Producer Article
Giuseppe Quintarelli
Last edited on 10/3/2015 by lvjohn
There are 6 versions of this article (version 1 of 6) / View version history
This material is pieced together from various websites. The originals were probably written in Italian a roughly translated into English.
Article 1:
LOCATION:
Negrar (VR), Valpolicella area, Veneto region
WINES:
Primo Fiore IGT, Valpolicella Classico DOC, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG, Amarone Riserva DOCG, Rosso del Bepi IGT, Alzero, Amabile del Cerč, Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG
VINEYARDS:
The oldest among the current Quintarelli vineyards have been acquired by his father in 1924 near the town of Negrar. In 1980 Giuseppe made some important additions to the estate and in 1985 began introducing new grape varieties such as nebbiolo, croatina, cabernet franc and sauvignon. Today the vineyards spread through the east side of the valley of Negrar, and they are overseen from the estate cellars located on the peak of the Cŕ Paletta hill in Cerč di Negrar. Pergola Veronese training system is used in the older vineyards, and Guyot in the newer ones. While corvina remains the dominant grape variety, you can also find here vibrant plots of rondinella, molinara, cabernet sauvignon and franc, nebbiolo, croatina and sangiovese among the reds, and garganega, trebbiano toscano, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and saorin (a clone of tocai) among the whites. From the grapes yielded by these vineyards Quintarelli produces 60.000 bottles a year.
COMPANY:
Quintarelli family has been producing wine for more than 100 years, first in an area called Figŕri and then from 1924 in Negrar, the heart of the Valpolicella Classico area. Quintarelli is often termed Valpolicella's magician and the best producer of Amarone and Reciotto. His approach is renowned to be strongly traditionalist with only a few concessions to modernity. For example, he ages his Amarone in Slavonian oak vats for seven years, just like his father taught him to. Nevertheless, this “traditionalist” has undertaken several highly innovative winemaking projects. For example, he began producing a white wine – something very unusual in the Valpolicella area. Then he crafted a delicious blend “Primo Fiore” which combines corvina, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc grapes. Finally, he invented the extremely rare and coveted Alzero which is made from slowly dried cabernet franc grapes. Quintarelli was also the first to experiment with nebbiolo grapes in the Valpolicella area.
Quintarelli’s approach to winemaking always sacrifices quantity for quality. The yields are held extremely low through pruning and green harvest, and grapes’ flavor is further intensified by the “appassimento”, or drying, where the grapes lose 50% of their volume. Quintarelli inspects his bunches grape-by-grape, and those that do not pass his rigorous standards are discarded. After being harvested manually into wooden boxes, bunches are placed on wooden racks where they are dried for 5 months. After the appassimento is complete, then begins a very slow fermentation and finally the aging, which for Amarone takes 7 years, and for Amarone Riserva 10 years. Quintarelli uses Slavonian oak barrels for all wines except for Alzero which is aged in barriques.
Quintarelli wines continue to astonish the world with their concentrated flavors and structure, and although his reds rarely have less that 15% of alcohol, their concentrated sugars assure a superbly elegant equilibrium. These wines can age beautifully 20 or more years.
NOTES:
The labels of Quintarelli wines have been hand drawn by his family, and to this day they are attached manually to each bottle, with a glue and a brush. This detail reflects the essence of an artisanal winemaker that cherishes every single bottle he produces.
While appassimento, or the drying of grapes, has characterized the winemaking in Valpolicella for decades, the personal signature of Quintarelli has been the very long aging in Slavonian oak barrels. After wines have been bottled, he often keeps them in the cellar without selling them, waiting until they are “ready”.
In 1900 Giuseppe Quintarelli’s father began exporting his wines to the United States in barrels of about 50 liters. Hence the Quintarelli wines have been enjoyed in North America for more than 100 years.
Quintarelli’s Valpolicella is one of the few red wines in the world which pairs extremely well with fish.
Article 2:
The company is located in Cerč of Negrar, Mount Cŕ Paletta, on the East side of the valley of Negrar. The vineyard is in the West and the ground is limestone basalt. The farming system of the vineyards, in older plants, and in Pergola Veronese, in the new, Guyot. The company was founded at the beginning of the century with Silvio Quintarelli, who, along with his brothers as sharecroppers cultivating the vineyards of locations Figari, in the municipality of Marano di Valpolicella.
The wine produced is then already exported to the U.S. , in barrels of 50 liters, by the owner of the fund. After the First World War, precisely in 1924, the company moved into the valley of Negrar , in the locality Cerč, where Silvio continues its work with the invaluable help of his sons and his wife . In the 50s, Giuseppe, the youngest son, took over the management of the company to continue the family tradition , the vineyard and the cellar. They are new and specialize the vineyards, increase the barrels and requests.
By the time the business gets bigger and bigger, but that does not distract the attention to the traditional method, which is strictly maintained, with constant love and dedication, along with his wife, daughters and to the loyal employees. The years from `50 to `55 are fundamental to the cellar. Recioto is an important wine and the vintage where there appears to be less generous giving a wine that is dry, it still attempts to keep it for subsequent years.
This experience has led a "method" which leads to a wine, Amarone, of high quality and that is discovered and appreciated by connoisseurs important . Amarone comes from the respect for nature, in the cultivation of the vine, from a patient and careful selection of grapes and a strong bond with tradition. In the 80s, following a reorganization of the property, with the purchase of new vineyards, optimizes production and you make important changes in the selection of the grapes and then in production. Since 1985, in fact, are regularly used grape varieties such as Nebbiolo, Croatina, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon, with excellent results. Birth of a wine, I will raise, result of experience and knowledge in grape drying technique , peculiarities of the tradition of the Valpolicella. Two features accompany the wines produced by: a natural predisposition to long aging, which leads to improve the product even more than twenty years, and a surprising liveliness, which are expressed for a long time after opening the bottle.
Article 3:
The late, great Maestro del Veneto, Giuseppe Quintarelli, succeeded in establishing his mythical and legendary estate during an amazing sixty-year career. All of the tradition, love, heart, and soul of crafting one of the world’s finest wines continue at the Quintarelli home and winery in the hills north of Verona. Giuseppe’s daughter Fiorenza, his son-in-law Giampaolo, and his grandsons Francesco and Lorenzo are all keeping a close watch over the family’s legacy.
It is impossible to speak about Quintarelli without superlatives. The name itself stands for so much: the family, the wines, a style, a tradition, a way of doing things. After all the time, effort, patience, and care that go into the making of a bottle of Quintarelli, it truly does mean so much more than wine. Giuseppe, fondly known as “Bepi” to those closest to him, was a perfectionist in every way. From the beautiful handwritten labels, to the best possible quality cork, to the exquisite wine in the bottles, the Quintarelli name is a stamp of authenticity and the ultimate indication of an artisanal, handmade, uncompromising wine of the highest quality.
Nothing is ever hurried at Quintarelli. The wines take their time and are given the time they need. In the still, quiet calm of the family cellars above the town of Negrar, along the winding via del Cerč, deep in the Valpolicella zone, the wine from the family’s hillside vineyards ages patiently and gracefully in large casks until it is ready. Every release is a masterpiece, a testament to time, tradition, skill, and passion, the creations of a master artisan. You can’t really compare these wines to any other in the region, or anywhere else in the world. They really are in a class and a category all their own.
Multiple passages through the vineyards produce a myriad of wines, many produced using the appassimento technique whereby the grapes are dried on rush mats before being pressed and made into wine. From the delicious and seductive Bianco Secco, to the benchmark Valpolicella that created a revolution in the thinking about what it was possible to produce in this region, to the Rosso del Bepi and Amarones produced according to the quality of the harvest, to the otherworldly Recioto and the exceedingly rare Bandito, the sheer artistry and depth of the range is truly exceptional.
Article 1:
LOCATION:
Negrar (VR), Valpolicella area, Veneto region
WINES:
Primo Fiore IGT, Valpolicella Classico DOC, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG, Amarone Riserva DOCG, Rosso del Bepi IGT, Alzero, Amabile del Cerč, Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG
VINEYARDS:
The oldest among the current Quintarelli vineyards have been acquired by his father in 1924 near the town of Negrar. In 1980 Giuseppe made some important additions to the estate and in 1985 began introducing new grape varieties such as nebbiolo, croatina, cabernet franc and sauvignon. Today the vineyards spread through the east side of the valley of Negrar, and they are overseen from the estate cellars located on the peak of the Cŕ Paletta hill in Cerč di Negrar. Pergola Veronese training system is used in the older vineyards, and Guyot in the newer ones. While corvina remains the dominant grape variety, you can also find here vibrant plots of rondinella, molinara, cabernet sauvignon and franc, nebbiolo, croatina and sangiovese among the reds, and garganega, trebbiano toscano, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and saorin (a clone of tocai) among the whites. From the grapes yielded by these vineyards Quintarelli produces 60.000 bottles a year.
COMPANY:
Quintarelli family has been producing wine for more than 100 years, first in an area called Figŕri and then from 1924 in Negrar, the heart of the Valpolicella Classico area. Quintarelli is often termed Valpolicella's magician and the best producer of Amarone and Reciotto. His approach is renowned to be strongly traditionalist with only a few concessions to modernity. For example, he ages his Amarone in Slavonian oak vats for seven years, just like his father taught him to. Nevertheless, this “traditionalist” has undertaken several highly innovative winemaking projects. For example, he began producing a white wine – something very unusual in the Valpolicella area. Then he crafted a delicious blend “Primo Fiore” which combines corvina, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc grapes. Finally, he invented the extremely rare and coveted Alzero which is made from slowly dried cabernet franc grapes. Quintarelli was also the first to experiment with nebbiolo grapes in the Valpolicella area.
Quintarelli’s approach to winemaking always sacrifices quantity for quality. The yields are held extremely low through pruning and green harvest, and grapes’ flavor is further intensified by the “appassimento”, or drying, where the grapes lose 50% of their volume. Quintarelli inspects his bunches grape-by-grape, and those that do not pass his rigorous standards are discarded. After being harvested manually into wooden boxes, bunches are placed on wooden racks where they are dried for 5 months. After the appassimento is complete, then begins a very slow fermentation and finally the aging, which for Amarone takes 7 years, and for Amarone Riserva 10 years. Quintarelli uses Slavonian oak barrels for all wines except for Alzero which is aged in barriques.
Quintarelli wines continue to astonish the world with their concentrated flavors and structure, and although his reds rarely have less that 15% of alcohol, their concentrated sugars assure a superbly elegant equilibrium. These wines can age beautifully 20 or more years.
NOTES:
The labels of Quintarelli wines have been hand drawn by his family, and to this day they are attached manually to each bottle, with a glue and a brush. This detail reflects the essence of an artisanal winemaker that cherishes every single bottle he produces.
While appassimento, or the drying of grapes, has characterized the winemaking in Valpolicella for decades, the personal signature of Quintarelli has been the very long aging in Slavonian oak barrels. After wines have been bottled, he often keeps them in the cellar without selling them, waiting until they are “ready”.
In 1900 Giuseppe Quintarelli’s father began exporting his wines to the United States in barrels of about 50 liters. Hence the Quintarelli wines have been enjoyed in North America for more than 100 years.
Quintarelli’s Valpolicella is one of the few red wines in the world which pairs extremely well with fish.
Article 2:
The company is located in Cerč of Negrar, Mount Cŕ Paletta, on the East side of the valley of Negrar. The vineyard is in the West and the ground is limestone basalt. The farming system of the vineyards, in older plants, and in Pergola Veronese, in the new, Guyot. The company was founded at the beginning of the century with Silvio Quintarelli, who, along with his brothers as sharecroppers cultivating the vineyards of locations Figari, in the municipality of Marano di Valpolicella.
The wine produced is then already exported to the U.S. , in barrels of 50 liters, by the owner of the fund. After the First World War, precisely in 1924, the company moved into the valley of Negrar , in the locality Cerč, where Silvio continues its work with the invaluable help of his sons and his wife . In the 50s, Giuseppe, the youngest son, took over the management of the company to continue the family tradition , the vineyard and the cellar. They are new and specialize the vineyards, increase the barrels and requests.
By the time the business gets bigger and bigger, but that does not distract the attention to the traditional method, which is strictly maintained, with constant love and dedication, along with his wife, daughters and to the loyal employees. The years from `50 to `55 are fundamental to the cellar. Recioto is an important wine and the vintage where there appears to be less generous giving a wine that is dry, it still attempts to keep it for subsequent years.
This experience has led a "method" which leads to a wine, Amarone, of high quality and that is discovered and appreciated by connoisseurs important . Amarone comes from the respect for nature, in the cultivation of the vine, from a patient and careful selection of grapes and a strong bond with tradition. In the 80s, following a reorganization of the property, with the purchase of new vineyards, optimizes production and you make important changes in the selection of the grapes and then in production. Since 1985, in fact, are regularly used grape varieties such as Nebbiolo, Croatina, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon, with excellent results. Birth of a wine, I will raise, result of experience and knowledge in grape drying technique , peculiarities of the tradition of the Valpolicella. Two features accompany the wines produced by: a natural predisposition to long aging, which leads to improve the product even more than twenty years, and a surprising liveliness, which are expressed for a long time after opening the bottle.
Article 3:
The late, great Maestro del Veneto, Giuseppe Quintarelli, succeeded in establishing his mythical and legendary estate during an amazing sixty-year career. All of the tradition, love, heart, and soul of crafting one of the world’s finest wines continue at the Quintarelli home and winery in the hills north of Verona. Giuseppe’s daughter Fiorenza, his son-in-law Giampaolo, and his grandsons Francesco and Lorenzo are all keeping a close watch over the family’s legacy.
It is impossible to speak about Quintarelli without superlatives. The name itself stands for so much: the family, the wines, a style, a tradition, a way of doing things. After all the time, effort, patience, and care that go into the making of a bottle of Quintarelli, it truly does mean so much more than wine. Giuseppe, fondly known as “Bepi” to those closest to him, was a perfectionist in every way. From the beautiful handwritten labels, to the best possible quality cork, to the exquisite wine in the bottles, the Quintarelli name is a stamp of authenticity and the ultimate indication of an artisanal, handmade, uncompromising wine of the highest quality.
Nothing is ever hurried at Quintarelli. The wines take their time and are given the time they need. In the still, quiet calm of the family cellars above the town of Negrar, along the winding via del Cerč, deep in the Valpolicella zone, the wine from the family’s hillside vineyards ages patiently and gracefully in large casks until it is ready. Every release is a masterpiece, a testament to time, tradition, skill, and passion, the creations of a master artisan. You can’t really compare these wines to any other in the region, or anywhere else in the world. They really are in a class and a category all their own.
Multiple passages through the vineyards produce a myriad of wines, many produced using the appassimento technique whereby the grapes are dried on rush mats before being pressed and made into wine. From the delicious and seductive Bianco Secco, to the benchmark Valpolicella that created a revolution in the thinking about what it was possible to produce in this region, to the Rosso del Bepi and Amarones produced according to the quality of the harvest, to the otherworldly Recioto and the exceedingly rare Bandito, the sheer artistry and depth of the range is truly exceptional.