2008 Zyme Harlequin

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.”

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.