From Gaetano to the fourth generation: a family chronicle from Fumane
The history of the winery begins at the beginning of the 20th century, when Gaetano Accordini made wine as a tenant on the hills around Negrar. His son Stefano turned this heritage into an independent business in the 1970s: with the purchase of the Il Fornetto vineyard in the Negrar Valley, he laid the family's first foundation and built his own winery. Initially, the winery worked exclusively for the local market. The decisive generational change came in 1982, when Stefano's sons Tiziano and Daniele joined — Tiziano with commercial skill, Daniele with cellar technical know-how. Together, they modernized equipment and processes and opened the winery to international markets.
At the turn of the millennium, the boldest step in the family history followed: Tiziano and Daniele moved the entire production to the high altitudes of the Valpolicella Classica. They bought ten hectares of vineyard land in Cavolo di Fumane at about 550 meters above sea level — and in 2011, the new construction of the wine cellar at this altitude completed the transformation. Today, the fourth generation — Giacomo, Paolo, and Marco Accordini — cultivates 25 hectares of vineyard area in the highest winery in the entire Valpolicella Classica.
Altitude as a philosophy: cool nights, poor soils, no compromise
The decision to move production uphill is not a geographical curiosity, but the heart of the Accordini philosophy. At 500 to 600 meters above sea level, daytime heat and cool mountain winds from the Lessinia ensure a pronounced day-night temperature difference. This slows down ripening, lowers yields — and noticeably increases the aroma concentration and acidity structure of the grapes. The soils around Cavolo di Fumane alternate between limestone, clay, and skeletal layers with thin clay deposits; the vines work deep, the yields remain small.
Since 2015, the family has converted the entire operation to organic farming. All 25 hectares are cultivated according to organic criteria; the new winery and the attached Agriturismo Acinatico are operated entirely with renewable energies. The premium organic line follows the principle of achieving quality through technology rather than chemistry — grapes from plots that know no neighboring planting outside their own vineyards.
Corvina up high: Valpolicella Classico, Ripasso, and Amarone from mountain sites
The assortment revolves around the classic autochthonous grape varieties of the Valpolicella: Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, and Rondinella, supplemented by Molinara. From them, wines are created along the entire spectrum of the appellation — from the fresh Valpolicella Classico DOC to the full-bodied Ripasso Acinatico to the Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG and the sweet Recioto. The two Amarone lines — Acinatico from the high-altitude vineyards Bessole and Cavalo as well as the Riserva Il Fornetto — stand for the sensory signature of the winery: grapes that are dried for about four months after the harvest before they mature in oak wood. The result is red wines with structured depth, dark fruit, spicy melt, and a finish that noticeably reflects the coolness of the mountain sites. The Valpolicella Classico also carries this origin: lively acidity, clear cherry fruit, no heavy body — a wine that works with food, not alongside it.
