Description
Winemaker Notes
The name Vallena has a particular history. Although the inhabitants of the area have always referred to this area with the name Vallena, there is no trace of it on the maps. On the contrary, the correct toponym is Villa Lena, which is probably a mistake that occurred during registration.
The first evidence is in some labels dating back to the early 1900s; some medals applied to the bottles that were awarded at international competitions.
With the two world wars, however, things changed. Until 1960, the land surrounding the villa was converted to produce goods for immediate use such as polenta, wheat and oil.
In the 1960s, wine production was restored. My father, Gianfranco Tomezzoli, converted the land into vineyards, the oldest of which dates back to 1968. Initially, after harvest, the grapes were sold; but soon we began to make wine.
Vallena’s vineyards are located in Valpolicella, but in a very peculiar position: they are the first vineyards on the hills north of Verona, the closest to the city.
The grape varieties comply with the product specifications of the wines. A majority of Corvina, followed by Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara.
Nowadays, Vallena produces all the typical wines of the area:
Valpolicella, Ripasso and Amarone. The latter is vinified in two versions: Amarone and Amarone Il Costolo.
Costolo represents a particular cru for Vallena. As in the case of Vallena, the toponym Costolo is not mentioned on the maps, although all the inhabitants of the area refer to the vineyard with this very name. It is a vineyard of about 1ha, the oldest of the company, located in the center of the property in a collapsed sinkhole. The vines are planted on a flourishing rock soil and are southwesterly exposed.
These characteristics have led us to select the best grapes of this cru in order to produce a unique Amarone which takes its name from the homonymous vineyard: Amarone Il Costolo.
All the vineyards in Vallena, with the exception of the oldest vines planted with pergola training system, are trained using guyot and equipped with drip irrigation.
