Biography
Sergio Zenato belongs to that group of determined entrepreneurs who pursue their objectives without hesitation, without compromises, without tergiversating. In his case, the objective was quality with a capital Q, and Sergio Zenato has succeeded in reaching the goal of elevated quality and create one of the major houses of the province of Verona. In 1960 he succeeded his father at the helm of the firm at San Benedetto di Lugana, a part of the township of Peschiera del Garda, located on the banks of Lake Garda and one of the finest zones for the production of Lugana appellation wine. The area is characterized by a special soil, a meeting point of glacier-created terrain and heavier clays, and by a special micro-climate as well, balmy, virtually Mediterranean due to the warming waters of the lake. With the aid of his wife Carla, Sergio Zenato has dedicated particular efforts on behalf of the Trebbiano di Lugana grapes, the basis of the appellation wines. Thanks to this commitment, Lugana is now one of the most successful appellations of the Lombardy-Veneto area, as the Riserva “Sergio Zenato” offering demonstrates, an intense, full-bodied white wine of exceptional complexity. The children, Alberto and Nadia Zenato, have joined the firm, the first working with production while his sister is a sort of ambassador of the house, promoting the image and the quality of the wines in the markets of the world. Zenato has developed a great interest in red wines over the years, particularly for those of the classic part of the Valpolicella appellation, an historic viticultural area just a few miles from Lugana. To the point that the firm now owns 175 acres of vineyards, divided between the two zones. After a long period of study of the soil, the climate, and the grape varieties of the Valpolicella, Zenato succeeded in planting modern vineyards, low-producing but of great quality. With Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara he produces a supple Valpolicella Classico Superiore, an elegant wine, but above all an Amarone della Valpolicella, opulent and potent, which has won prizes from guides and wine magazines. The Ripassa is a particularly interesting wine, produced by “re-passing” the Valpolicella on the skins of Amarone just after the latter wine has been run off its skins.