We are at the fourth generation. Bonuzzi family has been producing wines from its vineyards for more than one hundred years. The farm since ninety's has been called " Villa Canestrari " and it arose from two ancients farms: the first one situated at Colognola ai Colli, established by parental great-grandparents and the second one set up by maternal grandparents. The last one had been in activity for about one century.
The vineyards of Villa Canestrari are situated in the east side of Verona, in Illasi valley, the hilly region of Soave and Valpollicella doc. They have been recently restructured in order to assure a kind of cultivation which places quality before quantity. They are approximately twenty hectares of land well exposed to the sunlight where vines are grown according to two methods: the guyot and the pergoletta of Verona.
Tenuta Lanoli
It's in the area of the Valpolicella doc, exactly on the foot of Mount Tormine at Colognola ai Colli. It's about three land hectares where we cultivate Valpolicella doc grapes. From this vineyard we produce "Terre di Lanoli".
Tenuta Casaletti
It's at Illasi in a gravely and alluvial soil , where we grow the local vines of Valpolicella doc region, from which we obtain Valpolicella Ripasso "iLasi" , and a kind of vine, Cabernet Sauvignon, which achieves its best quality thanks to this rich area.
Il Brolo
It's located at Villa di Colognola and it's delimited by the typical dry-stone wall of the ancient Verona countries. From this estate we get precious grapes that will be turn into "Recioto di Soave docg" and "Soave Auge" docg".
Tenuta Sande
It's under Colognola hills, an area dedicated to Soave doc. It extends for eleven hectares where we cultivate vines of Garganega, Trebbiano and Chardonnay of Veneto. From this vineyard we produce Soave " Vigne di Sande".
We have included in our staff Mr Luigi Andreoli, an oenologist who has been supporting, with passion and professionalism, the owner and oenologist Mr Carlo Bonuzzi who is wholly devoted to his vineyards. We have introduced some innovations to the vineyards and to the whole wine-making equipment which has also been technically modernized.
So, new technologies support tradition: we give great care to hygiene (sanitary regulations) and neatness, and to grapes control too. We crop by hand all our grapes, we put them into some cases and in some hours we pressed them. So, for white wine we practice a cryo-maceration which is followed by a soft wine-pressing. On the other hand, for red wine we prefer a fermentation with grapes peel, then a slowly and continually maceration. The fermentation temperature is electronically controlled.
We employ selected yeasts: most of them derive from chosen grapes of this area.
The tanks, where we put before the musts and after the wines, are made of steel or vitrified cement and are completely emptied with nitrogen not to allow wine to absorb oxygen. The chosen grapes for "appassimento" (drying of the grapes) are arranged in little cases which are placed to rest in the " fruttaio" (drying loft).
We don't want to leave anything to the chance: our "fruttaio" is technically arranged in order to make possible, also during a rainy year, a perfect "appassimento" without any strain.
We put our precious wines, in new or already used little wine casks or in oaken barrels for different periods of time which vary from six months to some years. In particular, the Soave "Auge" docg stays in the casks for about six or seven months during which it achieves the alcoholic fermentation and the malolactic one; the Amarone stays in the casks for some years.