Oenologist Cristian Ridolfi’s in-depth knowledge of local wine traditions and the terroir in which Santi operates mean he has been able to lay down a distinct winemaking philosophy that has become a cultural identity.

The cornerstones of Santi style are:

Corvina: the lord of this terroir, whose presence in a blend ensures the wine has an elegantly fruity style;

Large barrels: typical of ancient Italian tradition, these allows better oxygenation in the long ageing needed for wines to be cellared;

Local wood: in addition to oak, Santi uses barrels made from typical native wood including cherry, chestnut and small amounts of acacia.

 

 

Every type of wood characterizes and exalts a sensory aspect of Valpolicella wines.Acacia, cherry, chestnut and oak are local woods that are always found around the vines.

While they constituted an integral part of the vineyards in the past and were an icon of the landscape, after intensive viticulture began in the mid-1800s becoming widespread from the mid-1900s, these trees became a marginal vineyard presence.Nonetheless, their wood was important for winegrowing since the great white and red wines were generally fermented in vats and were even more crucial for ageing.

Recovering this partnership lost in the mid-20th century is now a way to highlight the strong sensory relationship between a terroir’s grapes and its wood.The intention is to leverage a natural showcasing of the typical notes of Valpolicella grape varieties by ageing in local woods, such as:

Cherry: yields sweet tannins and helps Ripasso and Amarone to maintain tannic structure and natural volume; it also enhances the intense fruity notes typical of Corvina.

Chestnut: its porosity brings more oxygen than any other wood and the wine matures faster, but above all colour stabilizes first and the purplish hues remain; it also enhances spice notes like pepper, typical of Corvinone.

Oak: a commanding presence in the terroir, which ensures the wine has an elegantly fruity style.

Acacia: endows hints of honey and polysaccharides that enrich the weight of the wine, giving roundness; ideal for sweet wines like Recioto or in small amounts in Ripasso.

In order to gain an in-depth knowledge of the nature of local wood varieties, which are not commonly used in winemaking today, Cantina Santi has undertaken a scientific research project in conjunction with the University of Udine aimed at studying the oxygenation process of Corvina and its aromatic transfer into local varieties of wood.

 

 

After pressing and fermentation of the grapes, the subsequent step is to age the wine.

Ageing refers to the time between the end of fermentations and bottling, which varies according to a series of wine factors and which paves the way for a harmonious evolution of the components that make up the colour, the aroma and the flavour. Wines mature in wooden containers of various sizes and woods.

Santi uses barrels in the 25–80 hectolitre range for Amarone, with an average capacity of 40 hectolitres.

The decision to use large wood is based on the low ratio between the wine and the contact with the surface of the barrel.This means there is less risk of oxygenation and fewer aromas passing into the wine from the wood.Certainly, there is an ideal relationship, differing from one wine to another, dictated both by the style sought and experience gained.

In this way, a slow polymerization of phenolic substances occurs during ageing and the maturing time for the wine extends; there is also a greater palate balance because of the bonds established among the hundreds of different molecules present in the wine.Only the allowing plenty of time in a micro-oxygenating environment will bring about the ideal conditions to develop new complex aromatic molecules that are fragrant and stable.

Over several years the wine is racked from one barrel to another, allowing elimination of substances that fail to find a balance and that drop to the bottom of the barrel.

The advantage of “traditional” ageing is that it makes the varietal fragrances of Amarone more recognizable and stabilizes a wine in four years from chemo-physical and – above all – organoleptic perspectives.

A wine that will highlight pleasing nose–palate complexity and have a long bottle life.