The Bertani wine company was founded in 1857 by two brothers, Giovan Battista and Gaetano Bertani, in Quinto di Valpantena to the north of Verona. Gaetano was already a wine-making expert, having learned the new techniques in France under Professor Guyot, who is still considered today to have been one of the greatest wine-making experts of all time. The start of the Bertani brothers’ work coincided with a new spirit of innovation which inspired them to use the latest production techniques, in both grape-growing and wine-making; they applied these techniques to all the vineyards they owned at the time, in the Valpantena and in the Soave area, but always respecting the territory and local agricultural traditions.
The two brothers immediately became famous throughout the Verona area for their high degree of professionalism and the quality of their wines, as well their business acumen and entrepreneurial skills. Bertani was one of the first companies in Italy to understand the value of bottled wine; right from the start major investments were made in the vineyards and the cellars in order to bottle and export Italian quality around the world with Bertani wines, which by the end of the 19th century were already crossing the Atlantic to be enjoyed in many cities of the United States.
Bertani was born at the same time as the unification of Italy, with the determination and pride to represent the excellence of a new nation boasting a culture going back a thousand years. In 1923, thanks to this commitment and to the quality of its wines, Bertani was rewarded with the symbol of the excellence it had achieved: the Royal Warrant issued by the Italian Royal Family. Even if this symbol is no longer what it once was now that Italy is a Republic, to us it still represents the achievement of the very highest quality.
For this constant commitment to grape-growng and wine-making, the Verona Academy of Agriculture, Arts and Commerce singled out Bertani in 1870 as a model agricultural company thanks to its professionalism, the introduction of single-variety vineyards and new vine training systems, which immediately became the trademark of the family’s entrepreneurial spirit. But that is not all: Bertani wines became so famed for their excellence that Soave was on the menu at the Coronation of King George VI of England in 1937.
In the mid-20th century, with the purchase of the magnificent Villa Novare in the Valpolicella, together with its 220-hectare estate, Bertani finally brought to fruition a 50-year research project aimed at producing “The Wine”, a wine born to live for ever. It is here that the story of Amarone starts, an intense wine that is the symbol of the land from which it is born; the first vintage was 1958.
Participation in national and international wine fairs, new research and the introduction of new techniques to improve on tradition without ever altering its nature, attention above all to quality (Bertani is one of the leading founder members of the Unione Italiana Vini - Italian Wine Association - , which boasts the largest wine analysis and certification laboratories in the country), these are still today the guidelines driving the development of a company that has successfully kept its spirit of initiative alive over the years.
In 2021, the following wines were awarded:
- BERTANI - Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2012: Doctor Wine (96/100), The Wine Hunter Award (GOLD), Vinibuoni d'Italia (CROWN); Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ognisanti di Novare 2019: Doctor Wine (95/100), The Wine Hunter Award (RED); Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore Catullo 2018: The Wine Hunter Award (RED)
- VAL DI SUGA - Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Spuntali 2016: Doctor Wine (96/100), The Wine Hunter Award (RED), Vinibuoni d'Italia (CROWN); Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Lago 2016: The Wine Hunter Award (GOLD); Brunello di Montalcino Poggio al Granchio 2016: The Wine Hunter Award (RED)
- TENUTE SAN SISTO: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Massaccio 2019: Doctor Wine (95/100), Vinibuoni d'Italia (CROWN); Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Classico Riserva San Sisto 2018: The Wine Hunter Award RED, Vinibuoni d'Italia (CROWN)
- CANTINA PUIATTI: Venezia Giulia Archètipi Sauvignon 2018: The Wine Hunter Award (RED)
- TREROSE: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva Simposio 2017: The Wine Hunter Award (GOLD), Vinibuoni d'Italia (CORONA); Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Santa Caterina 2018: The Wine Hunter Award (RED)
Information about Bertani