How Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet inspired Verona’s Bertani winemaking family
Italy’s Bertani family keeps its nearly 400-year-old winemaking business alive by eschewing trends and staying true to tradition
Located in the northeast of Italy, Veneto is the country’s largest wine-producing region. And the province of Verona, in Veneto, is home to the famed valpolicella and amarone wines. Historically, there has been a regional tradition of drying grapes, to concentrate the flavour and produce richer wines. The autumn months, with their low temperatures and cool winds, create ideal drying conditions, while cold winters allow for slow maceration and fermentation over an extended period of time.
With a winemaking history dating back to the 1630s, the Bertani family are masters of their craft. The ageability of their wines is reaffirmed by the discovery of a 1928 recioto, a sweet wine. During the second world war, a batch of wines was hidden behind walls on the family farm, to conceal it from the Germans. It was rediscovered in 1984 and about 2,500 bottles remain. The 90-year-old wine, named acinatico (derived from acinaticum, the Latin word for grape or grape stone), is mellow, rich and still has incredible freshness.
This is a milestone year for the family business, Tenuta Santa Maria di Gaetano Bertani, marking the 80th anniversary of its amarone production. The family has claimed it takes inspiration for its wine from William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, which is set in Verona. Family conflict nearly cost them their historic vineyards and villa, when some members sold two-thirds of the shares to a corporation.
Fortunately, the family has re-emerged, phoenix-like, with Gaetano Bertani and his sons, Guglielmo and Giovanni, producing wines in the style of their forefathers. The new generation has eschewed the trend of making concentrated wines with a high alcohol level. Their wines stay true to the traditional style, using only indigenous grapes with fresher fruit, elegance and lower alcohol levels.
Tenuta Santa Maria di Gaetano Bertani, Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC 2017. HK$238
A blend of 70 per cent corvina, 15 per cent corvinone and 15 per cent rondinella. The wine is aged in large old barrels for 14 months before bottling.
