Grapes and nothing else.

CORTE BRAVI

Natural Wines from Valpolicella Classica

Corte Bravi is owned by Andrea and Ivano Brunelli, and was founded in 2011. We are two brothers who share a passion for growing grapes with great care. We are equally strong-minded when transforming them into honest, sincere natural wines that reflect the virtues and qualities of the region that they represent.
As attentive protectors of the beautiful environment that surrounds us, in 2015 we began the process of organic certification. Our children are growing up in the vineyards that we cultivate, and this gives us an even greater incentive and enthusiasm for safeguarding our beloved land. And we’re only just beginning…

The challenge we face

All of our natural wines are produced from the grapes we grow ourselves. They are made from spontaneous fermentations with their indigenous yeasts, without the use of chemical additives. We therefore obtain wines that contain little or no sulphites, which are then bottled without filtering.

Our philosophy? GRAPES AND NOTHING ELSE!

These are our ideas, which we pursue with determination and courage in order to give you – in the bottle – just the genuine fruits of our terroir.

– Andrea Brunelli

Discover our vines

Our vines

Each wine is unique: it has its own personality, its own character, its own temperament. Underlying this, there is a naturalness that they all share.

Discover our vines

History

We are two young brothers, Andrea and Ivano Brunelli. We have always grown high-quality grapes, sought after by the zone’s historic companies who, initially, put them to dry on the traditional drying racks known as arele and, later, in wooden crates, in order to obtain our zone’s flagship wines: Amarone and Recioto.
In 1990 our father bought land at Gargagnago, in a small valley surrounded by the estate of the noble Serego Alighieri family, descendants of Dante. We are in the heart of the Valpolicella Classica zone, immersed in beautiful countryside.

Behind us to the north are the green pastures of the Lessini Mountains. To the west is Lake Garda, which reflects the sunshine and provides us with a mild climate. To the east there is the white wine zone of Soave and, to the south of us, the splendid and very romantic city of Verona, the birthplace of Romeo and Juliet.

It is here, in this area, that we and our father began doing what we do best: lovingly cultivating the land and making dry-stone walls like those of the past, so as to plant our precious vines. In 2011 we founded Corte Bravi, and that’s when our challenge began.

We produce natural wines from our certified organic grapes. Since 2019 we have been part of the Vinnatur association, small artisan winemakers like us who have given ourselves serious rules to be able to certify a wine as natural, free of chemicals.

Since 2020 we are also happy to say that all the electricity we consume has derived from renewable sources. Our photovoltaic system was not enough for us and thanks to ForGreen we are supplied with energy produced by other local farms.
We continue to pursue these ideas of ours with determination thinking about the future of our children…

 

– Andrea Brunelli

How we work

“We cultivate our land with great dedication, so that we can harvest its fruits with love. We respect the integrity of the grapes and highlight their organoleptic properties with meticulous care.”

1

Every wine’s life begins in winter, when we prune in the vineyards. The vine, bereft of its branches, remains with just two or three shoots. The plant itself asks you to do this: “make me poor and I will make you rich”.
2

At the beginning of spring, the vines reawaken. The cut shoots drip with what seem to be tears of joy: it’s the sap rising from the roots right up to the top of the plants. During this phase, if necessary, we treat the vines with organic fertilisers or green manure.
3

Subsequently, bud break begins: new shoots appear, bringing with them the fruit that will be harvested. Any superfluous shoots are eliminated, which would otherwise go and compromise the vine’s efforts because of their excessive vigour. The secret of good grapes is to expose them to the air and sunshine, but without them ever being in direct sunlight.
4

In April, we begin spraying to protect against two harmful fungi: peronospora and oidium (downy and powdery mildew). We only use copper and sulphur, accompanied by an essence of orange blossom that allows you to decrease the quantities of these elements. Lobesia botrana, a small moth that lays its eggs in the grapes on the vine, also creates problems, but it can be controlled with pheromones which, confusing it, prevent it from reproducing.
5

Summer is on its way: the bunches have flowered and the berries are getting bigger: this is the ideal time to cut back any excess shoots and remove the leaves from the bunches so as to expose them better to the air and sun. The grass under the vines is left to grow to provide shelter and comfort for all the useful insects that help us protect the vines.
6

Autumn is approaching and the grapes begin to change colour (véraison) and accumulate sugars. We now thin out the bunches on those vines where they are too numerous, removing those that are too compact or which have defects. Towards the end of September, it is time to start harvesting our fruit.
7

It is with these grapes that we produce the Corte Bravi wines….
Discover our vines

Organic Wine

General Info

Società Agricola Corte Bravi S.S.
Via Case Sparse Vaioi, 8
37015 - Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella, VR
P. IVA 04000780231 - REA: VR - 383691

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info@cortebravi.com
+39 349 0884720

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