Pietro Clementi has always tried to produce the kind of Valpolicella wine he grew up with, resisting trends in the 1990s toward richness, extraction, and new-oak presence. The Clementi estate uses no synthetic chemicals in their vineyards, and all fruit is harvested by hand. He and his children employ natural fermentations (assisted by pied de cuve if necessary), natural clarifications without fining or filtering, and pointedly long aging for their Amarone.

The estate encompasses 14 contiguous hectares of vineyards extending from the winery itself, situated at 350 meters altitude, up to over 400 meters further into the hills, and exposed southward, southwestward, and westward. Planted to roughly 65% Corvina, 30% Rondinella, and 5% Molinara (plus a touch of Osoleta).

Grapes are picked in mid-September and dried in shallow wooden crates in a naturally ventilated room of the winery until they lose 40 to 50% of their original water weight—which takes until the following January or February. At that point, the shriveled grapes are pressed and fermented via naturally occurring yeasts (a rarity for Amarone, as its high sugar levels have difficulty fermenting all the way through without outside assistance), and the wine spends five years in 30-hectoliter casks followed by three years in bottle before reaching the market. 

Pairing: Roasted Game, Blue cheese

Grapes: Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara, Osoleta 

Viticulture: Chemical-free, Sustainable