Giuseppe QuintarelliThe estate of Giuseppe Quintarelli, the Veneto’s most important producer, has received justifiable renown for its near-mythical Amarone, Recioto and the cult wine, Alzero. Although other producers like Romano dal Forno, who was Giuseppe Quintarelli’s protégée, make fine Amarones, Quintarelli Amarone is inarguably the benchmark for the wine. The namesake and the touchstone for the estate, Giuseppe or “Beppe” Quintarelli established the standard for other Veneto reds, including Recioto and Valpolicella Superiore. Giuseppe Quintarelli died in January 2012 at the age of 84; his estate continues on in the hands of his wife and children, who learned winemaking from the man known as “The Master of the Veneto.” A perfectionist who practiced rigorous grape selection, Quintarelli released his wines to market only when he deemed them ready—often many years after his fellow Veneto producers.
As resolute traditionalists, the Quintarelli estate follows the winemaking standards and practices established by Giuseppe, practices he received from his father and grandfather--thus Quintarelli wines are always small in allocation, high in demand and stratospheric in quality. Even the most connected cognoscenti find the Quintarelli wines difficult to obtain. Quintarelli makes some of the world’s most sought-after wines, wines that create fervor unlike almost any other wine from Italy. Quintarelli’s limited-production Amarones, Reciotos, and Valpolicellas have long been the epitome of excellence. These are true thinking wines that slow the pace and teach the drinker to be silent; a Quintarelli wine is humbling because it is unlike any other in the world. It is, as IWM Founder Sergio Esposito has said, “a rocket ship".
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