The wines of Ca' Rugate: a tasting with Stevie Kim and Michele Tessari

Monteforte d'Alpone, in the province of Verona, is home to the winery that has belonged to the Tessari family for generations: in this episode of our podcast we will taste together with the owner Michele a trio of key wines for the company, namely the Amedeo Lessini Durello Riserva, so called in honor of a very common name in the Tessari family; Monte Fiorentine Soave Classico, a blend of 90% Garganega and 10% of Trebbiano; Amarone “Punta 470”, a blend of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella.

Michele, where do we start? Would you like to tell us the story of your family, first?

For

more than a hundred years, my family has been carrying on the winemaking activity that has made our labels famous. The seventy hectares that surround us are Ca' Rugate, a place, an ideal and obviously a vineyard, which gives the hills an aspect &' wrinkled &', precisely, furrowed by the lines of the rows

Since the last century we have been producing white wine, with a brand that was born much later than the first harvests, in the 80s. My father registered the brand in 1986, but my grandfather had already started the history of this winery: Fulvio Beo came to celebrate his 100th birthday, who knows, perhaps also thanks to

the wine of these lands!

And about yourself, what can you tell us?

I joined the game in the 2000s. After studying oenology, I become part of this reality in which the three DOC denominations of Soave, Valpolicella and Lessini Durello are intertwined: speaking of the latter, let's get closer to the first of

the three wines in the tasting.

L'Amedeo was named in honor of my father, my great-grandfather and my son, different generations in which the same given name occurs. We produce 8,000 bottles of this variety, of the 800,000 that our winery produces in total; the Durello wine production area is restricted, but it has unique, fresh characteristics that give it longevity after disgorgement.

Amedeo can easily reach twenty years of aging, with its citrus and pointed notes, from gourmet wine.

What would you pair it with?

Certainly with finger food but also with oriental cuisine or even with Mediterranean fish-based foods. It's definitely not a wine for everyone but connoisseurs know how to value it, play with

its acidity.

The most famous wine of your company, however, is the Soave Classico: would you tell us about Monte Fiorentine?

Historic wine for the Tessari family, Monte Fiorentine had its first vintage in 1988: we are tasting the 2021 vintage. The 60,000 bottles of this label are sold all over the world, in about forty markets as well as in the national one, where 60% of them are sold. The vineyards with which we produce this wine range from 200 to 250 meters above sea level and the vines are old, more than thirty years old

In a blind tasting, this Soave Classico would be recognized because every hill in this area, as well as every slope, has its typical characteristics: for example, Monte Fiorentine is characterized by its balsamic and mineral notes.

Precisely because of the complexity of these wines, when will be the best time to drink them?

I am currently drinking the 2015 vintage: waiting seven, eight years before uncorking these bottles really does justice to their contents.

We have a cellar in the company that acts as a historical archive of our vintages, where we also store bottles from the 1950s. Our Soaves are able to keep their identity for up to twenty years, we can guarantee it for having experienced it firsthand

Dell'Amarone, on the other hand, we have the 2018 vintage ahead of us. How was the name “Punta 470” chosen for this wine?

It sounds strange, but that name perfectly describes the origin of this wine. We are in the easternmost area of Valpolicella, 470 meters above sea level; here we cultivate the local grapes, Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, without additional irrigation or forcing of any kind. In this way, wines become an expression of great elegance, which is appreciated here and in our reference markets for export, including Japan, Norway, Switzerland

and America. #39

To learn more about Ca' Rugate, we invite you to watch the episode of “The Italian Wine Podcast” in the company of a glass of wine, preferably on the subject of tasting! For an extra glass, then, we recommend that you recover the previous interviews of our journey to discover the best Italian wines on Mamma Jumbo

Shrimp.