Nicola Ferrari is the winemaker at the most prestigious Valpolicella producer that there is, and it is not this one. He was 26 years old when he started working at Giuseppe Quintarelli's winery, and later, with his wife Laura, took over Monte Santoccio. The Monte Santoccio winery extends over 3 hectares of one of the most beautiful hills of Valpolicella Classica: Monte Santoccio in Fumane. This is precisely where the Ferrari family originates from. Its history gives an account of work, love for their own land, pragmatism and passion all in the pursuit of a single objective: quality.Show Less

Veneto, located in northeastern Italy, is one of the country’s most productive and diverse wine regions, known for both quantity and quality. Stretching from the foothills of the Alps to the Adriatic Sea, it benefits from a variety of microclimates and soil types, enabling the successful cultivation of numerous grape varieties.

The region’s climate is largely temperate, with warm summers and cold winters. The Alps provide shelter from harsh northern weather, while breezes from Lake Garda and the Adriatic Sea help to moderate temperatures and reduce disease pressure. These climatic influences support healthy ripening and maintain good acidity in the grapes.

Veneto is home to several renowned wine areas, including Valpolicella, Soave, and the Prosecco-producing hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. In Valpolicella, native red varieties such as Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara are used to produce a range of wines, from fresh Valpolicella Classico to powerful Amarone della Valpolicella. Soave focuses on white wines made primarily from Garganega, offering citrus, almond, and floral notes.

Prosecco, made mainly from the Glera grape, has become one of the world’s most popular sparkling wines. Other important grapes include Merlot, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay, reflecting the region’s balance of tradition and international appeal.

Corvina is a red grape variety native to Italy’s Veneto region, most famously used in the production of Valpolicella, Amarone, and Recioto wines. It is prized for its bright acidity, moderate tannins, and vibrant red fruit character, often showing notes of sour cherry, plum, herbs, and almond.

Corvina is a late-ripening grape with thick skins, which makes it well-suited to the appassimento process—where grapes are partially dried after harvest to concentrate sugars and flavours. This technique is essential in producing the powerful and age-worthy Amarone and the sweet, luscious Recioto della Valpolicella. In fresh styles like Valpolicella Classico, Corvina contributes brightness, freshness, and aromatic lift.

Corvina is typically blended with other regional varieties such as Rondinella and Molinara, though single-varietal examples are increasingly common. It thrives on well-drained hillside vineyards with calcareous or volcanic soils, particularly around Verona.

Outside Italy, Corvina is rarely planted but has small experimental holdings in countries like Australia and the U.S., where producers are exploring its potential in both dry and appassimento-inspired styles.

Rondinella is a red grape variety native to Italy’s Veneto region, best known as a key component in the wines of Valpolicella and Bardolino. Believed to be a natural cross involving Corvina, Rondinella has been cultivated since at least the mid-20th century and is valued more for its reliability than for intense varietal character. The vine is vigorous, resistant to disease, and produces consistently high yields, making it a dependable partner in blends.

Its berries are medium-sized with thick skins, which dry well—an important trait for the appassimento method used in Amarone and Recioto production. While Rondinella is rarely bottled as a single varietal, it contributes colour, body, and herbal nuances to blends. The grape’s flavour profile is typically subtle, with red cherry, wild berry, and gentle floral notes, occasionally accented by hints of dried herbs or almond.

Plantings are concentrated in the Veneto, though small experimental vineyards exist in Switzerland, Australia, and parts of South America. In dry table wines, Rondinella offers light to medium body with fresh acidity, while in Amarone and Recioto it supports richer, more concentrated flavours of dark fruit and spice. Its role is less about dominance and more about balance, stability, and adaptability in Veneto’s celebrated red wine styles.

Molinara is a red grape variety native to Italy’s Veneto region, traditionally used as a blending component in the wines of Valpolicella and Bardolino. Its name is thought to derive from the Italian word molino (“mill”), referencing the grape’s pale, powdery bloom that can resemble flour dust. Once widely planted, Molinara saw a decline in popularity in the late 20th century due to its naturally pale colour, light body, and high acidity, which many producers found less fashionable. However, it remains valued for bringing freshness, lift, and aromatic delicacy to blends, particularly alongside Corvina and Rondinella.

Viticulturally, Molinara is a vigorous, high-yielding vine with a tendency toward oxidation, which requires careful winemaking. It ripens late, thrives in warm, well-ventilated sites, and shows good resistance to drought but moderate susceptibility to fungal diseases.

While most plantings are still in the Veneto, small amounts are cultivated in Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and to a lesser extent in Spain and even Australia, where experimental winemakers have embraced its bright, zesty character.

In the glass, Molinara typically yields wines of light ruby hue, delicate red berry and floral notes, and a distinctive saline edge. It is used in still, sparkling, and rosé styles, prized for its refreshing acidity and subtle savoury finish.