Veneto's Bertani Family Forms New Company

VERONA, Italy, Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Gaetano Bertani and his sons Giovanni and Guglielmo proudly announce the formation of their new company, Agricola Gaetano Bertani e Figli, following the Sept. 15 division of assets related to the December 2011 sale of Cantine Bertani to Tenimenti Angelini.

Under the agreement Gaetano Bertani e Figli retains 73 acres of vineyards in the Valpolicella Classico zone, plus the family's 18^th century neoclassical Villa Mosconi Bertani (formerly known as Villa Novare) outside Verona. Together with Gaetano Bertani's 54-acre Tenuta Santa Maria alla Pieve estate and a further estate in the Valpantena Valley, the properties collectively place Bertani and his sons among the largest owners of privately held vineyards in the Veneto.

The new company will focus on top echelon wines, starting with expansion of the family's Tenuta Santa Maria range. In celebration, the Bertani family is releasing four new wines, set to debut this fall.

Family patriarch, Gaetano Bertani, reflecting on the new development, sees this as a natural and exciting evolution: "This move frees us to focus on high-quality wines, in keeping with our conviction that the global marketplace is ready to accept even higher-quality benchmarks from the Veneto."

Gaetano Bertani e Figli starts out with several key assets, providing the new company with a powerful arsenal for the future:

• 123 acres of prime vineyards spanning the three most important production valleys (Valpolicella, Val d'Illasi and Val Grezzana) in the Verona area;
• Ownership of world-class wine-making facilities at Villa Mosconi Bertani in Valpolicella and Tenuta Santa Maria in Val d'Illasi, plus a dedicated drying location for production of Amarone;
• A diversity of holdings that enables the new company to source 100% of its grape needs from its own vineyards -- a rarity in the Veneto, where the average holding is 4.2 acres;
• Winemaking supervised by renowned consultant Franco Bernabei continuing a relationship between the Bertani and Bernabei families that spans three generations on each side;
• An outstanding track record in the global marketplace for over 150 years.

Available in NY, CT, NJ and CA, with roll-outs in FL, MA, VT, TX, and DC projected this fall and more to follow in 2013, the Tenuta Santa Maria wines of Gaetano Bertani e Figli, are imported by Grapes on the Go of Sausalito, CA.

http://www.tenutapieve.com

Jane Kettlewell ~ Creative Palate Communications
E. [email protected]  ~ T. 718-704-4041 ~ Forest Hills, NY 11375

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SOURCE Agricola Gaetano Bertani e Figli