to a natural increase in their sugar content. Elegant aromas are also formed during drying and blend with fermentation aromas and the tertiary aromas created during low-oxygen aging in wooden barrels. All these characteristics blend together to create a well-balanced wine with abundant bouquet and excellent body. Pressing takes place without destemming removal during January: the presence of stems during fermentation/steeping gives a softer and more permeable cap, preventing oxidation phenomena. Steeping lasts about 2 months, at the same cold (15°C) temperature as was used with fermentation. The wine is then transferred to Slavonia oak barrels for aging for 2/3 years. During this period the wine rests on the marc, cleaned of yeasts, to give complexity to its structure and maintain its fresh and fruity aroma. Micro-oxygenation through the wooden staves helps create enduring color stability. This wine, because of the minimal presence of malic acid at the end of fermentation and because of the high concentration of alcohol that partly inhibits lactic bacteria activities, does not perform malolactic fermentation. The wine, after aging in wood, is bottled and left to refine in this reducing ambient for 5-6 months, achieving a balanced aroma and flavor, before it is marketed.

Nicolo Tedeschi founded the company that bears his name in the Valpolicella area in 1824. He was a genuine personality of his time, renowned for his skill and moral stature. Throughout the years, his family has continued the traditional wine-making process, and today, the winery is owned by the fifth generation of Tedeschis: Antonietta, Sabrina and Riccardo. Each has various responsibilities, but it is Riccardo, the oenologist, who deals with production and acts as Tedeschi’s Export Director. Tedeschi utilizes two traditional winemaking techniques almost as old as winemaking itself. Amarone della Valpolicella is the only mainstream style where the wines are fermented to dryness, yielding deeply colored and concentrated wines, rich in character, and often rich in alcohol, too. The ripasso method, utilizing the drained but unpressed must of an Amarone, provides some kick to a more basic wine and is also unique to the region.

Tedeschi’s wines must not only be as good as possible, but also as personal as it can be. Each has its own style and a clearly distinguishable character—the genuine “Tedeschi Trademark.” In order to achieve this objective, the family monitors every phase of the wine-making process, from the vineyard to the cellar, without ever trying to substitute nature or its laws in any way. The Valpolicella Classica area where Tedeschi’s vineyards are located is made up of three valleys: Negrar, Marano and Fumane. Each area offers wines with unique characteristics. The valley of Negrar offers elegant wines of great body, fruity, with excellent potential for aging. The valley of Marano produces high-quality wines of elegance and aromatic intensity in warmer years. Finally, in the valley of Fumane, wines close to the village have a slight sugary residue, soft body and medium duration, while further south, wines feature limited acidity, excellent body and long duration.