by Erika Mantovan
Milano, during a summer day we engaged a conversation with the Begnonis, owners of Santa Sofia, winery in Valpolicella. The idea of drinking an Amarone with 30°C is not appealing but actually, if there’s freshness, dynamicity and service temperature helps, the experience is a real pleasure. Nevertheless before the reds, that we already know, here it is the real purpose of the meeting: to tell the story of the winery and its development until today. A change necessary to improve the ageings and boost the attitude towards the production. From 1967, year of release of the first Amarone of Santa Sofia, this reinassance never stopped. (...)
Bardolino Chiaretto DOC e Croara Del Lago Garda DOC
Among the latest projects of the winery, there are wines born on Garda Lake’s shores; they usually are legitemately launched in summer but, taking into consideration their expressivity and evolution’s stage at the time of the tasting, we can easily expect a good development and tasting upgrade in a few months. The Garda is all about parfumes. The Chiaretto is produced on post glacial hills bewteen Lazise and Bardolino, in the eastern part of the Lake. A blend of Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara. A good range of tastes and flavors wisely blended that give back acidity, crispiness and a wide mouthfeel, on a iodine background. The Croara, latest born from Santa Sofia, is made from Trebbiano di Lugana harvested in Pozzolengo; the presence of clay and marl makes it soft but not lacking in strenght, able to project the sip into a citrusy and herbaceaous stroke, among tropical fruits and herbs.