Me, Giovanni
The winery has always been a sort of second home for me. My family has in fact worked with wine for 150 years and, in the past, its members have often been pioneers in vine-growing and wine production. After initially being employed by a large Veronese wine company, I felt a strong need to work in close contact with the land and my vines. So, thanks to my determination and the invaluable support of my family, the Corte Quaiara project took shape, becoming once more – vintage after vintage – a fully-fledged wine-producing domaine.
I am a Vigneron
When I decided to give new life to Corte Quaiara, I realised that I wanted to make wines that were able to express who I am. I wanted to produce wines in which you can smell the scents of the earth, of the grapes becoming must, and of the vats in which the wine matures. I wanted those who drink my wines to savour each phase of the production process, so I learnt all about it, from the vine to the bottle. In my wines you can find my full identity: the strain on my back; my hands, stained with earth and grape juice; and my pleasure in seeing, enclosed in the bottle, the realisation of my initial idea. Today I am a vigneron.
The challenge of Pinot Nero
Deciding to make a red 100% Pinot Nero wine is the biggest challenge I have faced. Pinot Nero is a capricious variety, which calls for great dedication and constant attention. Its small, tightly-packed grapes are very delicate, susceptible as they are to variations in temperature and to humidity. Every year is for me a battle against the unpredictability of Nature, which begins with pruning in winter and ends with the harvest; in between, there are a whole lot of operations, precautions, victories and – sometimes - also defeats and disappointments. Every harvest is the result of a tortuous journey, but each time I uncork a bottle of my Pinot Nero I feel that my energy has been well spent, that my fatigue has been repaid and that, at least for the time being, I have won the battle.