There have been vines in Fiui since Roman times, when farmers mixed crops, fruit trees supported the vines, free spaces were cultivated with cereals and legumes and pastures, surrounded by woods, bordered the cultivated land. Then, after the fall of the Roman Empire and the years of abandonment, the monks arrived to cultivate the vine and wine became the cornerstone of the village economy. The monks used sulphur, decoctions and fumigations to cure their vines and today this history repeats itself every day in a modern way in the Corte Sant'Alda vineyard where the vines are treated as treasures and human intervention in the cellar is rare when making a great Amarone or a great Valpolicella. And in Fiui today it was born “Ca' Fiui”, the favorite of Federica, daughter of Marinella Camerani, owner of the Corte Sant'Alda company located in Mezzane di Sotto in the province of Verona.
Mother and daughter, a single surname and a project, that of do biodynamic farming which has its roots in the millenary tradition.
After the childhood games, mother and daughter found themselves very young to build a path that appears philosophical but which leads to the living matter, the wine that the two women produce together with their extended family.
Amarone, Ripasso and Valpolicella, for a total of 80 bottles a year, 65% destined for foreign markets are the figures of the Corte Sant'Alda company.
Federica Camerani, 30, with her mother Mariella in the company for 10, takes care of everything, in the vineyard as in the cellar or in public relations, when it comes to bringing her "nectar of the gods" to international or national wine events, for example like this year in Summa, the event organized by Alois Lageder in Magre', in Alto Adige.
Beautiful, blonde, with delicate features and a great sympathy in approaching the public who assault the most valuable and most requested wine, Amarone, Federica says that she actually loves to talk about Ca' Fiui because it is "the Valpolicella, which it represents us in our identity. For us it has the same importance as the great wines, Amarone and Ripasso which – she emphasizes forcefully – all come from Valpolicella. ”.
“A fresh, sincere wine” – observes Federica. Made of Corvina grapes (40%), Corvinone (40%), Rondinella (15%) and 5% with other, has a month's maceration and is aged in French oak barrels. Of an intense red color, fruity, with mineral notes, it has hints of spices and tobacco. It goes perfectly with grilled, roast and braised meats with savory sauces, game and aged cheeses (12 euros in the cellar). Like all the wines of Mariella and Federica Camerani it bears the Demeter brand, as a product derived from land prepared and cultivated with the biodynamic method.
