North of Verona, in the town of Negrar, at the Valpolicella zone’s highest point (350 m – 1,148 feet), the Le Ragose estate overlooks gentle, lush green hills.In 1969, enologists Arnaldo Galli and his wife Marta bought the 70-acre Le Ragose estate, which had been abandoned. Recognizing that many excellent vineyard sites had been abandoned in favor of more easily-farmed sites on the plains, they replanted the Le Ragose vineyards and began making Amarone and Valpolicella in as natural a way as possibleHere, 40 acres of terraced vines face southwest on steep slopes, well above the frequent, notorious winter nebbia (fog), which lingers below. The soil is clay laced with magnesium, calcium and iron on well-draining tufaceous subsoil. The ideal “above-the-fog” location (low humidity and excellent sun exposure) is particularly suited for appassimento, the process of drying grapes essential to Amarone production; it also allows for successful ripening of minor indigenous varietals, which few producers can claim.The estate’s fourty acres are dry farmed (no irrigation) and the steep vineyard slopes require all vineyard work to be done by hand. For aging, large Slavonian botti (oak casks), with experimental use of new and used French Allier and Tronçais tonneaux, allow truer expression of subtle terroir characters that make a wine from “Le Ragose” unmistakably of its place and uniquely itself.Marta Galli, often referred to as “La Signora del Vino,” was voted “Wine Maker of the World” in 1990 by her peers, in part because of her influence in re- establishing Valpolicella as a classic in Italian wine and helping it achieve a DOC designation. She was also a founding member of the prestigious VIDE organization of small family-owned estates that promote excellence and typicity, as well as Le Donne del Vino, an international group for women in wine.Paolo (manager) and Marco (agronomist and oenologist) now manage the property and remain faithful in the vision they share with their parents – a vision where even the simplest wines are made to evolve and age beautifully for years.In 1969 Arnaldo Galli, oenologist, and his wife Marta began to research and experiment new techniques in vine-growing and wine-making.Nowadays, their sons Paolo, graduated in Business Management, and Marco, graduated in Agriculture with a thesis on “Microvinification of local varieties”, are still researching and experimenting to have always top quality wines.The family commitment is to focus on quality and not on quantity, with the outmost respect for traditions, but always keeping an eye on modern technologies, both in vine-growing and in cellar.Paolo and Marco Galli are now leading this all-family company, keeping on the philosophy and completing parent’s Marta and Arnaldo projects.When in 1969 Arnaldo Galli and his wife Marta decided to buy Le Ragose, they first had to choose the place. After seeing the area upon the hill over the village of Montericco (Negrar), Arnaldo had no more doubts. Climate, soil, exposure, varieties, history, traditions and family of Le Ragose perfectly represent the French world “terroir”, that more than anything else represents a quality production. As a confirmation that Le Ragose was a particularly suited place, in the following years, documents proving the presence of vineyards in that place 400 years earlier were found.This is important because 400 years ago irrigation systems did not exist and people used to plant vineyards only in suited places, in order to produce quality and healthy wine. Still today, Le Ragose doesn’t use irrigation and practises a sustainable agriculture and production.For us, sustainability is the basis for growing grapes and it is the most important requirement for the respect and safeguard of the ecosystem.In order to protect the environment, Le Ragose adopts several practices, such as the elimination of the weeding and the recovery of waste in order to produce compost, that can be later utilized as fertilizer. Moreover, in order to fight the main parasite of the vine, the “Tignoletta”, we use the method of the “sexual confusion controls” in the vineyard. Finally, during the packaging of the bottle of wine, we mainly use light glass bottles, in order to reduce the environmental impact.We’ve been adopting the certification protocol “Reduce, Retrench Respect (RRR)” of the Consorzio di Tutela della Valpolicella for years.On the international level, the organization that provides the guide lines in the wine sector is the “International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV)”. The OIV defines sustainability as a “global strategy on the scale of the grape production and processing systems, incorporating at the same time the economic sustainability of structures and territories, producing quality products, considering requirements of precision in sustainable viticulture, risks to the environment, product safety and consumer health and valuing of heritage, historical, cultural, ecological and aesthetic aspects”.As for the OIV, also for us sustainability is the respect not only of the environment, but also of the economic and social aspects. For us, the protection of the total eco-system is the basis for the production of quality wines, linked to the place, the traditions and the history of the Valpolicella Classica.Furthermore, in Le Ragose there is a continuous update on sustainability themes. Marco Galli, one of the two owners, takes care of the technical side since he is both agronomist and oenologist. For the normative and communication sides, Marta, the daughter of the other owner of Le Ragose Paolo, is currently attending a PhD at UniversitA Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, and among her research topics there is also the Sustainability in the Italian and International wine sector.
