Tenuta Chevalier Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2013

"My winery is my passion and my life" says Paolo Zardini, who is been working in the wine world since 1985; the name of his winery reveals its ancient French origin. As said, Paolo is doing all the work by himself. Being a quite rigorous wine producer, his biggest concern is the environment; this the main reason why his small winery is organic. Besides the wine, Tenuta Chevalier also produces olive oil and honey.

Tenuta Chevalier owns 10 ha (24.7 acres) in the hearth of Valpolicella Classica: the Roccolo cru, South-East of Negrar, and in upper Valgatara, Marano valley. The grapes are the traditional Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Molinara, Oseleta. The altitude is 270-320 m/asl, the exposure is East-West and the soil has a high concentration of marble-lime, clay, and tufaceous layers. The agronomic work is strictly organic: "The vine is a plant strong enough to attack the pathogen population, especially if grown in suitable areas - says Paolo Zardini. "The farmer should 'only' observe the development of vegetation, and take care to some critical moments of the year, when the vineyard might be more susceptible to attack by pathogens". That's why this winery is adopting the method of mating disruption for the fight against the vine moth, and copper and sulfur against mildew and powdery mildew.