#FavouriteThings Holiday Gift Suggestions | Monte del Fra Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

“In this series we bring you our #FavouriteThings Holiday Gift Suggestions which we personally recommend”

We wanted to share this award winning wine with you this holiday season. When you are looking for an excellent wine that pairs well then this is one to turn to. The Amarone della Valpolicella Classico will make the perfect gift for any wine lover.

TENUTA LENA DI MEZZO

AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOCG

Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, Rondinella

Our precious Amarone is made with the best grapes and outstanding care. The very slow and gradual wilting, the large wooden barrels, and the indigenous yeasts are just a few secrets of a true Amarone di Fumane. Despite the noteworthy alcohol content, the flowers, the spices, and the extreme elegance of this wine cannot go unnoticed – a pure and essential wine that leaves no room for compromise.

2018
The extensions of the Valpolicella Classica benefited from good spring rainfall and a fresh summer start followed by a warm and windy phase. The hillside vineyards (Lena di Mezzo, …) underwent early grape ripening due to a very hot August with sunny days but even chillier nights. The Valpolicella wines were instantly elegant, ample, and well structured, with clean, almost polished tannins.

REFINEMENT

VINIFICATION
A soft crushing and destemming takes place from late January to early March according to the vintages. Slow alcoholic fermentation in small steel vats with a long maceration of the skins to allow maximum aromatic and polyphenolic extraction. Once the malolactic fermentation is over, the wine is aged for at least 24 months in 20 and 30 hl french oak. Once bottled, it ages for at least 6 months before being going to market.

PAIRING
Excellent with red braised, grilled or roasted meat. It goes well with aged cheeses, fatty fish and asian cuisine. Also delicious alone by the glass as meditation wine.

LONGEVITY
Drink now or save in your cellar for about 20 years.

$59.99 available at select BC Liquor Stores. (On sale $55.99 until December 28) vintags may vary.

SUSTAINABILITY
There are many ways to make wine – at Monte del Frà, we do it our way: with loyalty. Find out how Monte del Frà takes care of its territory.

Monte del Frà
Monte del Frà tells the story of an Italian family choosing to focus their passion and job in the main denominations of Verona: Valpolicella, Custoza, Lugana, Soave e Bardolino. Today the property counts on more than 200 hectares of land with labels recognized all over the world as a true benchmark for quality Italian wine.

The Cellar: excellence of Verona

The Monte del Frà winery is located between Lake Garda and Verona, surrounded by the morainic hills. The cellar belongs to the Bonomo family since 2018 when the grandfather Massimo, moved in this area and rented a few hectares in order to produce good quality wine. A goal picked up and developed by sons Eligio and Claudio, who lead the winery together with the third generation: Marica (Eligio’s daughter), Silvia and Massimo (Claudio’s children).

The winery extends entirely into the territory of Verona. From Sommacampagna, the birthplace of the winery and the production area of Custoza and the award-winning Custoza Superiore Cà del Magro crosses the Lugana area and goes as far as Fumane, in the Valpolicella Classica area, where in 2006, Tenuta Lena di Mezzo was acquired. Tenuta Lena di Mezzo is a vineyard that defines new development horizons for wood refinements and projects dedicated to incoming. In 2019, the winery acquired a new facility in San Pietro In Cariano where the winemaking, drying and storage of the growing production of Valpolicella, Ripasso and Amarone are located.

Howevr, in the Monte del Frà headquarters, the winery places the production of the majority of its labels. In its tasting rooms, the Cellar is dedicated to welcoming wine lovers from all over the world with a richer and more articulated hospitality project that includes wine experiences and discovery tours of the territory in the name of sport, culture and gastronomy. Here tradition is strictly connected wtih innovation with wide-ranging digital Masterclass and E-learning projects. It is possible to taste Monte del Frà wines and discover their production and territorial origins.

Production: quality and sustainability recognized all over the world.

The Monte del Frà winery bases its philosophy on producing high-quality wines in respect of the territory in a tradition of sustainable agriculture. Mechanical weeding, sexual confusion and micro-drip irrigation with savings of over 70% of water consumption are the main characteristics of an integrated production that this year has earned the SQNPI (Italian certificate for integrated farming) and the RRR certifications for Tenuta Lena di Mezzo wines. This, added to the cryo maceration and sterilization techniques used, has led the winery to produce wines of outstanding balance and olfactory elegance with a low content of sulphites.

About 1,500,000 bottles are produced every year. The range has always included the Custoza, Bardolino Chiaretto, Bardolino, Lugana, Soave Classico wines; with the purchase of the Lena di Mezzo estate in 2006, the red wines Corvina Veronese Lena, Valpolicella Classico and Superiore, Ripasso, Amarone and Recioto are added.

Wines are distributed on the national market (25% of turnover) and internationally in about 65 countries including Europe, Canada, USA, Asia and Russia. The demand for Monte del Frà wines is growing strongly, thanks to customers’ satisfaction both for the excellence of the product and for the quality of the relationships established with the Bonomo family based on the principles of fairness, integrity and professionalism.

Every year the winery takes part in the Vinitaly and Pro Wein international fairs and the tours organized by Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri and James Suckling. Other opportunities are planned from year to year to support customers, agents and importers.

Awards and acknowledgements
Monte del Frà wines receive awards and reviews from the most renowned national and international guides. Custoza Superiore Cà del Magro received the three glasses on the Gambero Rosso guide during 13 consecutive years in Italy. The cellar has also excellent scores on numerous specialized guides nationally and internationally. Wine Spectator selected the winery among the top 100 best world wines with the Custoza Cà del Magro while Wine Enthusiast, Robert Parker and James Suckling have often reviewed Monte del Frà wines with scores over 90 points. From UK, Jancis Robinson rates every year with the best scores of several wines produced by the family.

“Ensuring a product of excellence is the Bonomo family’s constant goal. This drives Monte del Frà winery to grow and improve every day with passion and desire to explore.”

More information on the website www.montedelfra.it

Wine notes and bottle shot courtesy of the winery. Feature image: MyVanCity. Shown with a Josephinen Huett red wine glass. I received complimentary wine to facilitate this feature.