Growers of the month - Portinari

Each month, we will be bringing you the detailed stories of one or two growers in our portfolio who are producing excellent wines. This month, we are focussing on Portinari in Soave.

Portinari

Umberto Portinari has now been joined in the vineyards by his daughter Maria. The family are well known in Soave; Umberto's father was the local grocer during the war and renowned for his generosity. He would give credit for goods even when sometimes he knew they would not be paid back. In the early 1980s Umberto decided to work the family vineyards himself. When we visited him, his wine was on the list of every single local restaurant, and all the proprietors knew him.

Without a doubt, these are excellent wines, much enjoyed by all who try them. They are a particular hit with sommeliers who appreciate their high quality.

Their Albare wine has notes of dried fruit, almonds and Golden Delicious apples, enhanced by the use of the 'double ripening' method. Some mature grapes are left on the vine and noble rot sets in giving the grapes a sweeter taste and the wine a bit more life.

Their Ronchetto wine is an excellent example of a Soave Classico. We also have in stock their Soave U.P. and Recioto, a fantastic sweet wine which is topped up with Vin Santo during fermentation and refines for years before being released.