Valpolicella is fairly large, but not too large—approximately 8,600 hectares of vineyards. By comparison, Chianti has 72,000 hectares, but it’s also true that other renowned appellations, such as Barolo and Montalcino, have far fewer: 1,800 for the former and 3,500 for the latter. Five main valleys make up this wine-growing region, stretching from the Po Valley to the Lessinia Mountains, ranging from 50 meters above sea level in the center of Verona to 600 meters at the highe

Palui, the elders of the contrada explained to me, comes from "palude," meaning swamp, which seems absurd since we are on a ridge and water normally flows downhill. A swamp on a hill? Impossible! Nevertheless, the name is historical and can be found on very old maps. And the mystery can be explained: Because it is a karstic area with underlying limestone slabs, the water collects between these slabs not far from the surface and is then forced upwards. In fact, there are two