To start talking about Scriani, we need to go back in time, not that long ago actually. We are in Verona, in the municipality of Fumane, part of that area known as Valpolicella Classica (Classic Valpolicella); the year is 1998 and Italy was still recovering from the devastating methanol scandal. Stefano Cottini, owner and founder of Scriani, manages to buy out his father’s little vineyard, and starts producing his own wine. This is how Scriani was born, starting with a little over an hectare vineyard and a production of 20.000 bottles, in less than twenty years it has grown into a renowned company in Valpolicella landscape, with a property of 30 hectares and a production of 110.000 bottles, but potentially it could be a lot more than that.

Scriani is a young company, even though the hands that work in it carry the wisdom of a long tradition in viticulture. Young in the most genuine and positive meaning of the word: the Cottini family is driven by the will to surprise clients, understand the market’s requests and meet them for as much as possible, always paying attention to quality first. Rule number one is never stop, and why should they, one would say, if they got so far in such a short time.

Following the principle of meeting market’s requests and enlarging their selection of wines, in 2014 they added 15 hectares of vineyards in the morainic hills of Lake Garda area to the 15 hectares they already possessed in Valpolicella, the core of their fine reds production. The lower side of Lake Garda is particularly suited for white wines, so they can produce the typical Custoza and Lugana, but also Pinot Grigio. This extension is particularly challenging, bringing along a change of mentality. Yes, because the traditional Scriani’s structured red wines require long aging, while the world of white wines is a lot faster, because freshness and easiness of drink are key factors.

So which wine best represents Scriani’s identity? “Amarone is definitely the wine that has grown more in recent years and allowed us to become well known both in Italy and abroad” Stefano Cottini told us “However, the wine that embodies our identity is Carpanè, 100% Corvina grapes”. Stefano recalls how very few people knew Corvina back in early 2000 and that meant a lot of tastings and explanations were needed. All the efforts put into the promotion of this wine “turned Carpanè into a son to me, and now that it has grown up, I remember the time it was little and needed assistance” Stefano continued. “The best quality of Carpanè is the bond with its own territory. Drinking a glass of Carpanè is like drinking a glass of Valpolicella”.

That small winery from Fumane is not small anymore. It has become a dynamic company with a fresh touch to the business, that always wants to grow and surprise.