Grape generations

Ask Sabrina Tedeschi about her family’s history in Valpolicella and she goes into a pensive mood. It’s not easy to pinpoint an exact beginning in the Tedeschi timeline. Old documents sketchily reveal that her ancestors were involved in winemaking in 1630. But it wasn’t until 1824 that her family’s role in Valpolicella started to come into focus: Nicolò Tedeschi, her great great-grandfather, bought some vineyards, and sowed the seeds for the business that would shape Tedeschi winery, located in Pedemonte, Valpolicella; a wine region in Verona.

There was never any doubt she’d join the family business (her schoolteacher had once reminded her, metaphorically, that she was born in fermentation tanks), given her constant exposure to the wine universe from young. Sabrina credits her father for introducing the winery to other markets. Her grandparents sold their wines only at an osteria (a wine bar), serving the local community. But Renzo decided to export the wines to other countries in the region, such as the U.K. and Germany.
Today, Tedeschi winery owns 99 hectares of vineyards across Valpolicella, which, fronted by Lake Garda in the west, and fringed by the Monti Lessini hills in the north, offers a cool climate. As a DOC, Valpolicella produces reds made mainly from Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes. The Valpolicella Classico Superiore, a delicate red, and Amarone, a dry wine made from dried grapes, are the winery’s signatures.

Excerpt from the October issue of epicure