The excellence of wine comes from the land.

Ten points for quality

1. The land of VAJOL Set between the thousand-year-old Pieve di San Floriano and San Pietro in Cariano, the main municipality of Valpolicella classica, the Vajol farmland unfolds to the eye in a splendid valley of 10 hectares of vineyards, all south facing: a perfect harmony of sloping fields and hills with the house, wine cellar and fruttaio (drying lofts) set at the centre. The northern fields border on the territory of Comune di Fumane and Marano.

2. A single body of land All the grapes come exclusively from the fields around Corte Sant'Anna, this gives a particular uniqueness to our wine and makes it unmistakable: wine born on tuff rock.

3. Terroir del Vajol Once upon a time the sea was here – imagine a sunny bay. VAJOL soil consists of marl formed between the mesozoic era (150 million years ago) and the tertiary era (60 million years ago) following the orogenesis of the Alps mountain range. The soil is very calcareous, ideal for moderating the vines’ natural vigour. Limestone also has sponge-like qualities, the capacity to hold water for long periods and release it only when the plants need it, always keeping the berries well hydrated. The soil is thin but rich in organic substances, permitting the vines to live in perfect nutritional balance. This harmony is passed on into the quality of the wines that are always elegant and fully express, in their aroma and on the palate, their rich polyphenolic polyphony. RUBINELLI VAJOL wines are born in the soil before they even reach the wine cellar; they are gifts of nature and of the morphogenesis in the Conca del Vajol land that, south facing, is exactly at the centre of Valpolicella classica.

4. Differences in soil Medium texture soil with all over tuff presence. The orography of the terrain is varied, ranging from flat to hilly; the soils each present different characteristics although the soil register is the same due to their proximity. The terrain is calcareous and tuffaceous, of medium texture with a good clay presence mainly on the downward slopes, and a moderate presence of skeletal fragments in the hills. The soil is deep in the lower parts of the estate and of varied depth on the higher parts.

5. Ancient Spring The vineyards receive water naturally, even in the driest seasons, absorbing the necessary amount from ground water that flows a few metres under the fields of Conca del Vajol. The presence of this water is also shown by the still active natural spring, cited in an official document of 1635 as 'the fount of Vajol'.

6. The vineyards are managed using traditional growing methods such as the Veronese arbour (50%) and other more modern methods such as the Guyot in the more recent systems (50%). The vineyards on the hills or slopes are positioned on characteristic tuff rock terraces, harmoniously respecting the surrounding countryside. Different rootstocks are used on the hills, slopes and flat ground allowing a better adaptation to the terrain.

7. The grapes Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella are the varieties we use the most with a small quantity of Molinara and Oseleta.

8. Sustainability To protect the environment, the consumer's health and our own, all weedkillers and synthetic fertilisers have been eliminated. These have been replaced with mechanical weeding and green manure so as to respect and exalt the natural characteristics of the terrain.

9. Green manure We have undertaken a system of sowing based on green manure, using more than 20 herbaceous and leguminous extracts between the rows and surrounding soil at the time of flowering, thus generating an increase in organic substances.

10. Harvest exclusively by hand, first the amarone and grape-dried wines (picking each bunch only when at its correct maturation and carefully placing them to rest) immediately followed by manual pressing.

All these operations are carried out with an eye to exalting the characteristics of the different terroir present on the estate - the best wine comes from the best grapes.

Every choice we make, everything we do in the fields or in the wine cellar is dedicated to the ideas and inspiration of the Prof. Roberto Ferrarini, from whom we learnt nearly every thingthere is to know about the excellence of wine.