From the atlas
Scriani
At A Glance
Producer: Scriani Location: Fumane, Valpolicella Classica, Veneto, Italy Owner and winemaker: Stefano Cottini Milestones: Vineyard purchase and first own production c.1998; 1999 management transition Key grapes: Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara; Garganega, Trebbiano, Pinot Grigio (Lake Garda) Flagship wines: Amarone della Valpolicella, Carpanè
---
The Producer
Scriani farms hillside plots above the village of Fumane, at the geographical centre of Valpolicella Classica, and makes every bottle on site from its own grapes. Stefano Cottini, oenologist and owner, took over the family business in 1999 after it had been passed down through generations.
The producer's name reaches back further. Ancestors of the family worked as scribes, and the nickname Scriani, rooted in that trade, passed down through generations. The winery stands on Via Ponte Scrivan, a street that carries the same root word. Name and address share one etymology.
Amarone della Valpolicella is the wine that opened markets in Italy and abroad.
Place
Fumane sits in the western arm of Valpolicella Classica, the original and most tightly defined zone of the appellation. The Fumane Valley is threaded by waterways and flanked by hillsides, with an elevation and aspect that give the native red varieties a longer, cooler growing season than the flatter, warmer plains further east. That coolness holds acidity in Corvina and allows Rondinella and Molinara to ripen without losing freshness.
Valpolicella Classica is an appellation, not merely a style description. Wine labelled Valpolicella Classico must come from this original hill zone; wines from the expanded eastern Valpolicella area carry the appellation without the Classico designation. The distinction matters on the label and in the glass.
In 2014, Scriani added 15 hectares on the morainic hills south of Lake Garda, roughly 30 kilometres west of Fumane. Morainic soil is glacially deposited, with good drainage and a mix of limestone fragments, clay, and sand. The lower Lake Garda shore suits white varieties and produces wines with a different logic from the hillside reds of Fumane: fresher, lighter, earlier-drinking.
Soil And Site
The Fumane hillside vineyards sit on calcareous soils with clay and limestone that are typical of the Valpolicella Classica hills. The hillside breeze keeps the canopy dry and supports the slow, even ripening that the native varieties need, particularly for dried-grape wines where the grapes must reach harvest in good condition. The Lake Garda parcels on morainic terrain provide the drainage and mineral base that suits Lugana, Custoza, and Pinot Grigio.
Story
In 2014, Scriani added 15 hectares of vineyards in the morainic hills near Lake Garda to the 15 hectares it already possessed in Valpolicella. The lower side of Lake Garda suited white wines, so Scriani could produce Custoza, Lugana, and Pinot Grigio. Scriani's traditional red wines require long aging, while white wines depend on freshness and ease of drinking.
Vineyards And Cellar
Scriani's Fumane parcels are managed through the full seasonal cycle: planting, irrigation, pruning, and hand harvest. The hillside rows receive a cool breeze that slows ripening and keeps disease pressure low, which matters most for the Amarone and Recioto fruit, where grapes must reach the drying lofts in sound condition.
The Valpolicella Superiore uses red-wine vinification with approximately 15 days of skin maceration and fermentation at natural temperatures. Maturation, bottling, labelling, and sale all take place on the estate.
The Lake Garda whites are vinified separately, using methods suited to freshness-focused varieties rather than the extended extraction and ageing used for Valpolicella reds.
Wines
The Valpolicella range runs across five appellations and two styles of fruit preparation. Entry-level Valpolicella DOC Classico uses fresh grapes and targets immediate drinking: lighter in body, with the sour cherry and herb character typical of Corvina-led blends from the Classica hills.
The producer describes it as deep ruby, savoury, and harmonious, with an intense bouquet.
Ripasso adds weight by referment of the wine on the spent skins of the Amarone, which still carry residual sugar and tannin.
Amarone della Valpolicella is made from grapes dried in lofts for several months after harvest. The drying concentrates sugars, then slow fermentation reduces most of that sugar to alcohol, producing a dry red of 15 to 17 percent with raisined fruit, dark chocolate, tobacco, and a long, warm finish. Amarone Riserva extends the ageing further. Recioto della Valpolicella follows the same drying method but stops fermentation early, leaving residual sweetness: it is a deep, port-like red with dried cherry, spice, and a velvety finish.
Carpanè is also part of the range. Soave, from Garganega on volcanic soils, completes the Valpolicella side of the range.
From Lake Garda: Lugana, from Turbiana (a local clone of Trebbiano di Soave) on morainic soils, produces a white wine with weight, mineral length, and an ability to age that distinguishes it from most northern Italian whites. Custoza DOC blends several permitted varieties, light and fresh. Pinot Grigio from the same morainic terrain is vinified for aromatic clarity and early drinking.
In The Glass
The Valpolicella entry wines lead with sour cherry, dried herb, and a light tannic edge that comes from Corvina. Acidity is lively and the body medium-light, which makes them easy at the table and unlikely to develop much beyond three to five years.
The producer describes it as deep ruby, savoury, and harmonious, with an intense bouquet.
Amarone moves into different sensory territory entirely. The dried-grape process concentrates everything: dried fig, dark cherry, cocoa, tobacco, and a structural warmth that wraps the tannin rather than leaving it exposed. The alcohol is high but the palate is dry and long, and serious examples from Classica producers develop in bottle for a decade or more. Recioto takes the same concentration but stops short of dryness: the residual sugar reads as a sweet dried cherry, with spice and chocolate and a plush, almost viscous finish.
From Lake Garda, Lugana has a stony, almost chalky mid-palate weight and a finish that holds longer than the freshness of the aromas suggests. It is the white in the range most likely to reward a year or two of cellaring.
A Bottle To Understand It
Start with the Carpanè.
Anecdote
Around 1998, Stefano Cottini bought his father's vineyard in Fumane, a parcel just over one hectare in size. He made his first wine from it that year, with production running to roughly 20,000 bottles. The family business had been passed down through generations. Scriani grew from a little over one hectare and 20,000 bottles to 30 hectares and 110,000 bottles in less than twenty years. The address is still Via Ponte Scrivan in Fumane, the same valley, and the name on the label is still the nickname the family carried for the ancestors who worked as scribes.
Final Word
Scriani is a Valpolicella Classica producer with a clear logic: Fumane hillside Corvina for the reds and morainic Lake Garda soils for the whites. Cottini built the estate from a single hectare, and the range reflects the two landscapes he farms. Amarone della Valpolicella is the wine that opened markets in Italy and abroad.
Sources
- https://scriani.it/en/
- https://scriani.it/en/produzione-vendita-vini-valpolicella/
- https://www.winemeridian.com/news/scrianiayoungcompanythatlovestosurprise/
- https://scriani.it/en/valpolicella-superiore/