– AGRICOLA COTTINI, VENETO, ITALY –
On the East side of the Veneto Wine Region, right at the heart of Valpolicella, lays the estate of Agricola Cottini. The Cottini family, owners of the estate, proud themselves to be producers of the most respectable wines.
Having worked in the vineyards for several generations, the Cottini’s activity is the fruit of traditions passed down from father to son.
The family-run business remains true to the fundamental principles needed to achieve a constant level of quality from vineyards and their wines: the love for their land, the passion for wine and enthusiasm for their activities. Each family member takes part in the production process.
From the cultivation of their wines, and using the unique “Pergola” system, they can get fine grapes for the production of premium wines such as: Valpolicella, Amarone & Reccioto.
A BRIEF RESUME ABOUT VENETO…
Veneto (pronounced [ˈvɛːneto], Latin Venetia, Venetian Vèneto), is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 4.9 million. The Veneto had been for a millennium an independent state, known as the Venetian Republic, and the region was annexed to Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule. Its capital was, and still is, Venice, which for a long period ruled one of the vastest and richest maritime republics and trade empires in the world. Due to this recent annexation to the rest of Italy, a significant number of Venetians consider themselves to have a unique identity which they refuse to subsume within the notion of “Italian”, and the regional government has gone so far as to officially define its inhabitants as “a people”. This opened the way to a notable nationalist movement and to the election of a “Venetian nationalist”, Luca Zaia (Liga Veneta–Lega Nord), as president of the Region.
Once the heartland of the Venetian Republic, Veneto is today among the wealthiest, most developed and industrialised regions of Italy. Having one of the country’s richest historical, natural, artistic, cultural, musical and culinary heritages, it is also the most visited region of Italy, with about 60 million tourists every year (2007). Besides Italian, most inhabitants also speak Venetian. Having been for a long period in history a land of mass emigration, Veneto is today one of the greatest immigrant-receiving regions in the country, with 454,453 foreigners (9.30% of the regional population) in 2008, the most recent of which are Romanian and Moroccan.
ABOUT VALPOLICELLA WINE…
Valpolicella is a viticultural zone of the province of Verona, Italy, east of Lake Garda. The hilly agricultural and marble-quarrying region of small holdings north of the Adige is famous for wine production. Valpolicella ranks just after Chianti in total Italian Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) wine production. The red wine known as Valpolicella is typically made from three grape varietals: Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara. A variety of wine styles are produced in the area, including a recioto dessert wine and Amarone, a strong wine made from dried grapes. Most basic Valpolicellas are light, fragrant table wines in flavor. These wines can be produced in a nouveau style, similar to Beaujolais nouveauand released only a few weeks after harvest. Valpolicella Classico is made from grapes grown in the original Valpolicella production zone. Valpolicella Superiore is aged at least one year and has an alcohol content of at least 12 percent. Valpolicella Ripasso is a form of Valpolicella Superiore made with partially dried grape skins that have been left over from fermentation of Amarone or recioto.
Wine making in the region has existed since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. The name “Valpolicella” appeared in charters of the mid 12th century, combining two valleys previously thought of independently. Its etymology is unknown; it might derive from a Latin and Greek mixture for “Valley of Cellars.” Today Valpolicella’s economy is heavily based on wine production. The region, colloquially called the “pearl of Verona”, has also been a preferred location for rural vacation villas. Seven comuni compose Valpolicella: Pescantina, San Pietro in Cariano, Negrar, Marano di Valpolicella, Fumane, Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella and Sant’Anna d’Alfaedo. The Valpolicella production zone was enlarged to include regions of the surrounding plains when Valpolicella achieved DOC status in 1968. In December 2009, the production of Amarone and recioto dessert wines within the Valpolicella DOC received their own separate Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) status.
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– 意大利维尼托COTTINI酒庄 –
科蒂尼酒庄位于维尼托东面的葡萄酒产区，坐落在瓦波里切拉的腹地。酒庄的所有者是科蒂尼家族，他们以酿造历史最悠久的知名葡萄酒而自豪。
科蒂尼家族数代在葡萄园工作，子承父业沿袭了经营果园和酒庄的传统。
这个家族经营的企业始终坚持根本性原则，保证从葡萄园到葡萄酒的稳定质量：对土地的热爱，对葡萄酒的深情和对经营活动的热忱。每位家庭成员都参与了葡萄酒酿造的过程。
从葡萄种植到葡萄酒酿制，科蒂尼都采用了独特的“葡萄架”（Pergola）系统，生产的优质葡萄能酿出瓦波里切拉、阿玛罗尼和乐卡多等极品葡萄酒。
威尼托简介
威尼托（拼音读作 [ˈvɛːneto]，拉丁文写作Venetia，威尼斯语写作Vèneto）是意大利20个大区之一，人口490万左右，历史上是威尼斯共和国所在地。这个独立的王国存在了一千年之久，此后奥地利和法国都有短暂统治，1866年并入意大利。在很长一段时间里，它一度是世界上最广袤、最富有的海上共和国，是商贸国度。它如今的首府和从前一样，还是威尼斯。近来意大利其他地方出现合并潮流，相当多的威尼斯人认为自己身份独特，拒绝被纳入“意大利人”的称谓中。当地政府长期以来也将自己的居民称之为“一个民族”。由此兴起了著名的民族主义运动，一位“威尼斯民族主义者”卢卡·扎亚（Luca Zaia）当选为威尼托大区的区长（Liga Veneta–Lega Nord即民族选出的地区首长）。
威尼托曾是威尼斯共和国的核心地带，如今属于意大利最富有、最发达、工业化程度最高的地区之一。这里拥有意大利最丰富的历史、自然、艺术、文化、音乐和美食传统，也是意大利最富盛名的观光区，每年迎来6000万游客。除意大利语外，这里大多数居民也讲威尼斯语。威尼托历史上长期有大量居民移居外地，如今是意大利最多移民居住的地区。2008年，这个区有45.4453万外国居民，近来大部分都是罗马尼亚人和摩洛哥人。
关于瓦波里切拉葡萄酒
瓦波里切拉（Valpolicella）是意大利维罗纳省的葡萄酒产区，位于加达湖东面。阿迪杰河从北面流，这片从事农业和大理石开采的丘陵地区因生产葡萄酒远近驰名。在全意大利的法定产区级（DOC）中，瓦波里切拉的排名仅次于基安蒂。以瓦波里切拉命名的红葡萄酒通常取材于三个葡萄品种：科维纳、罗帝内拉和莫琳娜。当地出产的葡萄酒类型多样，其中包括甜酒recioto和阿玛罗尼这种浓烈的干葡萄酒。大多数基本的瓦波里切拉都是清香淡雅的进餐酒。这些酒可以用新酿（nouveau）的风格酿制。类似于Beaujola这种葡萄酒的酿造法，在葡萄成熟后几周时间就酿成上市了。瓦波里切拉经典（Valpolicella Classico）采用原产于瓦波里切拉产区的葡萄酿造。瓦波里切拉特酿（Valpolicella Superiore）至少熟成了一年，酒精浓度至少有12%。瓦波里切拉特级（Valpolicella Ripasso）是瓦波里切拉特酿的一种。它采用了部分酿制阿玛罗尼或recioto弃用的干葡萄皮发酵而成。
这一地区的酿酒业至少可以追溯到古希腊时期。瓦波里切拉这个名字出现在12世纪中期的宪章条款中，它结合了此前人们独立看待的两个河谷名。这个词的语源已无从得知，可能源于拉丁语和希腊语中的“酒神河谷”一词。而今，瓦波里切拉的经济主要依靠葡萄酒制造。当地俗称“维罗纳的珍珠”，也是兴建乡村度假别墅的首选地区。瓦波里切拉由Pescantina、Cariano 的San Pietro 、Negrar、Marano di Valpolicella、Fumane、Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella和Sant’Anna d’Alfaedo七个地区组成。1968年，这里获得DOC评级，其葡萄酒产区扩大到周边平原地区。2009年12月，瓦波里切拉DOC出产的阿玛罗尼和recioto甜酒分别获得了它们各自的保证法定地区级酒（DOCG）评级。
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