Pasqua

Three brothers from Puglia founded Pasqua in 1925, having travelled north to sell the wines of their own region. They stayed, buying vineyards in the hills above Verona, and eventually taking a deconsecrated convent to establish their first cellar. A century later, the company is in the hands of the third generation, under chief executive Riccardo Pasqua, and has built a reputation for restless creativity in a region that generally rewards conformity.

Its vineyards lie in Valpolicella, in the valleys running north of the city toward the Monti Lessini. The cool, high mountain air keeps the grapes aromatic, perfect for wines made using the traditional local appassimento method, which involves drying the picked grapes on racks through autumn and winter until the sugars concentrate. Without the altitude and the cold nights, the wines would be a heavy, flabby mess.

Fair Verona’s other major export is Romeo and Juliet, and Pasqua has built a range around the letters visitors leave at ‘Juliet’s house’ in their thousands. A million miles away from the tourists though, Pasqua has also established a research estate that has spent decades working with Italian universities on grafting and variety trials.