Winery: Azienda Agricola Marion di Nicoletta e Stefano Campedelli
Region: Valpolicella, Veneto
Locale: Marcellise, hamlet of San Martino Buon Albergo (Verona)
Appellation: Valpolicella Superiore
Designation: DOC

Site: Older vines, up to 60 years, from hillside and hilltop vineyards; altitudes from 100-200 meters, soils a bright white, chalky, stony calcareous marl.

Grapes: Corvina, Rondinella, Corvinone, Croatina, sometimes some Molinara if it adds something positive in any given vintage. 

Fermentation and Aging: Harvested by hand in small boxes. 100% de-stemmed. 24-36hr cold soak. Short, spontaneous (natural yeast) temperature controlled fermentation with little to no post-fermentation maceration. Stefano likes to get the wine off the skins as he believes once fermentation is finished, there is little good to be gained by further skin contact. Picked in 2 tries, with about 70% of the fruit harvested initially and vinified "normally", then the rest of the harvest is picked up and dried until sometime in December in the frutaio. Once the results of appassimento are vinified, the lots are put into barili and botti for 3 years for maturation. Finished maturation, Stefano, his wife Nicoletta, and their 19 year old son Alberto (studying viticulture at a local school and planning to follow an enology program next) taste each barrel blind and try to come to a consensus about what will make the final blend. Once decided, they give it a month, and then repeat the exercise to confirm their selections. The selections are assembled, the wine is bottled, and eventually about 30k bottles are released to the market. 

Notes: Valpolicella Superiore represents the biggest production of the winery, and is a wine that is extremely versatile at the table, and with 100% love cooked in.