Corte Sant'Alda, Veneto

Corte Sant' Alda is fast becoming one of the top-flight producers of Valpolicella and Amarone. It is owned by Marinella Camerani and is named after her daughter, Alda. Marinella has 15 hectares of certified organic vineyards located in the foothills of the Lessini Mountains, near the town of Mezzane, about 30km north-east of Verona.

The winery is situated in an old farm building in the centre of the vineyards. The wines are all made from the classic Valpolicella blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara - the vines average about 25 years of age and the grapes are all hand-harvested. Since 2000 the wines have been fermented in large French oak fermenters using only use wild yeasts to increase their individuality. The wines are then aged in a variety of barrel sizes, made from both oak and cherry wood.

The Mithas name is reserved for the very finest wines produced by Marinella. The Mithas wines all come from fruit from the superior, two hectare, "Macie" vineyard which is rich in humus. They all have extraordinary concentration and complexity and rival the best wines produced in the Veneto. Recently Marinella has replanted 30% of her vineyards with "Albero", stake trellissed vines, to further improve the quality of the wines. She is also in the process of making the Macie vineyard biodynamic and to that end she has recently bought twin, rare breed Alpine cows, named "Rosa" and "Roma", to work on the estate.