This year's Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Trophy for Sweet Veneto over £15 went to Vignalta, Alpianae Passito, Fior d'Arancio Colli Euganei 2011 (11%)
Tasted against:
- Cantina Valpolicella Negrar, Domìni Veneti, Vigneti di Moron, Recioto della Valpolicella Classico 2010
Profile:
Lucio Gomiero, Vignalta’s founder and winemaker,graduated from the Venice University of Architecture in 1977. Wine had been an ongoing love, and three years after his studies he planted a vineyard with the intention of it being a hobby. But wine soon became an all-consuming passion so he gave up architecture and released Vignalta’s first vintage in 1986.
A year later Gomiero had the idea to make a passito wine from the local Fior d’Arancio grape (a clone of Orange Muscat and a variety that studies show has twice the amount of aromatic compounds of Moscato Bianco), which he felt would thrive in the extreme volcanic soil of Colli Euganei. After being told that it was not legal due to the DOC regulations, Gomiero went ahead and made it anyway.
Just seven years later, in 1994, Gomiero’s once-renegade style of wine had achieved DOC status and has since been promoted to DOCG, becoming a signature for the region and emulated by many other wineries.
‘Time is everything,’ says Gomiero on his winemaking approach for this Trophy winner.‘We consider it relative and don’t take any shortcuts at Vignalta. We take all the time that is required to make the best wine possible, without using any fining agents or chemicals – just good grapes, selected yeasts and a little SO2.’
Written by Decanter
