Villas, vineyards and Valpolicella

Verona and the surrounding countryside offer an inviting blend of hilltop villages, grand houses and big wines. It’s certainly a match for Tuscany, says Lee Marshall

Verona’s unique and historic centre is a lovely, lived-in palimpsest of Roman, Medieval, Renaissance and later overlays. Just beyond the city gates, the landscape of Valpolicella is no less carefully moulded by time and man; a play of vineyards, cypresses, olives, cherry trees, persimmons and traditional marogne dry-stone walls, its hilltop villages and historic villas as seductive – once you leave the busyusy Verona to Garda road behind – as s anything Tuscany has to offer.

There’s a bond between city and nd country, too, not just because many any of Verona’s most powerful families es had summer houses in the amaroneone wine zone but also because Rossoo Verona, the fossil-rich building stone that brings a pink blush to the Roman Arena and many other er veronese landmarks, comes from m quarries in Valpolicella.

In summer especially, when the stones of Verona radiate the sun’s heat and make the city a very attractive oven, it makes sense to base oneself in the country and make daytime forays into town, rather than the other way around. Well-to-do localscals have been doing so for centuries; there’s even a word for this summer relocation that was invented in this part of the world: villeggiatura – literally, “villa-ing”.

The oldest of those villas, like mysterious Villa della Torre, a Humanist pleasure palace of Romanstyle water features and monstermouthed fireplaces that now belongs to the Allegrini wine family, date from the 16th century.

It was then that the Venetian The historic centre of Verona, above; a nearby vineyard, right; three members of the Allegrini family, below

Republic began to reorganise Verona’s countryside around a series of landed estates, most in the fertile valleys that descend from the Lessini mountains to the north. Perhaps as a result of this oligarchic land-grab, the towns and villages in the Valpolicella are mostly small-scale, ridge-perched communities, that traditionally provided labour or artisanship for the weal wealthy landowners. One r result of this for today’s visitor is an enj enjoyable contrast between the arist aristocratic lifestyle on offer at h hotels like Villa del Quar or Villa Giona, both based in historic v villas, and the more rustic, neighbourly vibe of some of the bed and breakfasts or small boutique hotels in small towns such as Negrar or San Pietro in Cariano. Some of these occupy co converted corti – traditional ru rural buildings arranged ar around a central courtyard wh where chickens, rabbits and th the occasional pig would on once have been raised. The pr proximity of Lake Garda adds a One of the biggest, most established players on the amarone scene, this is a company that takes its reputation for quality seriously. Of the he several historic c properties owned by the family, the most spectacular is 16th-century Mannerist summer refuge Villa della Torre, where tastings of some or all of their eight wines can be arranged, with or without meals (book by phone at 0039 045 683 2070. Current favourite: Amarone Classico 2011. More information: allegrini.it

Corte Sant’Alda This biodynamic winery is run by the talented, dynamic Marinella Camerani and her three daughters. Though it lies outside the classico zone, its pure, late- harvested wines are consistently among the best in the area, and (unlike some) by no means overpriced. Tastings are organised for gro groups of six or more; book on the website or by phoning 0 0039 045 888 0 0006. Current favourite: Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso Campo Magri 2012. cortes antalda.com

Monte Dall’Ora It’sI a joy to visit,vi this small organico winery where vines alternate with cherry trees and olives and the traditional marogne drystone walls have all been beautifully restored. Ring a day or so in advance (0039 045 770 4462) to organise a vineyard and cellar visit followed by a tasting session. Current favourite: Valpolicella Classico Superiore Campolorenzo 2012. third scenario: the handsome stoneterraced vineyards of Sant’Ambrogio and the lakeside cafés of Bardolino are less than half an hour away by road. The hardworking, matter-of-fact local character is reflected in the region’s solid, unfussy cooking, which revolves around specialities like buttery gnocchi sprinkled with melting Monte Veronese cheese (a brisk walk is in order before or after that one) or rabbit casserole with white wine, olives and rosemary, served with cornmeal.

Just as well they can field a big, tannic wine to stand up to the wintry, carb- and meat-rich cuisine. Valpolicella is the homeland of amarone, one of Italy’s most complex reds; a spicy, dense, long-lived number made from partially dried grapes that is as far from a frisky, easy-quaffing wine like lambrusco as traditional balsamic vinegar is from its distant chip-shop cousin. But they make another red here, which takes its name from the region: valpolicella, which when made in the core, historical wine-producing zone north-west of Verona is called valpolicella classico.

Forget the low-grade party plonk that for years ruined its image abroad.

oG Good valpolicella classico, with its fresh, seductive morello cherry flavours, is very good indeed, and unlike amarone, not so rich as to test one’s endurance. Order a carafe of house red in a local trattoria, and 10 to one it will be a classico, either straight-up, or in the ripasso style, where the wine is given more body by adding fermented amarone skins to the barrel. Amarone is the sophisticated globetrotter, a Cuban cigar of a wine that should by rights be sipped from a jewelled goblet in a frescoed Veronese palazzo.