Azienda Agricola Conte Loredan Gasparini

In Venegazzù di Volpago del Montello, at the foot of the homonymous hillside, in the heart of Alta Marca Trevigiana (north of Venice), lies the 60 hectares of vineyards of the Conte Loredan Gasparini Agricultural Company. This area has historically been renowned for producing high-quality wines, so much so that in 1590 the historian Bonifacio praised it in his “Historia Trevigiana”, stating that “The Treviso countryside has useful woods for many types of wood and for hunting... The lands produce […] excellent wines, and the best is from the Montello hillside,” consisting of clay soils rich in iron and mineral components.

 

Founded in the 1950s by Count Piero Loredan, a direct descendant of the Doge of Venice Leonardo Loredan (who chose the area of “Vignigazzu” to establish his residence in a splendid Palladian villa), the company passed to the current owner Giancarlo Palla in 1973. From the very beginning, the founder planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec vineyards in the company’s lands to produce high-quality wines, adopting a production philosophy (which remains a cornerstone of the company) that respects and deeply values the viticulture/territory connection.

 

Just after World War II, in the late 1940s, Count Piero Loredan sensed that in the soil of Venegazzù (TV) it was possible to create something extraordinary: a wine of the highest Quality. A truly extraordinary Quality in an absolute sense, but even more so for the territory. A territory that until then had shown great potential, but had yet to find someone with a Love for Wine and a Passion for Quality. Thus, in 1951 the first “Rosso di Venegazzù” was born.

 

Alta Marca Trevigiana is the hilly area of the province of Treviso that includes Asolo and the Montello. The Montello is an elliptical-shaped hill about 13 km long and 5 km wide, made of red earth that covers conglomerates of limestone pebbles, porphyry, and granite mixed with clay, all debris from the Piave River and the washout of the Alps. The highest point is 371 meters above sea level. The total area of Montello is about 6,000 hectares divided among five municipalities: Crocetta del Montello, Giavera del Montello, Montebelluna, Nervesa della Battaglia, and Volpago del Montello. 

 

In the Venegazzù Estate, the company was born. Surrounded by vineyards, the splendid Palladian villa Spineda, a 17th-century work by architect F.M. Preti, stands in all its beauty and majesty. Next to it is the farmhouse that houses the winery, also set in a scenario of incomparable beauty. The forty-seven hectares of vineyards surrounding the buildings are mainly red grape varieties, composed primarily of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec.

 

The Giavera Estate is located on the hilly slopes (between 150 and 250 m above sea level) of Montello, which invite contemplation of the splendid landscape, dominating the plain of Marca Trevigiana. At the foot of the Estate lies the Villa that was the seat of the Provveditoria del bosco del Montello during the time of the Serenissima Republic of Venice. The company spans twenty-three hectares, almost entirely dedicated to Prosecco Superiore of the DOCG Asolo.

 

The flagships of the Loredan Gasparini Agricultural Company are its two blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec, which over time have become true symbols of international enology. For instance, the famous Treccani Encyclopedia, a pillar of Italian knowledge, has specifically identified under the entry “Venegazzù” the name of “...a prestigious red table wine produced in limited quantities in the area of Venegazzù.” The flagship wine of the company, the famed “Capo di Stato,” has been included in a French publication titled “100 Vins de Légende” as one of the 100 wines in the world that, for their history and quality, can be unanimously considered as legendary. The Prosecco Superiore, coming from the vineyards in the ASOLO DOCG area, is also excellent, known for its particular structure and sapidity.