Vinitaly will open its doors in two days and Montonale will present in Verona the first fruits of a "challenging" harvest, that of 2023.
At the Montonale stand (Palaexpo Lombardia, Lugana area, A6) the new vintages of Lugana Montunal and Chiaretto Rosa di Notte will be available fro tasting.
"Last year the hail took away 30 percent of our grapes", says Roberto Girelli, co-owner and winemaker.
"In our misfortune, we feel privileged: the most serious damage to our vineyards, 35 hectares all around the cellar, came with the hailstorm on April 25th, when the bunches were still in the budding phase. A thinning natural, therefore, however unwanted".
The quality has been preserved, even if Orestilla 2023 will be missing: the monocru Lugana from Montonale, which gave the company international fame, will not be produced.
The huge losses at the vineyard of the same name forced the Girellis to skip the 2023 vintage, allocating the surviving grapes to Montunal.
"We expect an even more convincing Lugana Montunal 2023, while we are curious to listen to the impressions of the public at the fair on the Chiaretto, for which we have chosen a winemaking method that favors lightness", concludes the winemaker.
At Vinitaly, in addition to the new vintages, Orestilla 2021, the two classic methods Primessere (from pure Turbiana and Groppello grapes), the reds La Venga and La Conta will be available for tasting plus some tastings evolved from the private caveau of Montonale.
