Italy · Valpolicella & Bardolino (Verona hills)

Societa Agricola Tedeschi Srl.

A Valpolicella family estate since 1630, Tedeschi farms 48 hectares of hillside vines across the historic Classica zone and the high-altitude Maternigo property, producing Amarone from named single vineyards.

The producer

Tedeschi farms 48 hectares of hillside vines in the Valpolicella hills west of Verona, producing Valpolicella, Ripasso, and Amarone from two distinct vineyard zones. The Classica heartland around Pedemonte holds the Monte Olmi parcel, acquired in 1918 and separately vinified since 1964, when Lorenzo Tedeschi released it as a named single-vineyard Amarone at a time when blending across hillside holdings was the regional norm. The company is now led by Antonietta, Sabrina, and Riccardo Tedeschi, children of Bruna and Lorenzo, with Riccardo serving as winemaker.

The second zone, Maternigo, was acquired in 2006 and sits further east, between Tregnago and Mezzane di Sotto, at altitudes between 290 and 480 metres above sea level. A soil-zoning program begun in 2010 identified two Maternigo parcels for cru production: the steep Impervio vineyard, which supplies Valpolicella Superiore Maternigo, and the Barila parcel, used for the Amarone Riserva Maternigo Cru. All terroir wines are sourced from hillside-grown grapes. The estate holds Biodiversity Friend and Equalitas certifications.

Known for

Amarone della Valpolicella, anchored by the Capitel Monte Olmi flagship, separately vinified from a single parcel since 1964.

Notable facts

The story

The Vineyard Held Back

In the early 1960s, Lorenzo Tedeschi began setting aside the Monte Olmi harvest rather than blending it into the estate's standard Amarone. The parcel had been in the family since 1918, but for decades its grapes had gone into the general blend alongside fruit from other hillside holdings. Lorenzo vinified the vineyard on its own for several harvests before releasing the first named single-vineyard Amarone from Capitel Monte Olmi in 1964. Putting a vineyard name on an Amarone label was unusual for Valpolicella at the time, where blending across multiple hillside parcels was standard practice. The wine has been the house flagship ever since, and every bottle of Capitel Monte Olmi carries the same vineyard name and the same winemaking logic Lorenzo set in place six decades ago.

From the atlas

Tedeschi

At A Glance

The Producer

Tedeschi farms 48 hectares of hillside vines in the Valpolicella hills west of Verona, and the estate's argument is a simple one: Amarone made from a named single vineyard is a different wine from a blended cuvee. Lorenzo Tedeschi made that argument in 1964, when he released Capitel Monte Olmi as a separately vinified Valpolicella Amarone from one parcel on the estate. The rest of the range has grown around that decision ever since.

The company is now led by Antonietta, Sabrina, and Riccardo, the three children of Bruna and Lorenzo Tedeschi. Riccardo is the winemaker, Antonietta manages strategy and the Italian market, and Sabrina handles the estate's international presence. The family traces its connection to this zone to 1630, making Tedeschi one of the longest-rooted estates in the appellation.

Place

Valpolicella is a DOC in the hills north and west of Verona, in Italy's Veneto region. The Classica zone is the western, historically primary part of the appellation, running from the Adige valley up through villages including San Pietro in Cariano and, further west, Pedemonte, where Tedeschi is based. Grapes grown in the Classica hillsides feed the estate's core wines, including Capitel Monte Olmi.

Tedeschi now draws from a second zone, further east. The Maternigo property, acquired in 2006, sits in Valpolicella's DOC zone between the communities of Tregnago and Mezzane di Sotto. The altitude there ranges from 290 to 480 metres above sea level, significantly higher than most Classica vineyards. That elevation shifts ripening: longer growing seasons, cooler nights, and grapes that arrive with more acidity and aromatic lift. The label geography matters because Maternigo wines are structured differently from Classica wines.

The Valpolicella appellation allows wines made in three distinct ways. Fresh Valpolicella is vinified like any red wine. Ripasso is refermented on the dried-grape skins left after Amarone production, gaining body and dried-fruit weight. Amarone is made from grapes dried for several months after harvest before fermentation, concentrating sugars and flavours into a full, dense, dry red. Tedeschi works all three methods.

Soil And Site

The Classica zone around Pedemonte sits on calcareous clay and limestone-rich soils typical of the Valpolicella hills. The Maternigo property shows more varied geology: the Marne 180 wine takes its name from chalky limestone marl, and the zonation work begun in 2010 across both Maternigo and the Classica vineyards mapped soil variation at a fine level to identify which parcels were suited to cru production.

Two Maternigo vineyards were separated for single-vineyard wines following those studies. The Impervio vineyard, whose name comes from the steepness of its slope, feeds the Valpolicella Superiore Maternigo. The Barila parcel, with its own distinct soil and aspect within the property, supplies the Amarone Riserva Maternigo Cru. Both use Guyot and Veronese pergola vine training, the traditional canopy system of the Veneto that spreads the shoots horizontally to moderate vigour and protect grapes from the heat below.

Story

The Monte Olmi parcel has been in Tedeschi hands since 1918, bought by the family when much of Valpolicella's wine still moved in bulk to merchants rather than under estate labels. For decades the vineyard's grapes went into the estate's blended wines. In the early 1960s, Lorenzo Tedeschi decided to vinify Monte Olmi separately, holding back the fruit to see whether the vineyard produced something distinct on its own. He released it as a named single-vineyard Amarone in 1964.

The move was against the grain of local practice. Valpolicella at that time was a blending region, and putting a vineyard name on an Amarone label was unusual. Capitel Monte Olmi became the house flagship and has remained so. The family expanded east in 2006 with the Maternigo acquisition, bringing 34 hectares of vine-covered hillside at much higher altitude into the estate. A formal soil-zoning program began four years later, and the Maternigo cru wines followed once the vineyard mapping was complete.

The sustainability program began in 2018 and now runs to two certifications: Biodiversity Friend and Equalitas. The soil characterisation work continues across both zones.

Vineyards And Cellar

All terroir wines at Tedeschi are made from hillside-grown grapes. Valley-floor fruit is excluded. The distinction matters in Valpolicella, where hillside vineyards have slower ripening, lower yields, and more concentrated, aromatic grapes than flat land.

At Maternigo, the altitude gradient from 290 to 480 metres is significant. Grapes at the upper limit ripen later than those on the valley floor, and the cooler nights preserve acidity in the fruit. The southeast to southwest exposures spread sunlight across the harvest window without building excessive heat.

The Ripasso method crosses winemaking methods: the base Valpolicella wine is refermented on the pressed skins from Amarone production, picking up tannin, body, and dried-fruit character from the concentrated skins. The result sits between fresh Valpolicella and Amarone in weight and complexity without the extended drying that Amarone requires.

For the Marne 180 Amarone, ageing runs to approximately 30 to 36 months in Slavonian oak. Slavonian oak from the forests of Croatia and Slovenia is large-format and loosely grained, adding mild tannin and oxygen exchange without the strong vanilla or toasted character of small French barrique. The wine gains breadth and texture through the ageing period rather than oak flavour.

Wines

Tedeschi's range moves in clear steps from early-drinking Valpolicella through to three distinct Amarone positions.

Fresh Valpolicella DOC is the entry tier, made from Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, and Rondinella in a straightforward red wine style intended for drinking young. It is light-bodied, with red cherry fruit and soft tannin, and its role in the range is to show the grape character without the concentration of the higher-tier wines.

Valpolicella Superiore Maternigo comes from the Impervio vineyard at Maternigo. The hillside altitude and steep slope concentrate the grapes, and the Superiore designation adds minimum ageing requirements above the base Valpolicella. The Impervio vineyard supplies Valpolicella Superiore Maternigo.

Ripasso sits in the middle of the range, adding dried-grape richness and elevated tannin to the Valpolicella base through refermentation on Amarone skins. The wine gains dark plum and dried cherry character alongside more pronounced grip.

Marne 180 is a single-vineyard Amarone from chalky limestone marl soils. The 2018 vintage drew professional review coverage for its dark fruit, spice, earthy character, and scale, with a suggested ageing window of several years. The 30 to 36 months in Slavonian oak contributes broad texture without dominant wood flavour.

Capitel Monte Olmi is the flagship Amarone, sourced from the parcel acquired in 1918 and separately vinified since 1964. Dried fruit, dried herbs, tobacco, and spice mark the character, with a long finish and documented longevity.

Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva Maternigo Cru, sourced from the Barila parcel, is the top wine from the newer estate and the range's most altitude-driven bottle.

In The Glass

Across the range, the grape base of Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, and Rondinella delivers red and dark cherry fruit, a floral lift, and soft, fine tannin in the lighter wines. Corvina in particular gives the variety's characteristic sour-cherry brightness and slightly bitter almond finish, which carries through even in the denser Amarone tier.

In the Marne 180, the limestone marl soil and the long Slavonian oak ageing pull the wine toward darker fruit: blackberry, dried plum, and cocoa, with earthy and spiced undertones from the concentrated dried grapes. Tannin is broader and more chewy than in the lighter tiers, and the acidity from high-altitude growing keeps the wine from feeling heavy on the palate. The finish is long and savoury.

Capitel Monte Olmi shows the character of the Classica hillside fully concentrated: dried cherry, tobacco leaf, dried herbs, and a resinous quality that comes from the long post-harvest drying of the grapes. The palate is dense and full, with firm tannin that softens over many years in bottle. The finish is extended and dry, with the bittersweet almond quality that marks the best Classica Amarone.

A Bottle To Understand It

Capitel Monte Olmi is the bottle to start with. It is an Amarone from a single named vineyard in Valpolicella Classica, made from Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, and Rondinella dried and concentrated after harvest, then aged through a long elevage. In the glass it shows dried cherry and plum, tobacco, dried herbs, and a firm, dry finish with the slightly bitter almond quality that is the Classica hillside's mark. The tannin is present but resolved in older vintages, and the wine has the depth to develop for years further in bottle. Start here to understand what separates a named single-vineyard Amarone from a blended one, and why this parcel has been held apart since 1964.

Anecdote

In the early 1960s, Lorenzo Tedeschi began setting aside the Monte Olmi harvest rather than blending it into the estate's standard Amarone. The parcel had been in the family since 1918, but for decades its grapes had gone into the general cuvee alongside fruit from other hillside holdings. Lorenzo's instinct was that Monte Olmi produced something distinct, and he wanted to find out if he was right. He vinified the vineyard on its own for several harvests before releasing the first named single-vineyard Amarone from Capitel Monte Olmi in 1964. Putting a vineyard name on an Amarone label was unusual for Valpolicella at the time, where blending across multiple hillside parcels was the standard practice. The wine has been the house flagship ever since, and every bottle of Capitel Monte Olmi since 1964 carries the same vineyard name and the same winemaking logic Lorenzo set in place six decades ago.

Final Word

Tedeschi is a Valpolicella family estate with a long hillside history and a clear commitment to single-vineyard Amarone. The decision to name Monte Olmi on the label in 1964 was a producer argument about place that has shaped everything since. The Maternigo acquisition in 2006 added altitude and a second cru logic to the range. For Amarone, start with Capitel Monte Olmi.

Sources

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