WINE / VILLA CALICANTUS / BARDOLINO
With only 8 hectares, on the three best hills of the Bardolino Classico area, Villa Calicantus is one of the smallest wineries in this region. Surrounded by olive trees, on the western side of Lake Garda, they produce between 30,000 and 40,000 bottles a year, depending on the weather and temperature. Being a biodynamic vineyard (since 2014), they refrain from using any kinds of chemicals.
The reason that Chiara and Daniele Delaini, the founders and owners of Villa Calicantus, have chosen the more difficult (but perhaps ultimately also more rewarding) path of organic farming is that their work is based in love of and respect for nature. Bothered with how winemaking was becoming first and foremost a business, they decided to purchase the vineyard in 2011 and already from the start, to operate it in an organic manner. Seeing themselves not as the owners of land, but as its guardians, this ensures the fertility of the soil also for future generations.
The morainic soil of the Bardolino Classico has rather peculiar characteristics, with the effects that it is not possible to produce rich bodied wines with high alcohol levels. Instead, the wines from Villa Calicantus are elegant and complex. The grapes used are a combination of local, traditional varieties of Verona, Corvina Rondinella and Molinara. The wines are fermented with their spontaneous yeast, for as long as the vintage requires.
Villa Calicantus Sollazzo
This sparkling rosé wine has notes of red orange and grapefruit. Sollazzo is Italian for “Enjoy the sun”, which gives an indication of the vibe this wine brings.
Villa Calicantus Bardolino Classico Soracuna DOC (2019)
Grapes: Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara, Merlot.
This wine is a table wine. The grapes come from three parcels of vineyard, located on the hills just above the village of Bordolino. In the local dialect, “Sora” means “above” and “cuna” means “baby cot”. “Going for a sora cuna” means going to party at the house of a newborn child. In 2017, Chiara and Daniele Delaini, the owners of Villa Calicantus, had a daughter, and this was also the first year this wine was made. The name is a celebration of these two events.
Villa Calicantus Bardolino Superiore Avresir (2017)
Grapes: Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara, Sangiovese.
The Avresir is the Riserva of Villa Calicantus. The vines are grown on one of the highest hills in the area. The breeze from Lake Garda combined with the influence from the Alps create an incredible microclimate, that translates into a tasting experience when drinking this wine.
