There are wineries that have helped write the history of Italian wine, and others that have been living that history for centuries. Gini belongs to the latter category. In Monteforte d'Alpone, in the heart of Soave Classico, the family has been cultivating vines since at least 1570, spanning fifteen generations without ever breaking their bond with the land. A journey of over four centuries that not only tells the continuity of a surname but also the extraordinary ability to preserve a heritage of vineyards, knowledge, and sensibility, handed down from father to son to the present day. The symbolic date chosen by the family is January 22, 1570, the day of Giobatta's wedding, son of Antonio Gini. From that moment, one of the oldest winemaking stories in Veneto began to take shape. Over the centuries, the family has experienced wars, social changes, and viticultural evolutions, remaining faithful to their territory and a profound conviction: wine cannot be manufactured, but only accompanied with respect, experience, and patience.
This philosophy finds its highest expression in the concept that has always accompanied the Gini family's work: time. The time it takes for a vine to slowly sink its roots into the volcanic rock, the time of the seasons that mark the life of the vineyard, the time of waiting during aging, and that of evolution in the bottle. For Gini, time is not simply a measurement but the primary ingredient of every great wine.
It is on the hills of Monteforte d'Alpone that the historical soul of the winery is born. In the heart of Soave Classico, ancient Garganega vines sink their roots into volcanic soils, rich in basalts, tuffs, and calcareous veins formed millions of years ago. From this extraordinary geological heritage, great age-worthy white wines are born, capable of evolving slowly while maintaining acidity, freshness, and a distinct mineral imprint. The longevity of the vines, the complexity of the soils, and the variety of microclimates define the vocation of a unique terroir, capable of producing Soave with depth, elegance, and surprising evolutionary capacity.
Among the most precious assets preserved by the family are the old Garganega vines, some over a hundred years old, many still pre-phylloxera and ungrafted. At a time when vineyard renewal represented the simplest choice, Gini decided not to uproot their historic vines, preserving a genetic and clonal richness that is practically unique in the Soave landscape. The roots penetrate deeply into the volcanic rock, reaching water and mineral salts even in the most difficult vintages. It is this deep rooting that contributes to the savoriness, complexity, and longevity that distinguish the family's wines.
For Gini, nature has never been something to dominate, but a reality to observe and listen to. The company manages its vineyards according to the principles of certified organic farming, respecting the natural rhythms of the plant and even paying attention to lunar phases. Cover crops, grassing, protection of forests and trees surrounding the vineyards, preservation of soil fertility, and safeguarding biodiversity are practices adopted long before they became central themes in contemporary viticulture. In the Contrada Salvarenza cru, dedicated ecosystem studies have identified over two hundred insect species, a testament to the vitality of a healthy and harmonious agricultural environment.
In the 1980s, brothers Sandro and Claudio Gini gave a new turn to the company's history. Sandro deepened his understanding of indigenous yeasts, discovering extraordinary microbiological biodiversity in the cellar and eventually eliminating sulfur dioxide during grape vinification to preserve their purity. A pioneering choice that anticipated many of the themes that would mark enology in the following decades. Claudio, on the other hand, consolidated an agronomic vision linked to organic and biodynamic viticulture, strengthening the relationship between natural balance, grape quality, and wine identity.
The pursuit of the highest expression of Soave Classico led the family to enhance two vineyards destined to become authentic references of the denomination: La Froscà, established in 1985, and Contrada Salvarenza, introduced in 1989. Each cru tells a different personality, shaped by geology, exposure, altitude, and the microclimates of Monteforte d'Alpone. The grapes are interpreted without force, allowing the harvest and the vineyard to guide the choices in the cellar. This is how Soave Classico wines are born that do not chase immediacy, but find their best ally in time, growing in minerality, depth, and complexity.
Among the hills of Campiano, where Gini's other soul takes shape.
The search for authenticity did not stop at the hills of Soave Classico. Among the reliefs of eastern Alta Valpolicella, the Gini family has created one of its most ambitious projects: Tenuta Scajari. Among the hills of Campiano, in the municipality of Cazzano di Tramigna, at altitudes between 400 and 600 meters, a landscape of rare beauty unfolds, where woods, cherry trees, olive groves, and vineyards coexist in an still intact natural balance.
The name Scajari derives from the dialect word scaja, used to indicate the small yellowish-red calcareous flakes originating from the slow disintegration of the stratified rock beneath the surface. Tenuta Scajari represents the desire to establish an even deeper connection with nature: a small earthly paradise where constant ventilation, excellent sun exposure, significant temperature variations, and the richness of calcareous, stony, and clayey soils, enriched with volcanic components, allow for the production of dynamic, elegant wines with intense mineral complexity.
Since 1987, an important environmental recovery project has restored the ancient beauty of Campiano's lands, preserving the natural characteristics of the landscape and the vitality of the ecosystem. From this work come the Perle d'Alta Quota: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon cultivated in high-altitude vineyards, where the cool climate and temperature variations favor slow maturation, aromatic precision, and surprising evolutionary capacity. These wines tell a lesser-known side of Veronese viticulture, in which altitude becomes an extraordinary ally for elegance and longevity.
In eastern Alta Valpolicella, the great red wines of Tenuta Scajari also take shape. Constant ventilation keeps the grapes healthy and supports a natural drying process in the drying loft, without forcing. This results in Amarone della Valpolicella and Valpolicella Superiore wines capable of combining structure, freshness, aromatic intensity, and mineral depth, interpreting the territory with a measured style far from excess.
The same culture of waiting accompanies the elegant Metodo Classico and the precious Gocce Nobili. In the sparkling wines, patience and daily care transform the time on the lees into finesse and harmony; in Recioto, the drying concentrates aromas and sweetness, giving life to an enveloping wine capable of expressing the value of rare things. From the Recioto Metodo Ancestrale to the great age-worthy white wines, time continues to be the invisible thread that unites every expression of the winery.
For fifteen generations, the Gini family has demonstrated that time is the most precious interpreter of wine. From the historic vineyards of Soave Classico to the unspoiled landscapes of Tenuta Scajari, every bottle is born from the encounter between nature, experience, and a patience that only great winemaking families know how to preserve.
From Soave Classico to eastern Alta Valpolicella, Gini continues to interpret wine with the same philosophy that has accompanied the family since 1570. The great Soave wines, the historic crus Contrada Salvarenza and La Froscà, the Amarone and Valpolicella from Tenuta Scajari, the Perle d'Alta Quota, the Metodo Classico, and the precious Recioto wines tell a unique story of territory, biodiversity, and time. It is this extraordinary consistency, preserved through fifteen generations, that makes Gini one of the most authentic and authoritative expressions of Italian viticulture.
