Bertani
A historic Veronese red from Bertani, first made in the 1800s. Corvina leads a Valpantena blend aged 18 months in chestnut and cherry casks: savoury tobacco, leather and cherry over firm tannin and fresh acidity. A food red for braised meat and game.
Long cask ageing gives a savoury, Corvina-led red of tobacco, leather and cherry. These notes synthesise Bertani's own description with the Vivino drinker consensus across nearly 5,000 ratings.
The nose is savoury and evolved, true to a Corvina-led Verona red given long wood ageing. Vivino drinkers most often flag tobacco, sweet oak and coffee alongside ripe cherry and raspberry, with the leather and dried-fig edge that 18 months in old Veronese chestnut and cherry casks leaves on Secco-Bertani.
Coffee
Cherry
Plum
Raisin
Tobacco
Leather
Black pepper
LiquoriceFull-bodied and firmly structured, as Bertani intends it: the 80% Corvina core carries plum and blackberry over leather, cocoa and pepper. The cool, balanced 2021 season keeps acidity lively, so the firm tannin and old-cask grip stay fresh rather than heavy.
The finish is long and savoury, closing on dried fruit, liquorice and a chestnut-cask warmth rather than primary fruit.
A traditional, food-first Veronese red that sits above Bertani's Valpantena range as a heritage cuvee revived from an 1800s recipe. The Vivino crowd rates it a dependable 3.9 from nearly 5,000 ratings, loved with red meat and game though not built to over-deliver on price; the 2021 drinks well now and into the early 2030s.
Two vintages are stocked: the cool-vintage 2021, one of the stronger recent Veneto years, around £24, and a 1.5-litre 2023 magnum for the table.
Scored as a food-first Verona red: strong at the table with red meat and game, capable of a few years in the cellar in vintages like 2021, less of a midweek everyday pour at its price.
Firm Corvina-led tannin and the fresh acidity of cool vintages like 2021 make this a versatile match for braised red meat, game and tomato-rich pasta.
A classic indigenous-Corvina expression that is approachable, but the savoury leather, tobacco and old-cask style leans more traditional than a fruit-forward starter red.
At about £24 for a structured, cask-aged heritage Verona IGT the quality-to-price is sound, though Vivino drinkers rate it a notch below some similarly priced peers.
Verona IGT carries no ageing mandate, yet 18 months in cask, firm structure and a strong 2021 give five to eight years of cellaring in the better vintages.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our editorial methodology.
A compact view of what the Verona/Veronese denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
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2021 was a near-perfect, cool-toned Veneto season with real ageing potential. 2023 was a far more variable, rain-affected year across northern Italy that rewards earlier drinking.
2023 was a variable, rain-affected year across northern Italy with heavy mildew pressure, so careful selection mattered. This bottling drinks earlier than the structured 2021 and is best enjoyed through the late 2020s.
2021 was a cool, balanced Veneto season: an April frost cut yields, then a moderate summer let Corvina ripen slowly. The result is a fresher, age-worthy Secco-Bertani that should hold into the early 2030s.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
Secco-Bertani has been made since the 1800s from grapes on the hills around Bertani's Grezzana headquarters in the Valpantena, to a recipe of 80% Corvina with Sangiovese, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Verona/Veronese is in the IGT tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Verona/Veronese falls within Veneto , covering Veneto.
Bertani draws the blend from vineyards on the hills around its 1857 Grezzana base; estate-grown Corvina costs more than bought-in valley fruit.
Two years of ageing before release ties up cellar space and traditional large-format casks, a real carrying cost on a roughly £24 wine.
The Secco-Bertani name has carried a premium since the wine was exported worldwide by 1888, supporting pricing above generic Verona IGT reds.
Sitting in the broad Verona IGT rather than a tightly regulated DOCG keeps grape and compliance costs below Amarone or Valpolicella Superiore.
At 2026 HMRC rates a 13% still wine carries £2.67 excise duty plus 20% VAT, roughly £6.70 of a £24 shelf price before any retailer margin.
Dishes that complement this wine
Firm tannin and the fresh acidity of the 2021 make this a red for braised veal, game and tomato-rich pasta, the dishes Vivino drinkers reach for most.
The firm tannin from Corvina, Cabernet and Syrah and the grip of 18 months in cask need collagen-rich, slow-cooked meat to soften against. The wine's leather and tobacco notes echo the savour of braised and roasted game.
Try with: Ossobuco alla Milanese · Agnello Ragu Lucano · Venison Stew · More pairings →
Corvina's lively acidity, kept fresh by the cool 2021 season, mirrors the acidity of long-cooked tomato ragu. That match stops the wine tasting flat and keeps a rich, layered bake feeling clean.
Try with: Lasagna · Cotoletta alla bolognese · Agnello Ragu Lucano · More pairings →
Years in old Veronese chestnut and cherry casks give Secco-Bertani leather, cocoa and forest-floor aromatics. Those notes bridge directly to porcini and truffle, deepening both the wine and the dish.
Try with: Porcini mushroom risotto · Truffle risotto · Polenta alla Valdostana · More pairings →
Acidity and a tannic edge cut through the fat and salt of mature mountain cheese, while the wine's dried-fruit depth answers the cheese's nuttiness. A natural close to a Veronese meal.
Try with: Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · Polenta alla Valdostana · Cheese board · More pairings →
A full body and firm structure stand up to charred, fatty beef, and the tannin scrubs the palate between bites. The savoury, spiced profile suits the grill better than primary fruit would.
Try with: Fiorentina steak · Ribeye steak · Sirloin steak · More pairings →
Firm tannin and oak-derived bitterness sharpen chilli heat and turn aggressive, while the wine's weight and savour bury delicate white fish and raw shellfish. Reach for an aromatic Italian white with these instead.
Skip with: Crispy chilli beef · Szechuan beef · Squid ink risotto · Pairing guide →
The structured 2021, with firm tannin and lively acidity from a cool season, will hold and develop for five to eight years. The variable 2023 is better enjoyed young.
Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Verona IGT carries no ageing mandate, yet 18 months in cask, firm structure and a strong 2021 give five to eight years of cellaring in the better vintages.
£23.68 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 7 Jun 2026, 15:29 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumIt is a dry, structured Veronese red classified as Verona IGT. Bertani blends 80% Corvina with Sangiovese, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon and ages it in traditional large chestnut and cherry casks, reviving a recipe first made in the 1800s.
80% Corvina, 10% Sangiovese Grosso, 5% Syrah and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit comes from vineyards on the Valpantena hills around Bertani's Grezzana estate near Verona.
It is a full-bodied, savoury red with tobacco, leather and ripe cherry, firm tannin and fresh acidity. Drinkers consistently note oak, coffee and spice from its long ageing in old Veronese casks.
Braised veal such as ossobuco, lamb ragu, game and tomato-rich baked pasta. The firm tannin and lively acidity suit rich red-meat and mushroom dishes, and it has the grip for aged hard cheese.
The structured 2021, from a cool and balanced vintage, will hold and develop for five to eight years. The more variable 2023 is better enjoyed young, within a few years of release.
No. It is a dry Verona IGT from the Valpantena, not an Amarone della Valpolicella. It is made from fresh grapes with long cask ageing rather than the dried-grape appassimento method that defines Amarone.
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