Azienda Agricola Massaro

Common questions

• Where is Massaro? add remove
  Massaro is on Via Villa in Negrar di Valpolicella, in the province of Verona. Negrar is one of the five valleys of Valpolicella Classica, the older heart of the region. The drive from Verona takes about twenty minutes, north through the vineyards. Parking at the cellar is free. It is an easy half-day trip from Verona or from Lake Garda.
• Can you visit and taste the wines? add remove
  Yes. The family runs the tastings themselves, and both visits are booked in advance. One is a tasting of the estate reds with a light lunch of local cheese and salami. The other is longer and adds a guided visit to a Roman villa nearby. Groups are small, and the family speak English as well as Italian.
• What is the Roman villa visit? add remove
  It is a three-hour visit that starts with a guided walk round a Roman villa near the estate, where original mosaic floors and old walls survive under the vineyards. After that you go into the cellar, hear how the wine is made today, and taste three Massaro reds with a plate of cured meats and cheeses from the Lessinia hills above the valley.
• Which wines does Massaro make? add remove
  Three reds, and nothing else. Valpolicella Classico is the light, fresh one, best poured young and slightly cool. Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore is deeper and warmer, because it is refermented on the skins left over from Amarone. Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is the strong one, made from grapes dried on racks over winter. All three come from Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara.
• Why is the estate called Norma? add remove
  Norma is the name of the family's mother. When Valentino's sons decided in 2015 to stop selling their grapes and bottle their own wine instead, they put her name on the label. That is why the full name on the bottle reads Azienda Agricola Massaro Norma.