About Accordini Stefano
Stefano Accordini is a family winery of the Valpolicella Classica whose modern cellar at Cavalo, above the Fumane valley, stands among the highest in the zone, with vineyards reaching about 550 meters. Generations of Accordini have worked these hills; today Tiziano and Daniele, with Eleonora, Raffaella, Giacomo, Paolo and Marco, farm some 25 hectares organically and run an energy conscious cellar. The name Il Fornetto belongs to the family's prized vineyard, planted in 1975 on deep clay soils, whose fruit goes into the top wines of the house.
Prices are for take away and shipping. The wine bar serves from its own list.
The winery
About Accordini Stefano
History
The Accordini story starts in the early 1900s with Gaetano Accordini, who made wine as a sharecropper. His son Stefano turned the family into winemakers in their own right. In the 1970s, once sharecropping contracts were abolished, Stefano bought the first Accordini vineyard, Il Fornetto, in the valley of Negrar, and built the winery he had dreamed of. Until 1982 he made Valpolicella for the local market.
His sons Tiziano and Daniele then took the business in a new direction. They planted new vineyards, replaced old barrels, modernised the cellar and began selling abroad. In the early 2000s they moved production up into the hills of Valpolicella Classica, buying 10 hectares at Cavolo in the Fumane valley, 550 metres above sea level. The new winery there was completed in 2011.
The land and the vineyards
Today the family works about 25 hectares in the highest part of Valpolicella Classica, which is why they speak of mountain wines. The soils are mostly limestone and thin, which lowers yields and raises quality. Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella grow here, helped by a milder climate than the plain and a wide gap between day and night temperatures.
Two vineyards stand out. Il Fornetto, planted by Stefano in 1975 on deep clay at 130 metres, covers 1.4 hectares of old vines trained on the Verona pergola. Tornidora, planted in 2002 at 500 metres, covers 1.9 hectares of clay and limestone soil that copes well with dry spells.
The wines
The range is built around the classic Valpolicella styles: Valpolicella Classico and Superiore, Ripasso, Amarone Classico, Recioto, and Amarone Riserva Il Fornetto. Paxxo is a red from the Veneto, the Tempus line covers white, rosé and red, and the 555 line is sparkling. There is also a grappa of Amarone, a sweet passito and an organic line of Valpolicella, Ripasso and Amarone.
Today
The fourth generation, Giacomo, Paolo and Marco, now runs the estate. Giacomo looks after the vineyards, Paolo production and sales, and Marco the wine and marketing. All the vineyards are farmed organically. The estate also has a small agriturismo B&B above Fumane, powered by solar panels, so visitors can stay close to the vines.
- Founded
- Early 1900s (Gaetano Accordini); first family vineyard bought in the 1970s
- Area
- Fumane, Valpolicella Classica (Verona)
- Vineyards (hectares)
- About 25
- Main grapes
- Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella
- Owners
- Accordini family
- Winemaker
- Marco Accordini