The oldest part of Guerrieri Rizzardi exists in Bardolino where the Rambaldi family (ancestors of the Guerrieri) developed an estate in the 15th century. Close by and a century later in Negrar di Valpolicella the Rizzardi family bought the estate of Pojega. These two families were later joined by marriage almost three centuries later.

Today, Guerrieri Rizzardi has reached the next generation with Giuseppe, Olimpia and Agostino Rizzardi. Inheriting a great passion for wine and love for the territory, with them the new eco winery was completed on the hills of Bardolino in 2011; it is the company’s headquarters, a perfect fusion between ancient and modern. In 2014 the Amarone Calcarole became the first wine from the region ever to be awarded Red Wine of the Year by Gambero Rosso.

Amarone is a traditional and unique method of wine making crafted only from Valpolicella grown grapes which are naturally dried in boxes and then pressed and fermented. The grapes for our Amarone are from the Pojega vineyard where the average vine age is at least 30 years.

Amarone wines are higher in alcohol due to fermentation of the dried grapes and not from the addition of alcohol. Our Villa Rizzardi Amarone Riserva is bottled 4 years after the harvest having spent at least 36 months in mostly French oak barrels. Villa Rizzardi Amarone Riserva is only produced in the better vintages and can be cellared for many years.

It can be enjoyed immediately and does not need to be decanted and we recommend serving at (16°C or 60°F) with roasted or braised meat, game dishes such as venison, curry based dishes or with hard, mature cheeses such as Pecorino di Pienza.

Ageing potential: over 10 years.

Vineyard: Picked from the single vineyard of Pojega in the family estate in Negrar, Valpolicella.
All grapes are hand harvested and a rigid selection is made in the vineyard. 

Winemaking: Made from 100% dried grapes, raisined naturally in small boxes in the ancient drying rooms of Pojega for 3-5 months. The grapes are destemmed and crushed before a slow alcoholic fermentation of one month in stainless steel (18-28°C), malolactic fermentation in barriques.

Maturation: 12 months in 225 liter oak barrels then 24 months in 25 hl oak barrels followed by several months in tank to harmonize.

Tasting Notes: Set out to be one of the finest Villa Rizzardi vintages, a wine already showing a rich aroma of dark fruit & sweet spice and on the palate there’s layers of richness and intense dark
berried fruit. Its depth and concentration suggest that this is destined for a long life. (DS June
2022)

Food: Works well with richer beef dishes, game too, especially if there is a sweetness to the sauce.
Also mature cheese: Cimbro, Pecorino vecchio

Best to Drink: 2022 – 2030+ 

First Bottled: Bottled on 4th November 2021 then bottle aged for around 9 months.

ABV: 16.85% 
Total Acidity: 6.05 g/l
pH: 3.56
Residual Sugar: 4.6 g/l

Press: 95 points  Vinous (April 2023)

ECO-FRIENDLY
GREEN WINERY
In 2011 the new winery just outside the town of Bardolino was completed. The winery was designed to be energy self-sufficient with its solar panels (2000 m²) providing more energy than is actually used. Other choices: outdoor fermentation tanks for red wines (using the sun’s energy to reach fermentation temperature), a gravity system to bring the juice (must) from the receiver to the fermentation tanks, the water used in production in from our own well, all have their green benefits.

IN THE VINEYARDS
We are committed to limiting the amount of artificial pest and weed control products used in the vineyards, for this purpose we intentionally planted on the edges of the vineyards shrubs and trees deliberately chosen to attract beneficial insects (able to keep pests under control).
The latest project was to seed in between the rows of vines, plants such as pea, vetch and clovers which when mowed in the summer act as natural fertilizers. In addition, in some vineyards, we opt for mechanical weeding, as shown here in the vineyard to the right. In 2016 we purchased a 4 hectare, organically certified vineyard on the hillside of Rocca del Garda.

PACKAGING/RECYCLED
We opt to use light weight glass bottles for almost all of our wines and everything that is used daily in the winery for production purposes is recycled. Recycling ranges from the glass and corks of the bottles used for tasting to the paper in the office to the cardboard/plastic wrapping of all dry goods.

Wine of the Month August 2023

$10/2 oz pour