2007 Zyme Valpolicella Classico Superiore Val

Zymè is the Greek word for “yeast,” and when Celestino Gaspari founded his estate in 1999 he chose Zymè as his estate’s name to suggest the processes involved with winemaking and the concept of natural agriculture. Gaspari worked for the legendary Giuseppe Qunitarelli for years before starting his own 75-acre estate near Verona. Along the way he married Quintarelli’s daughter, Mariarosa, who runs Zymè with him. Zymè produces a portfolio of wines including Spumante, Cabernet Sauvignon and red and white blends from indigenous grapes. But he is best known for his Valpolicella and Amarone. Wine Advocate has often awarded the wines scores in the 90s, and Gambero Rosso has given several vintages of Zymè Amarone 3 Glasses, the highest rating. Wine Advocate wrote that Gaspari’s wines “are radically different from basically all the other wines to be found in Valpolicella...Zymè enjoys a cult following and for good reason.”

Valpolicella DOC near Verona, in Veneto, earned appellation status in 1968. Viticulture has thrived in the region since the ancient Greeks first planted vineyards, and the tradition of using partially dried grapes to produce the concentrated red wine we now call Amarone is attributed to the Greeks. The fertile soils of the area combined with relatively mild climate in the shadows of the Alps has made Valpolicella a major wine producing region throughout history. Valpolicella is made from a blend of the Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes, and can also contain small amounts of other red grapes. Valpolicella Superiore must be aged a minimum of one year. In 2008 and 2009 smaller appellations for Ripasso della Valpolicella and Amarone della Valpolicella were added to the district.