Casa Lupo by Paladin
Casa Lupo is the Paladin family’s Valpolicella “subsidiary” and consists of 25 hectares spread between the towns of Negrar and Illasi in the province of Verona.
Visitors to Veneto usually stay at Lake Garda or in “Romeo and Juliet’s” culturally rich city of Verona. But wine enthusiasts will be tempted by the Ripassi and Amaroni along the southern slopes of the central Alps leading down to Valpolicella.
Paladin’s vineyard team cultivates the vines here all year round and takes care of the harvest. Vinification and bottling is carried out by a local partner to ensure compliance with the legal regulations for DOC and DOCG.
The name “Casa Lupo” has its origins in the history of the region, where many years ago Valpolicella was almost completely covered with forests which were inhabited by several large packs of wolves. It was literally the home of the wolf, or “Casa Lupo” in Italian.
The white calcareous and argillaceous soils are used to cultivate the red grape varieties Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara. The Mediterranean climate produces elegant, sophisticated and very complex wines, which delight visitors with their excellent drinkability and pair perfectly with local cuisine.
Travel tips for culinary and nature lovers
Gastronomy:
Trattoria alla Ruota
Via Proale, 6, 37024 Negrar
www.trattoriaallaruota.it
Antica Bottega del Vino
Via Scudo di Francia, 3, 37121 Verona
www.bottegavini.it
One of the best cheese affineurs in Italy:
Family Bernardinelli
I sapori del portico
Via San Francesco 48, 37024 Arbizzano-Santa Maria
Nature:
The idyllic national park: Parco Naturale della Lessinia
In the small Dolomites: Hiking area in the Campobrun nature reserve
White wines from Casa Lupo by Paladin
Red wines from Casa Lupo by Paladin
from Casa Lupo by Paladin
Producer
Elias Mora
The bodega was founded in 2000 by Victoria Benavides and the name of the winery honours the former owner of the vineyards: Elías Mora. The oenologist is one of Spain's undisputed winegrowers.
Massena / Jaysen Collins
Dan Standish and Jaysen Collins were college friends, and in the late 1990s they decided to put their talents together to produce wine. Recently, Jaysen Collins has taken charge of the "Massena" project on his own.The grapes are purchased from growers in Greenock, Kalimna and Koonunga Hill in the northwest Barossa Valley.
Dominio de Pingus
The first Pingus was bottled in 1995. This limited production wine from Ribera del Duero made history with a legendary rating from Robert Parker Junior (1998): "One of the greatest young red wines I have ever tasted." The vintage is also at the centre of a somewhat mythical-sounding story – the freighter carrying a quarter of the limited production sank off the Azores, with the wine ending up in Davy Jones's locker at the bottom of the sea.