The company headquarter and cellars are in Calmasino, in the heart of the region where Bardolino wine is produced.
Vigneti Villabella's headquarters are at Calmasino, in the heart of the Bardolino Classico zone, on hillsides that look out over Lake Garda.
Founded in 1971 by Walter Delibori and Giorgio Cristoforetti, it is still owned and run by their two families, in the persons of their children: Tiziano and his son Umberto Delibori and Angela and Franco Cristoforetti. The company produces all the major classic wines of the Verona area, such as Bardolino, Lugana, Bianco di Custoza, Soave, Valpolicella, Ripasso and Amarone, as well as fine red and white I.G.T. wines from grape varieties that are indigenous to the Province of Verona.
Today, Vigneti Villabella boasts some 220 hectares of vineyards, which are either owned or managed by the company.
The purchase of Villa Cordevigo at Cavaion Veronese, an eighteenth century manor house complete with a consecrated chapel and surrounded by 100 hectares of vineyards and olive groves, represents a synthesis of the Villabella project. The objectives of this project are to preserve and promote local culture and traditions and to draw out the full intrinsic quality of the area's vines and wines - based on respect for the land and diligent care of the vineyards - with a view to offering consumers all over the world a selection of typically Italian high-quality wines from a unique location.
THE VILLA CORDEVIGO ESTATE AND BARDOLINO
The heart of the company is represented by the Villa Cordevigo estate at Cavaion Veronese, in the Bardolino Classico zone: here there are 100 hectares under vine (and hence very significant production potential), permitting Villabella to experiment with new planting and training systems in the vineyard. Thanks to massive investments from 1996 onwards, the old pergolas have been gradually replaced by Guyot, in order to give lower yields - but of higher quality - and also allowing for the introduction of mechanized harvesting.
The soil of the zone near Lake Garda is almost entirely of morainic (and partly fluvioglacial) origin. It is stony and calcareous, smoothed though by the Adige Valley glacier.
The presence of Lake Garda is a determining factor in creating positive characteristics in the grapes and wines, because it makes the climate more agreeable, with mild winters and temperate summers. This happy combination of climate and soil yields wines with markedly fruity sensations.
From the vineyards in this area we obtain:
Terre di Cavagion, Bardolino Superiore docg classico
Vigna Morlongo, Bardolino Classico doc
Pozzo dell'Amore, Bardolino Chiaretto Classico doc
Bardolino Chiaretto Spumante doc
Villa Cordevigo Rosso, Rosso Veronese igt
Villa Cordevigo Bianco, Bianco Veronese igt
Montemazzano, Rosso Veronese igt
CUSTOZA
The wine-producing zones of Custoza and Lugana share the fact that they both belong to the area of Lake Garda.
The production zone for Bianco di Custoza lies at the southern end of the lake, more precisely in the communes of Sommacampagna (and the village of Custoza within it), Villafranca ,Valeggio sul Mincio, Peschiera, Lazise, Castelnuovo, Pastrengo, Bussolengo and Sona. From the vineyards in this area we obtain our Fiordaliso, Bianco di Custoza D.O.C.
LUGANA
The vineyards used to produce Villabella's Lugana are in the communes of Peschiera del Garda, Desenzano del Garda and Sirmione, along the southern shore of Lake Garda, in an area occupied in ancient times by the Lugana forest and characterized by a significant presence of clayey soils (white and black clays).
The wine we produce in the vineyards of the Lugana area is Ca' del Lago, Lugana D.O.C.
VALPOLICELLA
The Valpolicella zone includes much of the amphitheatre of hills to the north of Verona and is characterized by a generally mild climate with regular rainfall, as well as by very diverse soils that determine the personalities of the wines they yield, giving rise to a large number of different styles.
This is the area that produces some of Italy's most noteworthy D.O.C. red wines: Valpolicella, Ripasso and the extremely famous Amarone.
Villabella's wines are made from grapes grown exclusively in the five historic communes of the Valpolicella Classico zone (Fumane, Marano, Negrar, San Pietro Incariano and Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella).
The wines we produce in the vineyards of the Valpolicella area are:
Fracastoro, Amarone della Valpolicella classico doc
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico doc
Ripasso, Valpolicella Classico Superiore doc
I Roccoli, Valpolicella Classico doc
SOAVE
In the Soave zone, in the gentle hills to the east of Verona, lie the vineyards that produce the wine of the same name. The terrain is a mixture of clay and sand, and is often rich in potassium and phosphorus. On the whole, the weather is mild and temperate, with not particularly rigid winters and hot summers. The grapes in this zone - especially Garganega - derive great elegance and rich perfumes from this particular combination of climate and soil.
The vineyards used for Villabella's Soave are exclusively in the historic Classico area, in the communes of Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone.
From the vineyards in this area we obtain our:
La Torretta, Soave Classico doc