Biography
The Allegrini family has had a central role in the agriculture of the Valpolicella for many generations. A document from the year 1557 demonstrates that a certain Allegrino Allegrini had obtained the right to utilize the water of certain “fountains”, or underground springs, in Mazzurega, a part of the township of Fumane, in order to irrigate his lands, an indication that the family was already present in the area in the 16th century. And already in a pre-eminent position given that various legal acts and transcriptions between 1616 and 1630 show the Allegrini to be among the major landed proprietors of the zone. The head of the current generation, Giovanni Allegrini, therefore inherited an important agricultural tradition, but he was able to reinvigorate this tradition, becoming one of the fathers of the oenological history of his area. After the Second World War he was among the first to question the traditional viticultural practices of the Valpolicella, fearlessly overturning settled habits and customs in order to aim for high quality wines. He knew his way around the cellars as well: his father had began training him in the secrets of fermentating and aging of wine when he was twelve years old, and he had begun to learn at an early age.They called him “the spider of the casks”, because, when entertaining clients and offering them wine to taste, he leapt from large barrel to another in order to draw out one sample after another. Intelligence and passion allowed him to produce, in the 1960’s and 1970’s, some of the finest wines of his zone. His final project, which he did not live to see completely realized, was to replant the vineyard of the most famous and prestigious property of the Valpolicella, the Grola, a hill which had been abandoned in the early 1900’s: he brought it back to active and productive life and made it possible to cultivate it with the tractors which were newly available. His children followed him in his work: initially the first-born, Walter, who died prematurely in 2003, then his daughter Marilisa and son Franco, in charge, respectively, of marketing and winemaking. The vineyards are all in the classic part of the Valpolicella appellation: 175 acres which belong to the family and another 50 which are leased. With an annual production of 900,000 bottles, the estate has had an important role in establishing the concept of the cru, of vineyards with superior quality potential: two important expressions of the concept are La Grola and Palazzo della Torre, true and outstanding ambassadors of the territory in the markets of the world. An equally prestigious part of the line are the innovative Amarone and La Poja, a 100% Corvina wine from the grapes of a single vineyard which expresses all of the character of the variety. The Allegrini have succeeded in creating four aces to put on the table.