Veneto is a magnificent region, full of fantastic and welcoming people and excellent wines.
The prejudices that grip this corner of Italy are truly many: from the idea that Veneto only thinks about work, to the stereotype of the racist Veneto – and even when it comes to wines, some people only talk about Amarone and Prosecco, or at most Ripasso.
In Veneto the reality is actually different: there are racists, as in every region of the world, and often these are not bad people, but simply individuals living in the shadow of preconceptions and ignorance – the very same factors that end up defining the inhabitants of this region through stereotypes.
People in Veneto work hard, thankfully, but the economic crisis has hit here too, and of course not everyone is an entrepreneur.
The Venetians are hospitable, they open their doors to you and take everything to heart… if I were to compare them to another people in Italy, I would see, in many respects, similarities with the Campanians – paradoxical? I don't think so.
Prosecco is a popular wine; the average Venetian drinks it by the gallon – it goes down easy and costs little, but in my opinion, it is truly understood only in the area around Treviso.
Amarone is a great wine, Ripasso too, and the Venetians themselves, together with Prosecco, end up being slaves to them.
In the shadow of Amarone lives a very widespread grape, Corvina Veronese: an autochthonous variety of the area, present in the composition of Amarone from 45 to 95 percent.
We are talking about a medium-leafed variety with a cylindrical-pyramidal bunch; a grape that ripens late and is also used for Bardolino. I have tasted this grape vinified in purity several times, and today I will tell you about a product from Castelforte, a winery belonging to the Riondo group.
A wine with an impenetrable ruby red color, which on the nose presents itself with strong and intense aromas of red fruits, among which blackberry and sour cherry stand out; more delicate notes arrive after a while – vanilla, violet, and spices, among which black pepper is strongly noticeable.
On the palate it has a round body and decent acidity with pleasant tannins and medium persistence. A good wine – thanks to the Venetian who recommended it to me!
What do you think?
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