MASI
The "Masi" name does not refer to the owners of this large
Venetian winery. It comes from "Vaio dei Masi,"
a property acquired in the late 1700s by the Boscaini family.
The large cellars at Masi have cooperage in a variety of woods and a variety of styles.
This photo shows the modest-sized "warehouse" where Masi dries the grapes for
its Recioto and Amarone wines.
A complicated computer system even weighs each tray or rack to monitor exactly how much
the fruit is drying out.
We visited in early February and the rooms were packed! The temperature was quite
cold, so the process takes quite a while.
You may be able to see the fruit shrivelling here on the straw drying-mats.
MASI makes millions of bottles of wine annually. The range is impressive.
They also manage the property called "Conti Serego Alighieri," whose
owner is said to be related to Dante Alighieri.
We heard the amazing history of this place, a mile or so from the Masi facility.
There you will find a small inn, featuring a number of apartments which are offered for
rent most of the year.
The little winery they maintain is charming and small. These are special barrels
made of cherry wood
.
Old bottles on display in the tasting room at the Serego Alighieri estate.
We tasted a wide range of wines. The basic Valpolicella wines are sound, if
unexciting.
"TOAR" is a wine made of Corvina and Oseleta.
"OSAR" (which means 'to dare' or is a cry of joy in the local
dialect) is made predominantly of the Oseleta variety with 20% Corvina.
Exceptionally good was the 1995 Serego Alighieri Amarone, a wine matured
for more than 3 years in oak and about 4 months in those cherry barrels depicted above.
The wine has pruney notes with a candied element and lots of sweet cherries with a
jammy quality.
Masi's own 1995 Campolongo di Torbe was also excellent, a wine showing
cocao and red fruits with a tobacco-like note. The tannins sneak up on you after a
while.
The 1999 Serego Recioto Amabile is a sweet, cherryish red wine which
reminded me a bit of a young, fruity Banyuls.
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The current "Count" Alighieri with the "Duke" of
Burlingame.
