Antolini Amarone: Hand-Dried Grapes, Old-School Depth

Antolini is a family-driven Valpolicella producer founded in 2000 by brothers Pier Paolo and Stefano Antolini, who farm 7.5 hectares of stony hillside vineyards in Marano di Valpolicella. Known locally as "Amarone Boy," Pier Paolo cleared the rocky terrain by hand, crafting just 60,000-70,000 bottles annually compared to industrial neighbors who produce millions.

Their Amarone stands apart through meticulous appassimento: hand-sorted grapes are dried in small crates until January, then undergo spontaneous fermentation without commercial yeasts. Antolini ages wines in traditional oak casks alongside historic woods like cherry, chestnut, and mulberry—imparting unique aromatic complexity that defies standard profiles.

In the vineyard, they practice minimal intervention with no chemical weeding, relying instead on grass cover, pheromone-based pest control, and clay soils that naturally regulate water.