GRAPPA AND SPIRITS
Logic would suggest that a range of wines of character would go hand in hand with a production of distillates of equal quality. If this were the case, then Bassano could be consid ered to have sinned due to eccesive zeal. When a product is identified with the place of production to the point of taking its name - Grappa, the mountain of Bassano and Grappa, his distillate - this means that, without taking anything away from competito rs, it has attained the highest quality. On the "Open Distilleries" days, held in October, it is possible to visite the businesses who helped to create this supremacy based on a very solid tradition. Parallel to the course of Bassanese tradition, the taste for other distillates has also been growing: some are just rooted in Vicentino, like the Kranebet of Asiago plateau; others are more wide-ranging, like the rosolio di Carlotto, which has Central European ancestry; yet others, such as the distillates of fruit, were recently born, and, reminiscent of old taverns, are associated with the glass of Murano.
WINE
THE DOC AREAS
1. BERICI HILLS
With their volcanic soil and mild climate, these hills have all the basic needs to be an excellent wine production area. The wines which are produced are:
Tocai Rosso (lovely ruby red colour, translucent and bright, well-balanced flavour tending towards bitterness and slightly tannic); Garganego (white wine with a pale yellow colour, dry, bitter, slightly sharp flavour); Chardonnay Colli Berici (pale yellow colour, compound, well-balanced fruity flavour); Tocai Bianco (pale yellow colour, well-balanced, dry, fresh flavour); Sauvignon, (dry, full, fresh, well-balanced flavour); Pinot Bianco (pale yellow colour); Merlot dei Colli Berici (ruby red colour, full-bodied, smooth, well-balanced flavour); Cabernet dei Colli Berici (deep ruby red colour, dry, full-bodied, slightly tannic flavour); Colli Berici Spumante.
2. GAMBELLARA
With their exceptional surroundings, the last slopes of the Lessini Mounts have been voted to vine growing since the first centuries after Christ.The wines which are produced are:Gambellara (from pale yellow to golden in colour, with a dry flavour, medium body and slightly bitter); Gambellara Recioto (golden yellow colour, well-balanced, sweetish flavour with a slight taste of dried grapes, slightly bitter aftertaste with a few sparkling notes); Vin Santo di Gambellara (amber colour, well-balanced, sweet flavour).
3. BREGANZE
The Controlled Origin Area covers 12 municipalities in the hills, which stretch from the Brenta River to beyond the Astico River. The wines which are produced are:Vespaiolo (bright, pale yellow colour, fresh, pleasant, sharp flavour); Torcolato (typical golden colour, sweet, well-balanced, velvety flavour); Breganze Bianco (pale yellow colour, dry, full-bodied flavour); Breganze Chardonnay (pale yellow colour, balanced, pleasantly smooth, velvety flavour); Breganze Sauvignon (a fine, pleasant well-balanced flavour, sometimes with hints of wood); Breganze Rosso (bright ruby red colour, dry, strong, well-balanced flavour which is slightly tannic); Breganze Cabernet (dark ruby red colour with garnet hues, full-bodied strong, dry, slightly tannic flavour sometimes grassy); Breganze Cabernet Sauvignon (deep ruby red colour, dry, full, velvety flavour): Breganze Marzemino (ruby red somewhat bright colour, full, intimate, pleasant flavour and, depending on the processing, sometimes softened with the flavour of wood); Breganze Pinot Nero (ruby red colour with brick red hues, dry tasty, with a bitter aftertaste); Breganze Pinot Bianco (pale yellow colour, dry, well-balanced, velvety flavour).
4. LESSINI
The area which includes the hills of the Lessini Mountains in the provinces of Verona and Vicenza.The wine which is produced:Lessini Durello (pale yellow colour, dry, sharp, full-bodied flavour, sometimes slightly tannic).
