Summary
Allegrini in Fumane is one of the defining names of Valpolicella Classica. Across around 150 hectares in the hills north of Verona it produces Amarone and Recioto from dried grapes, classic Valpolicella Superiore and, with La Poja, a single-varietal Corvina that redrew the map of the region. The signature is a style built on freshness, fruit and structure rather than sweetness and sheer weight – developed over decades through replanting, higher vine density and a consistent focus on individual sites.
History
The Allegrini family has been rooted in Fumane since the 16th century; the estate in its present form is usually dated to 1854. Its reputation as a modern address, however, is owed to Giovanni Allegrini, who from the 1960s began bottling wines from the family vineyards himself. He thought in terms of individual sites at a time when Valpolicella rarely did, bought hillside parcels with potential and reworked the vineyards.
After Giovanni’s death in 1983, his children Walter, Marilisa and Franco Allegrini carried the estate on – Franco in the vineyard and cellar, Marilisa in sales and communication. Walter died in 2003; his daughter Silvia Allegrini today focuses above all on sustainability projects. Franco Allegrini, who shaped the estate’s style for decades, died in early 2022.
The family then reorganised its holdings: since 2023 Marilisa Allegrini and her daughters have run the Tuscan estates Poggio al Tesoro in Bolgheri and San Polo in Montalcino, along with the Renaissance Villa della Torre, as a separate group. The Allegrini estate in Valpolicella rests with Franco’s sons Francesco, Giovanni and Matteo and their cousin Silvia.
Location & Terroir
Fumane is one of the five villages of Valpolicella Classica, the historic heartland of the appellation north-west of Verona. The vineyards sit on ridges falling from the Lessini mountains towards the Po plain – a landscape of narrow valleys, terraces and hilltops. Lake Garda to the west moderates the climate, while altitude brings cool nights and with them aroma and acidity.
Soils are predominantly calcareous, often stony and shallow, with shares of clay and volcanic material. Allegrini uses exactly this diversity for single-vineyard wines: La Grola lies at around 310 metres and covers some 30 hectares, while Villa Cavarena is among the estate’s highest parcels and supplies grapes for Amarone and Palazzo della Torre. On the limestone-rich hilltops the late-ripening Corvina matures slowly and keeps its freshness.
Style & Philosophy
The decisive intervention came in the vineyard: Giovanni Allegrini replaced the ubiquitous pergola veronese with dense Guyot training at roughly 4,500 vines per hectare. Lower yields per vine, better exposure and controlled ripening became the foundation of the style. Alongside Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella, the family also replanted the almost vanished local variety Oseleta, which contributes colour, tannin and spice.
In the cellar Allegrini works with restraint: cleanly defined fruit, present but not hard tannins, moderate use of oak and, for Amarone, an ageing regime that keeps dried-fruit aromas and freshness in balance. For grape drying the family helped establish the shared drying facility Terre di Fumane, which has made the process markedly more precise across the region.
Notable Sites & Wines
- Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG – the flagship: from grapes dried for months, dense and spicy yet emphatically clear in its fruit
- La Poja – single-varietal Corvina from the roughly 2.6-hectare plateau above La Grola, bottled as Veronese IGT since the 1983 vintage
- La Grola – Valpolicella Classico Superiore from the site of the same name, mostly Corvina with a share of Oseleta
- Palazzo della Torre – Veronese IGT, pioneer of a double fermentation using dried grapes from the same harvest
- Recioto della Valpolicella Classico – the sweet, historic forerunner of Amarone
- Valpolicella Classico – the fresh, uncomplicated entry point to the range
Awards
Allegrini is among the most decorated producers of the Verona area. Over the years the estate has collected a double-digit number of Tre Bicchieri from Gambero Rosso – by widely cited counts around 30, several of them for La Poja and regularly for the Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. In international tastings and the trade press it is likewise treated as a benchmark for how clear and long-lived Amarone and Corvina can be.