Campagnola Pinot Grigio 2019
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James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Light straw color. Fine, elegant, clean and intense aroma, dry flavor with pleasant green apple aftertaste.
Excellent as aperitif, hors d’oeuvres, or with seafood salads and fish dishes. Perfect with meats and light meals.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fruity aromas of green apple, guava, fresh pear and lemon zest. It’s medium-bodied and creamy with crisp acidity. Refreshing.
Other Vintages
2018-
James
Suckling
The initiative of Carlo and Caterina was inherited by Giuseppe, one of the ten children, who together with his brothers purchased in 1926 "L'Antica Osteria ai Portoni Borsari" in Verona offering the wines produced by the family farm.
In the 1940s, with the outbreak of the Second World War, he moved with his children, Giancarlo and Luigi, to the current location in Valgatara, where he continues and develops the production and selection of Veronese Classic wines. Giuseppe acquires most of the vineyards from the brothers and continues his journey with the aim of creating a high-quality product. Thus the current company began to take shape and the historic barrel cellar was built, where the most traditional Valpolicella reds are still refined today. Luigi, as a boy, decided to continue the family wine business. After reaching the age of majority, he initially dedicated himself to delivering wine in the area and bought the first truck: during this period, he met the different customers and developed his "commercial spirit" by expanding the clientele who appreciated Campagnola wines.
In the 70s, he had the intuition to combine the production of high quality wines with that of "good everyday wine", responding to the needs of a market that is constantly growing. Thus, began the rise of the company, which also added provincial and regional wines to its local production, meeting the favor of the market, also abroad, and in particular in Europe.
In 1979 the young Giuseppe joined the company, who together with his father and sisters Antonella and Monica, now leads Giuseppe Campagnola Spa. After a first production experience, Giuseppe dedicated himself to commercial development in the Italian and foreign market while his father Luigi personally followed all stages of production, in particular the selection of grapes in the vineyard and the most important and delicate drying phase to obtain the prestigious Recioto and Amarone. Since the beginning of the 90s the market is increasingly oriented towards high-end products: Campagnola, thanks to its experience and production capacity, focuses its efforts on the production of the great red wines of Valpolicella inspired by excellence.
They have proudly reached the fifth generation. Luigi Campagnola has transmitted with enthusiasm and constant dedication to children and grandchildren, the bond with their land, the love for the vineyard and the wine, the commitment and constant dedication to the art of winemaking, sure of how these characteristics, transmitted in more than one hundred years of history, they can continue to live from generation to generation.
Today the Campagnola company follows the cultivation of the vineyards, selects the grapes and actively collaborates with over 50 winemakers of the most suitable vineyards of the municipality of Marano di Valpolicella for an extension of about 80 hectares. It also has 30 hectares in the Classical Bardolino area, 25 hectares in Mortegliano in Friuli Venezia Giulia and collaborates with the wine growers in the Soave area for about 20 hectares.
Showing a unique rosy, purplish hue upon full ripeness, this “white” variety is actually born out of a mutation of Pinot Noir. The grape boasts two versions of its name, as well as two generally distinct styles. In Italy, Pinot Grigio achieves most success in the mountainous regions of Trentino and Alto Adige as well as in the neighboring Friuli—all in Italy’s northeast. France's Alsace and Oregon's Willamette Valley produce some of the world's most well-regarded Pinot Gris wine. California produces both styles with success.
Where Does Pinot Gris / Pinot Grigio Come From?
Pinot Gris is originally from France, and it is technically not a variety but a clone of Pinot Noir. In Italy it’s called Pinot Grigio (Italian for gray), and it is widely planted in northern and NE Italy. Pinot Gris is also grown around the globe, most notably in Oregon, California, and New Zealand. No matter where it’s made or what it’s called, Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio produces many exciting styles.
Tasting Notes for Pinot Grigio
Pinot Grigio is a dry, white wine naturally low in acidity. Pinot Grigio wines showcase signature flavors and aromas of stone fruit, citrus, honeysuckle, pear and almond. Alsatian styles are refreshing, expressive, aromatic (think rose and honey), smooth, full-bodied and richly textured and sometimes relatively higher in alcohol compared to their Italian counterpart. As Pinot Grigio in Italy, the style is often light and charming. The focus here is usually to produce a crisp, refreshing, lighter style of wine. While there are regional differences of Pinot Grigio, the typical profile includes lemon, lime and subtle minerality.
Pinot Grigio Food Pairings
The viscosity of a typical Alsatian Pinot Gris allows it to fit in harmoniously with the region's rich foods like pork, charcuterie and foie gras. Pinot Grigio, on the other hand, with its citrusy freshness, works well as an aperitif wine or with seafood and subtle chicken dishes.
Sommelier Secrets
Given the pinkish color of its berries and aromatic potential if cared for to fully ripen, the Pinot Grigio variety is actually one that is commonly used to make "orange wines." An orange wine is a white wine made in the red wine method, i.e. with fermentation on its skins. This process leads to a wine with more ephemeral aromas, complexity on the palate and a pleasant, light orange hue.
Producing every style of wine and with great success, the Veneto is one of the most multi-faceted wine regions of Italy.
Veneto's appellation called Valpolicella (meaning “valley of cellars” in Italian) is a series of north to south valleys and is the source of the region’s best red wine with the same name. Valpolicella—the wine—is juicy, spicy, tart and packed full of red cherry flavors. Corvina makes up the backbone of the blend with Rondinella, Molinara, Croatina and others playing supporting roles. Amarone, a dry red, and Recioto, a sweet wine, follow the same blending patterns but are made from grapes left to dry for a few months before pressing. The drying process results in intense, full-bodied, heady and often, quite cerebral wines.
Soave, based on the indigenous Garganega grape, is the famous white here—made ultra popular in the 1970s at a time when quantity was more important than quality. Today one can find great values on whites from Soave, making it a perfect choice as an everyday sipper! But the more recent local, increased focus on low yields and high quality winemaking in the original Soave zone, now called Soave Classico, gives the real gems of the area. A fine Soave Classico will exhibit a round palate full of flavors such as ripe pear, yellow peach, melon or orange zest and have smoky and floral aromas and a sapid, fresh, mineral-driven finish.
Much of Italy’s Pinot grigio hails from the Veneto, where the crisp and refreshing style is easy to maintain; the ultra-popular sparkling wine, Prosecco, comes from here as well.