Custoza Fortified Wine Gains DOC Status at Autumn Festival
A journey through the flavors, traditions, and culture of the morainic hills. This is the “autumn festival,” an event through which the cultural department aims to promote the territory of Sona, its activities, its typical food and wine products, and its traditions.
As part of various initiatives carried out in collaboration with the Consorzio tutela del vino bianco di Custoza (White Wine Protection Consortium of Custoza), the first fortified wine competition was organized. This year, the product rightly earned the medal of controlled designation of origin (DOC).
The awards ceremony and related events
A panel of expert oenologists examined the fortified wine samples on Friday in the Sala affreschi of Sona. The awards ceremony for the best fortified wine of the year will take place on Sunday in the town hall council chamber.
This event will be preceded on Saturday at 9 p.m. in the parish theater of Lugagnano by a concert featuring the Montegaleto choir of Bussolengo, the University Choir of Padua, and the mandolin players group of Bussolengo.
The painting competition and the final day
Organizers have also announced this year’s painting contest on the theme of wine. The theme chosen for this edition is “The roads of wine: the culture of wine between territory and art in the Veronese morainic lands.” The artworks will be displayed in the council chamber until Sunday (today, tomorrow, Friday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.). The first-place painting will also be awarded on Sunday.
The “autumn festival” will conclude on Sunday at 3 p.m. with a tasting of Bardolino novello paired with chestnuts prepared by the local Alpini group and fortified wines accompanied by Monte Veronese cheese. On the final day, the Fedrigo Paleontological Museum will be open to the public from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The fortified wine and the official recognition
This year, the main focus of the festival is the fortified wine, the latest addition to the Custoza family. On August 11, the Gazzetta Ufficiale (Official Gazette) officially granted it the controlled designation of origin (DOC), alongside Custoza Superiore, with the approval of the relevant regulations.
This is a significant recognition for producers and winemakers, and the satisfaction is heightened by the fact that leading enology experts nationally have already highly praised the fortified wine made by the 18 local wineries that produce it.
The confirmation came during a conference organized by the Pro loco di Custoza, with Rocco di Stefano, director of the Istituto Sperimentale di Enologia di Asti (Asti Experimental Institute of Enology) and a member of the national commission that assessed the quality of the product before approving the DOC regulation.
The characteristics of the wine and production data
“Custoza’s fortified wine is excellent,” remarked the expert, “and its average alcohol content, 13.5 degrees, even exceeds the minimum set by the standards, which is 12 degrees; however, the challenge for the consortium and producers now is to make the aroma of the fortified wine more uniform, so that the flavor fully reflects the typicity of the area.”
Currently, in the territory producing Bianco di Custoza, 170,000 quintals of grapes are harvested, yielding 110,000 quintals of wine, which is equivalent to about 14 million bottles.
