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
Bodegas Ribas
We could talk about our winery of the year, Bodega Ribas on Mallorca, all day long. But it's best to see and read for yourself! We sent wine journalist Britta Wiegelmann and cameraman Felix Groteloh to experience the winery and the family at first hand. Araceli and Javier Servera Ribas, the brother and sister team behind the wines, tell us how the oldest existing winery on the island survived phylloxera, why they love their local grape, the Mantonegro, so much and what the sea has to do with it all.
Weingut Nicolussi-Leck
The Kreithof, as the ancestral estate is known, is located near the idyllic Lake Caldaro in South Tyrol (Alto Adige) and has been cultivated by the Nicolussi-Leck family since 1915. Standing guard over it are the medieval ruins of Leuchtenburg Castle, which – like the estate – dates back to the 13th century and was presumably also associated with nearby Laimburg Castle in the Etsch Valley.
André Clouet / Jean François Clouet
We didn’t find the low house, dating from the 17th century, straight away, even though the village of Bouzy is not very large. Modest buildings are grouped around a courtyard, behind which a vineyard lies, similar to a clos.