It ‘s a winery where you can still feel the burden of history: an estate of 110 hectares with a cellar dating back to 1623, working the grapes of 42 hectares of vineyards. The environment is completed by olive groves, woods, areas destined to corn and other crops and also to breeding of dairy cows. And then an “Agriturismo” and a restaurant specializing in ceremonies. Redaelli De Zinis, in Calvagese della Riviera, is a kind of monument rich in evocative memory: it has been the house for Ugo Redaelli De Zinis, grandfather of the current owner, the first Italian graduate in oenology (in 1906 in Montpellier). But it is also a company in step with the times, as shown by the recent decision to switch to organic farming: starting from vintage 2014, the entire vineyard entered the usual three-year period of conversion to the new system, as required by Italian law, wth the aim to arrive in 2017 at the first organic harvest. The first certified wines will then be on the market from 2018, beginning almost inevitably with the classic Chiaretto to involve later the entire production, which ranges between 350 and 400 thousand bottles with clear predominance of red wines (over 270 thousand bottles) . “The world of consumers are paying increasing attention to issues of health consciousness and power quality – explains Alessandro Redaelli De Zinis, current owner of the family business -. The demand is now for a supply chain from farm to table providing guarantees on the total profile of the purchased product: this is true for Italians but especially among foreigners, which for us are indeed a very important target. ”
Redaelli De Zinis has always been a reality that has bet strongly on wine tourism: the winery is now always open, and annually hosts about 50 000 people, thanks to the complicity of the annexed restaurant Borgo alla Quercia used only for ceremonies and events. Here are also held numerous gastronomic and cultural evenings, and in the estate is also active the agriturismo Valchiese, which offers snacks of meats and cheeses to pair the wine tasting (by appointment). From here you can then go quietly to the discovery of the estate, where there is still a small church of the ‘600 and where some relaxing corners with stone tables have been created in the woods. In the shop, not only wines, but also the extra virgin olive oil (whose production in 2014 declined by 60%), pasta made with durum wheat produced directly in the estate fields, and even cosmetic products based on Groppello, the main grape of the area. “We were among the first to realize that the combination of agriculture and tourism could be successful in a splendid area like that of Garda and in particular the Valtènesi – concludes Alessandro Redaelli De Zinis -. This year we will have even 11 buses of Australian tourists who will come to visit us: it is a source of pride, but we are also convinced that we can do even better and more in view of the unique attractions of the territory in which we operate. ”
The bottle.
The symbol of the company is definitely the Groppello of Mocasina, which has been produced from 180 years in the same “Malformata” bottle, originally patented by the company and now used by three wineries throughout Italy. It ‘s made with grapes 100% Groppello, vinified especially in steel, subjected to refinements shorter or longer depending on the year and proposed both young and old (the oldest vintage currently available is 2005).
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