Monte dei Roari

Santa Lucia, Veneto

A beautiful little estate nestled in the hills of Valeggio sul Mincio to the south of Lake Gar-da, close to the town of Custoza. It is at the southern end of the Bardolino DOC, right in the middle of the little-known, and oft misunderstood, wine region of Custoza DOC. There are not many advantages to farming in a vineous backwater, but perhaps there is less pressure to conform and forging a new path is easier… and Alessia is certainly swimming against the tide in Custoza.
In 2007 Alessia and her husband Nello took over the running of the family farm. They rep-resent the fourth generation and mark the time where the estate converted to biodynam-ic farming. Monte dei Roari has ten hectares of vineyard split into small plots many of which are bordered by woodland, enriching the biodiversity as well as sheltering the vines. An elevation of around two hundred metres offers some protection against the spring frosts and ensures good drainage. The hills were shaped by glacial activity which left the land stony, with mixed morainic soils low in nutrients, almost inert in fact. This means the land is difficult to work and everything must be done by hand. Production is heavily influ-enced by two distinct terroirs. the white, chalky soils are planted with white grape varieties and the iron-rich, red soils suit red varieties.
The recognised wines of the area: Bardolino, Chiaretto and Custoza are made from indige-nous grape varieties. There is also an excellent PetNat from the extremely rare Rosanella; a Merlot; an appassimento of Cabernet Franc and a Pinot Grigio. All these fantastic wines have a mineral character and utilise spontaneous fermentations. Sulphur has only ever been added when the naturally occurring levels are not sufficient to keep the wine stable.