2011 Roberto Anselmi Veneto Passito I Capitelli, 375ml

Roberto Anselmi specializes in the white wines of Veneto. Raised in a wine producing family, he left university in 1975 to carry on the family tradition, which also meant buying back vineyards that his family had sold in the 1950s. He eventually acquired a total of 175 acres which he planted primarily to Garganega, the grape used for Soave. Anselmi elected to leave the Soave DOC, so his wines are now labeled as IGT Veneto, or Indicazione Geographica Tipica.

Veneto in northeastern Italy is one of the country’s most important wine regions and has 220,000 acres of vineyards. It is the third largest wine producing region in Italy after Sicily and Puglia. Though Veneto produces more red than white wine, it is most famous for its Soave and Prosecco, both white wines. Venice is the best-known city in the region, but the area’s wine-making capital is Verona. Close to Verona are the appellations for Bardolino, Valpolicella and Soave. The Veneto is also home to Amarone, the densely concentrated, seriously alcoholic, big red wines made by using grapes that are partially or fully dried. The results are lush, sometimes nearly syrupy red wines that approach 20% alcohol, even though most are not sweet. The most famous conventional red wine is Valpolicella, which means “valley of many cellars.” The name is perhaps a reference to the fact that Veneto is home to a number of indigenous grapes not found elsewhere, including the deep red grapes Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, all used to make Valpolicella. Garganega is the indigenous white grape used for Soave.