Today we take you to Marano, the central valley of Valpolicella classica. Here you will meet Fernando and Silvia, a young couple with two kids and a great love for their work as winemakers. Let’s discover Corte Archi, a place where life and work go hand in hand.
From the great grandma to the fourth generation
This winery has a very long story, even though the project Corte Archi is pretty new. So, let’s take a step back in time and try to sum up one century of history in few words. Everything started more than 100 years ago, when Caterina – the great grandma of the current owner – bought some land and the family house. That house is still today the core of Corte archi. Caterina, widow and with 10 kids, started therefore to produce high quality and typical Valpolicella wines. After her death, her sons splitted the land up and the granddad of Fernando got the family house and some vineyards. As the time went by, Fernando and his dad started to follow the vineyards first-hand. Little by little the winery Corte Archi was established, and today it is a wonderful project run by a beautiful family.
Ferdinando, the owner of the winery, reveals the secrets of his vines
Corte Archi’s family
Corte Archi is a beautiful little winery in the very heart of Valpolicella classica. What we really love about it is the sense of family you can breathe when you get to Corte Archi. It is quite easy to meet all the family members during the wine tour. Let’s start from Fernando and his wife, Silvia. Fernando is the pillar of the winery. He established it after a lifetime experience and today he follows personally the vineyards and the wine production. Anyway, the winery would not be the same without Silvia. Sweet, passionate and kind, she will guide you during the visit in the fields, in the old cellar and during the tasting. Always smiling and attentive to her guests, she makes the wine experience at Corte Archi special and genuine. Fernando and Silvia have two teens – Carlo Alberto and Isabella – who help them in the winery. Last but not least, their beautiful Golden Retriever Axel is a real attraction for all the visitors of this winery.
The beautiful Axel takes part in the wine tastings at Corte Archi
Sustainability and top quality wines
Another great thing about this winery is its respect for nature and biodiversity. For some years, Fernando has been taking care of the vineyards following the RRR certification. RRR is an acronym for reduce (riduci), retrench (risparmia), respect (rispetta). The certification aims at reducing the environmental impact and at maintaining Valpolicella’s biodiversity. Being part of the RRR community, this winery shows its commitment to the respect for the land Ferdinando and his family cultivate. Corte Archi produces Valpolicella typical wines from the Valpolicella Superiore until the Amarone. In their line we can find two types of Amarone: the regular Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Docg with an aging of 24 months in oak and the Amarone IS, dedicated to their little girl Isabella, which ages 40 months in oak. If you are eager to discover a family winery and meet a wonderful family of vine growers here you are in the right place. Hop on a Pagus minivan for a Taste of Valpolicella or a Valpolicella and Amarone with lunch and let’s get to Corte Archi.
Pouring wine before a wine tasting at Corte Archi