1982 Bolla Bardolino

Bolla was established in 1883, when Abele Bolla, who owned a well-known inn and restaurant, built a cellar in Soave, south of Verona. He started producing wine and was soon winning awards for winemaking. In the early 20th century his entrepreneurial sons opened fashionable bars in Venice and elsewhere to help market the family wine, and they opened a second winery in Valpolicella. The family’s flair for marketing helped make the Bolla brand popular in foreign markets such as the U.S. In 2006 Bolla was purchased by Gruppo Italiano Vino, an Italian wine conglomerate. Today the estate includes nearly 900 acres and produces about 10 million bottles annually. Bolla produces a broad portfolio of wines, but is most noted for its Veronese classics such as Bardolino and Valpolicella, and its Soave and Amarone wines. Gambero Rosso praises Bolla wines, and notes that Bolla makes “consistent, traditional interpretations” of classic regional wines.

Veneto in northeastern Italy is one of the country’s most important wine regions and has 220,000 acres of vineyards. It is the third largest wine producing region in Italy after Sicily and Puglia. Though Veneto produces more red than white wine, it is most famous for its Soave and Prosecco, both white wines. Venice is the best-known city in the region, but the area’s wine-making capital is Verona. Close to Verona are the appellations for Bardolino, Valpolicella and Soave. The Veneto is also home to Amarone, the densely concentrated, seriously alcoholic, big red wines made by using grapes that are partially or fully dried. The results are lush, sometimes nearly syrupy red wines that approach 20% alcohol, even though most are not sweet. The most famous conventional red wine is Valpolicella, which means “valley of many cellars.” The name is perhaps a reference to the fact that Veneto is home to a number of indigenous grapes not found elsewhere, including the deep red grapes Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, all used to make Valpolicella. Garganega is the indigenous white grape used for Soave.