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Mark's Italian Job
an insight into a working trip
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In the middle of June I was lucky enough to join nine other wine industry professionals on an....um….er….working trip to visit some wineries in the North-East of Italy. The wineries we visited included some that are already sitting on the shelves ... as well as a few that may be destined to arrive in Bridge of Allan soon.
A brief overview
The main city in the area is Verona and a short 30 minute drive to the east, west or north will find you in the prime wine making regions of Lugana, Soave and Valpolicella. If you have a little more time, a slightly longer drive north up the Brenner Pass will bring you to the Trentino & Alto Adige regions as well.
The region is quite hilly with each valley offering something slightly different in terms of soils composition and climate from its neighbour. It may be hard to find a vantage point from which to take in the various folds in the earths surface that make up this rippled landscape. The other major influence is Lake Garda, offering its nearest zones a tempering influence from the summer heat as well as the depths of winter.
The red wines are generally made using the Corvina variety along with other local varieties like Rondinella and Molinara. The most famous example of this is in Valpolicella however the wines of Bardolino also have a similar varietal composition. The dominant white varieties are Garganega (Soave), Trebbiano di Lugana (Lugana) and Pinot Grigio which is usually used in regional wines labeled as IGT Veneto. In Alto Adige you will find much more Pinot Grigio as well as Traminer Aromatico and Pinot Bianco.
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