Far from fashionable, never pandering, honest and expressive of what is the best Valpolicella, the Ripasso “Ripa della Volta” produced by the Ottella winery is a wine that, in keeping with tradition, is made from the same indigenous grapes from which Amarone is made. Left to rest for two years between barriques and large Slavonian oak barrels, it is a Ripasso with a helpful and gentle character, but at the same time with a well-defined and never submissive disposition. With noble poultry or with savory cheeses, it is a consistently pleasant red that can be appreciated in all its smallest nuances. It is an excellent Ripasso!

Ruby red the color, intense and deep to the eye. On the nose, it opens up letting you perceive clear hints of red and black fruit, then enriched by pleasant spicy nuances and hints of herbs and underbrush. The palate is fine in tannic texture, soft and smooth, then full-bodied at the same time. Good persistence as well.

“The only Veronese producer of Lugana”: this is how the Ottella winery, now one of the most renowned wine-making realities in the southern area of Lake Garda, was defined at the end of the 19th century. We are exactly in Peschiera del Garda, in the province of Verona, precisely in the locality of Ottella: it is here that Lodovico Montresor, together with his sons Francesco and Michele, carried out a bet that over time has been fully won. Focusing on the trebbiano di Lugana grape variety, locally called “turbiana,” the challenge that father and sons took on was to produce conceptually modern wines while fully respecting the distinctive characteristics of the terroir and varietal. In the vineyard, on soils of clear glacial origin, consisting of layers of predominantly clay and limestone sediments, the vines are raised with maniacal care, taking advantage of a constantly ventilated microclimate that is useful for harvesting fine, forthright and healthy grapes. In the forty hectares of vineyards owned by the winery, the lion’s share is obviously taken by lugana, but it is also flanked by other grape varieties such as chardonnay, manzoni crossbreed, sauvignon blanc and garganega, and then again corvina, corvinone, rondinella and molinara, the latter used for the production of classic Valpolicella wines. In the winery, we find the same philosophy adopted between the rows, whereby the goal pursued is to process the grapes by exalting and enhancing all that nature has created. Ethical value and aesthetic value, for a recipe with few ingredients, where simple becomes synonymous with quality. So we start with Lugana, and then move on to Lugana “Le Creete” and Riserva “Molceo,” and again to “Vigne Nuove” and “Gemei,” until we get to Ripasso della Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella and distillates: labels, those that refer to the name “Ottella,” that are elegant and pleasant, mineral and refined, intriguing and never predictable, the result of the deepest love for their vineyards and their work.