MONTEFORTE D’ALPONE (Province of Verona): During the summer the weather was good. Rainfall was normal. The temperature was cool and this was positive for the white varietals. In September there was rain. Garganega ripens late and it is fully ripe in October. In October the weather was beautiful with very little rain (during the harvest).

Claudio Gini – Azienda Agricola Gini (Soave Classico DOC, Recioto di Soave DOCG):”We picked Garganega from the 1st till the 25th of October. This year also the varietals that ripen early ripened later, so that we picked Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at the end of September…We are very satisfied. The musts of Garganega are extraordinary: very high sugar content, good acidity due to the cool summer…2010 is an excellent vintage for the growers who harvested after September. On our estate we have a prevalence of old vines that resist well to rain and that mature late. We produced the whole range of wines, including Recioto. This year we picked the Garganega grapes for Recioto two weeks later than usual….There were quite a few clusters with noble rot (Botrytis) which was very interesting…The wines are fermenting well. 2010 is a very special vintage for Soave. It is a cooler vintage in comparison to the previous ones, one could maybe compare it to 2006… ”

NEGRAR (Province of Verona): The winter was cold, but without snow. During the springtime there was the right amount of rain. The weather during the summer was good till the end of July. In August the temperature was lower than usual with a few, not very intense, rains. The beginning of September was rainy.

Antonio Mazzi – Azienda Agricola Mazzi (Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC, Recioto della Valpolicella Classico DOC, Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC): “..We harvested from the 20th of September till the 8/9th of October. The first week of the harvest was good, then the weather got worse so that we had to carefully select the clusters, but we managed to obtain a good product. The yield was lower than in previous vintages….This year we deleafed the vines so to air the clusters. We had to till the aisles (the ones without grass cover) as there was spontaneous growth of grass due to the rains. At the moment we vinified only the Valpolicella Superiore Sanperetto (the grapes for Valpolicella Cru Poiega are dried for approx. 30 days before being pressed, the grapes for Amarone are dried till mid January before being pressed): it is fruity and pleasant, maybe with slightly less alcohol strength (-0.5%). This year we will not produce Recioto. Starting from the 2010 vintage Amarone della Valpolicella will be awarded the DOCG status. One could compare 2010 to 2004 and to 2008…”

VALDOBBIADENE (Province of Treviso): 2010 was unusual considering both the climate and the ripening of the grapes (that ripened late). The succession of cool and rainy periods of time followed by warm and humid days made the growers worry about disease attacks. It took the grapes longer to ripen so that Glera (the former Prosecco), the main varietal of the area, was harvested at the end of September. The range of aromatics of Glera grapes was completed during the last ten days of September due to the typical night-day temperature range of this period (which was luckily without intense downpours).

Daniele D’Anna nephew of Bruno Bortolotti owner of Cantine UmbertoBortolotti (Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze DOCG, VSQ, Prosecco DOC). Cantine U. Bortolotti vinify the grapes grown by a group of viticulturists, within the Valdobbiadene zone, that have been carefully selected over the years :”…Pinot Bianco and Chardonnay were harvested starting on the 12th of September, Glera (former Prosecco) was harvested starting on the 24th of September/beginning of October, Lagrein Kretzer was harvested during the first week of September…Ripening of the grapes was slow and was completed “late” so that the sugar content was higher in comparison to the previous vintage and acidity was good for the production of sparkling wines. Grape yield was 12/13 tons/hectare in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG area; 10-11 tons/hectare for Pinot Bianco and Chardonnay in the area of Trento, 12 tons/hectare in the zone of Verdiso, 10-13.5 tons/hectare for Glera grapes for the production of Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG; 13.5-16 tons/hectare for Glera grapes for the production of Prosecco DOC Treviso, 10 tons/hectare for Lagrein Kretzer…..Vineyard management practices were carried out from March till mid August due to the rainy weather….Work in the cellar was complex as the cellars are being restructured (the restructuring works should be over by March 2011). The first musts were intriguing, with fresh aromatics and they were already sapid due to their good acidity…….The first vinification of some lots, in particular from the zones of Santo Stefano and Farra di Soligo, had an intense bouquet. A good forecast for sparkling wines!….We will probably lower the production of Prosecco DOC Frizzante and increase the production of Prosecco DOC Spumante. ….Considering the rainy weather during 2010, one could compare this vintage t 2005. But considering the good level of ripening of grapes one could compare 2010 to 2000 or to 2001.