Balestri Valda

Laura Rizzotto and her family tend vineyards on a beautiful, southern facing hillside, 50km from Lake Garda. This is Soave Classico land, deep in the hillsides of the larger Soave region. The Garganega grape reaches its peak expression on this volcanic terrain. Harvesting is by hand and yields are limited by pruning each year to focus the quality in each individual vine. The altitude of the vineyard at 300m provides long, cooler evenings which allow the grapes to ripen slowly and develop deeper and more expressive characteristics.

Pinpointing when to pick is described by the Laura as 'a fleeting moment' that can only be ascertained by daily testing. This is a quintessentially artisanal approach that separates them from industrial growers. All the work is informed by a respect for the environment and vine management combines new methods with tried-and-tested traditional practices, skilfully balanced to increase vine density while decreasing per-hectare yield, in order to achieve a quality that is worthy of the Balestri Valda name.