Characterful aromas with slight hints of flint, ripe peach and pear. This wine is full-bodied and rich, with excellent balance.

This wine has aromas of ripe peach and pear with hints of flint. On the palate, it is rich and well-balanced. It is refreshing and crisp on the finish, with attractive Pinot Grigio characters.

Alpha Zeta was started in 1999 when Liberty Wines, working with leading New Zealand winemaker, Matt Thomson, set out to produce a range of modern, fruit driven wines from the hills outside Verona. Our aim was to work with growers (rather than buy bulk wine, which is standard among most wines from Verona at this price) to obtain ripe grapes (by reducing yields and picking later) and then, using Matt's expertise, preserve these flavours in the finished wines. The result is a realisation of the potential inherent in Veronese viniculture.

The vineyards are located between 100-300 metres above sea level in the hills of the Alpone valley, in the commune of Monteforte d'Alpone in eastern Soave. The fruit for this wine is grown in selected old vineyards with excellent south-east exposure, where growers have reduced their yields considerably to produce excellent quality fruit. The soil is made of marl and limestone so the vines are put under stress and produce superior quality fruit. The vines are 20-30 years old on average and are trained using both the traditional Pergola Veronese and Guyot systems.

The 2020 vintage started with a cool and wet spring, which allowed a good flowering. Summer was relatively mild and dry. There were two cases of hail at the beginning of harvest but luckily, most of the vines were unaffected. This led to an early harvest of the white grapes, which were at a perfect ripeness, with a great colour. The production was average in terms of quantity.

The grapes were hand harvested and gently pressed in a pneumatic press, before being immediately cooled to preserve the fresh fruit aromas. Fermentation took place in 1200HL stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 18°C, avoiding any skin contact. the wine was then aged in 1200HL stainless steel tanks before bottling.