Corte Bravi is located in the heart of the Valpolicella Classica, just northwest of the city of Verona. The area is made up of three main parallel valleys, with steep hills, squeezed between the imposing Alpine chain to the north and the alluvial plain of the Po River to the south. Lake Garda lies to the west, just behind a ridge and the vicinity with Italy’s largest lake influences the climate year-round. Ancient dry walls, steep vineyards, olive groves, and cherry trees dominate the landscape of this bucolic corner of Northern Italy.
The winery, today in the capable hands of Andrea Brunelli and his brother Ivano, sits at the bottom of a narrow valley in the hamlet of Gargagnago. The land was purchased in 1990 by Andrea’s father and for the following 20 years, the family members put all of their effort into planting vineyards, restoring stone walls, preserving terraces, and slowly building an environmentally friendly winery and cellar. In 2011 Andrea and Ivano felt they were finally ready to begin to bottle their wines under the Corte Bravi label.
The vines, trained in the traditional pergola veronese system, grow in a narrow valley, surrounded by a natural amphitheater that encircles the entire property. During the growing season, every evening without fail, a fresh, steady breeze blows down from the mountains and funnels into the canyon just above the winery, cooling off the vines and thus creating peculiar climatic conditions unique to Corte Bravi. The indigenous Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Oseleta, and Molinara benefit from the wide diurnal swing and yield wines marked by freshness and elegance.
The winery is organic certified and the two brothers have been implementing more and more biodynamic practices in their approach in the vineyard as well as in the cellar. Their work is entirely free of chemical products and they pride themselves on being members of the Vinnatur Association. Since 2020 the winery has been relying solely on renewable resources for its electricity. Part of it comes from their photovoltaic system, the remaining is supplied by neighboring farmers. Rainwater is collected on the roof and used for emergency irrigation and to distribute treatments to the plants.
