Grapes and nothing else.

CORTE BRAVI

Natural Wines from Classic Valpolicella

In 2011 Corte Bravi was born from an idea of ours, mine and my brother’s: Andrea and Ivano Brunelli. We are linked by the passion of making wine, starting from the vineyard, where we put our utmost care and dedication. We are committed with the same stubbornness and the same sense of responsibility in cultivating the field, in taking care of the grapes, to obtain natural, authentic and sincere wines, which reflect the virtues and qualities of the area in which we grew up.

We consider ourselves careful guardians of the beauty and nature that surrounds us, so in 2015 we embarked on the path of organic certification. We realized that our families, our children would grow up among the vineyards we cultivate and this gave us even more stimulus and enthusiasm in safeguarding our land and this was just the beginning…

Our challenge

All our wines are produced from the grapes we grow, respecting the balance of the vineyard, without asking for anything more than that which the vines give us, without forcing the plants. For us, fermentation is spontaneous, on its own indigenous yeasts, without the use of synthetic additives, with low sulphites or free from. The wines are bottled unfiltered.

Our philosophy: in the wine we put our care, our hands, the grapes AND NOTHING ELSE!

Our wines perfectly represent who we are and what we do. They bring with them our thoughts, our origin and our challenge, they reflect the territory, the history and the craftsmanship with which they are made.

We want to carry on our ideas and transmit them with determination and courage, and to bring only and exclusively the fruit of our land into the bottle

– Andrea Brunelli

Discover our vines

“Each wine is unique, it has its own personality, its character, its music. Nature unites them.”

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

In 1990 our father, the seventh of seven brothers, bought the land in Gargagnago in a small valley surrounded by the estates of the counts Serego Alighieri descendants of Dante.

We are in the heart of the Classic Valpolicella immersed in the beauty of our land. Behind us to the north the Lessinia, mountains with green pastures. To the west, Lake Garda, which with its reflections gives us a mild climate. To the east, the white wine area of Soave and to the south, our beloved Verona, the cradle of romanticism, the birthplace of Romeo and Juliet.

From here, in these lands, we started with our father to do what we do best: cultivate the land with passion, arranging the stone walls as they once were, to plant our beloved vineyards.

Corte Bravi was born in 2011 and from there our challenge began…

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

Since 2020 we are also happy to say that all the electricity we consume comes 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 while thinking about the future of our children.

– Andrea Brunelli

How we work

“No winegrower has the truth in hand, it lies in his ability and deep knowledge of his territory, finding what is right to do for his vineyard, respecting its balance and characteristics, in the path that goes from the plant to the glass without asking the vineyard for nothing more than that which she wants to give you.”

The vineyard in winter

Each wine is born in winter, when we dedicate ourselves to pruning the vineyards. The vine, stripped of its branches, remains with only 2 or 3 shoots. She is the one who asks you: “make me poor and I will make you rich”.
The Veronese pergola is the traditional growing system that we use in Valpolicella. It is important for us to have long shoots that lead to the production of more sparse and therefore healthier bunches.

The crying of the vineyard

At the beginning of spring the vines awaken. The cut shoots drip like a cry of joy, it is the sap that rises from the roots to the apex of the plant. In this phase we already begin a first defense against a harmful insect, the Moth. We apply baits with pheromones that confuse and thus avoid the mating of the insect.

The selection of sprouts

Subsequently, budding begins: new shoots are born and they bring with them the fruits for the harvest. Some shoots are eliminated, those in excess, which would compromise the well-being of the plant due to excessive vigour. The secret to good quality grapes is to ensure that there is ventilation and sun, but without the light being too direct.

Defense in the vineyard

In April, treatments begin to protect against two antagonistic fungi: downy mildew and powdery mildew. We use biodynamic preparations, such as nettle and horsetail decoctions, algae extracts that stimulate the plant's defenses, clays to heal and to counteract the humidity around the bunches. Essences of orange blossom to combat fungal diseases. While we use Copper and Sulfur, always in very low quantities, for defense.

Biodiversity in the vineyard

We let the grass grow tall under the vineyards in order to conserve the habitat for the insects that are useful to us. The more species of plants, flowers, insects there are in the vineyard, the more the natural balance will be maintained. In this way we let the flowering complete which is useful for the bees and to allow the flowers to pollinate the lawn.

When summer is upon us

After the flowering of the vineyard, the berries begin to swell. It is a good time to trim excess shoots and leaf through the bunches to better expose them to the air and the sun. Fewer leaves means more space for air between the bunches, thus reducing the incidence of diseases. This is why we continue to leaf through the vines, starting before the flowering of the bunches until the beginning of the veraison.
Instead, the grass under the vines is left to grow to provide shelter and comfort to all the insects that help us defend the vines.

The harvest is near

Autumn is approaching and the grapes in the veraison phase begin to accumulate sugars. Here we intervene with the thinning on the plant where there are too many bunches, removing those that are less sparse or that are less beautiful. Towards the end of September, the time to reap the benefits begins.

In harvest

Important for us is the selection of the grapes. We don't go through the same vineyard several times for the different wines, but the vineyards are dedicated. The harvest takes place exclusively by hand and we try to be very careful not to crush or break the berries before arriving at the winery.

In the winery

From these grapes we produce our wines, following a desire for craftsmanship, less intervention, cleanliness, spontaneity and authenticity.

Discover our vines

We wait for the spontaneous fermentations, so it takes longer to complete the macerations. We do not do the pressing, but the de-stemming in order to work the whole grape still when it is fresh. In the first stages of vinification we never add sulfur and also the malolactic fermentation stage takes place without sulphites. We add them in the reds, only in the phase of aging in wood and before going into the bottle, without filtering. To work in this way we must be as meticulous as possible in the management of the tanks and in the control of the wines in the woods.

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

Links

Contacts

info@cortebravi.com
+39 349 0884720