Zenato 2020 Valpolicella Superiore

£14.60
Tasting notes
Medium bodied with good fruit that is ideal with tomato-based pasta dishes and roasted or grilled meats.

Why we recommend this wine
We often find Valpolicella to be thin and acidic, lacking in fruit. This is medium bodied, fruity and dry.

The wine
A blend of Corvina (85%), Rondinella and Oseleta grape varieties that are harvested manually, de-stemmed and then undergo traditional maceration for a period of 10 days in stainless steel fermenters. At the end of the alcoholic fermentation, the wine is separated from the skins with gentle pressing and aged in 50/75 hectolitre oak casks for about 12 months.

The wine estate
Founded in 1960, the family-run Zenato’s vineyards cover 75 hectares; in Lugana overlooking Lake Garda where they produce Trebbiano di Lugana, and a bit further east in Valpolicella where they cultivate the Corvina, Rondinella and Oseleta grapes used to produce Valpolicella.
zenato.it

Food and wine
Being a lightish red this goes well with more subtle tomato-based sauces and roasted or grilled white meats or even the more meaty game fish. Also see our guide to pairing food and wine here.

Did you know?
Valpolicella comes in three guises; Valpolicella, Amarone and Ripasso. Valpolicella is made in the normal way. The sweetish Amarone is made from grapes that are sun-dried on canes for several months (or nowadays in large ovens) before being vinified. Ripasso is made by taking the leftover grape skins from Amarone adding Valpolicella and getting a secondary fermentation to give some body and oomph to the otherwise thin Valpolicella.