CONSORZIO TUTELA VINO LESSINI DURELLO

The rule that the fame of a wine must begin in its territory could have been established specifically for the Lessini Durello DOC wine. Lessinia (mostly in the province of Verona) is a beautiful hilly, mid highland that, thanks to the beauty of its landscapes and to the peace that reigns there, deserves to become more popular and more frequently visited. Durella, a variety of white grapes with a high acidity content that is particularly suitable for making sparkling wines, has always been cultivated in this hardy but genuine land. We said “always”: in reality, information on this variety of grapes, that used to be called “Durasena” dates back to “only” 700 years ago. Nowadays, about 600 hectares of Durella vines are cultivated on the DOC territory (that includes the province of Verona, the whole territory of the communes of Vestenanova and of San Giovanni Ilarione and part of the communes of Montecchia di Crosara, Roncà, Cazzano di Tramigna, Tregnago and Badia Calavena). The soils are of volcanic origin with basalt and tuff based areas rich in mineral salts that give the grapes a natural “austerity” that is transmitted to the wine in the form of fresh and mineral-loaded qualities. The denomination is thus focused on a native vine species, very suitable for making sparkling wines. Although the production regulations also include still wines, the DOC Lessini Durello has been mainly developed around traditional, bottle-fermented, sparkling wine. This choice has been made to set off the subtle aromas and special freshness of Durella in the best possible way. At the moment, there are not many producers and bottlers of Durella but there are more than 500 farmers who cultivate these grapes in territories that are sometimes over 500 metres above sea level. Once upon a time, a long time before the DOC (Denomination of Controlled Origin) status started to be granted in 1987, the Durello wine used to be defined as a “tough wine for tough people”. Nowadays, the toughness has definitely worn off quite a bit but a DOC Durella sparkling wine still maintains a freshness and a firm sapidity that make it easy to distinguish it from other wines. We suggest you sip it with the typical dishes of this territory such as white asparagus or Monte Veronese cheese. This combination is really an excuse to entice you to Lessinia to enjoy our landscapes and products. By the way, if the Monte Veronese cheese is very mature, don’t worry: a Lessini Durello DOC sparkling wine will complement it perfectly. In fact, this historical wine from the Verona region, defined by many as the wine “of Romeo and Juliet”, failed only once: when it didn’t manage to make the Capuleti and Montecchi families raise their glasses in a toast together.