Castelrotto · San Pietro in Cariano · Valpolicella Classica
Paolo Cottini
The Producer
Three Generations,
One Registered Owner
The official business name is Az. Agricola Paolo Cottini di Riolfi Sara, meaning the estate is legally registered under Sara Riolfi's name. Paolo Cottini and Sara co-founded the winery in 2010 in Castelrotto, a medieval hilltop village within the municipality of San Pietro in Cariano, in the heart of Valpolicella Classica. Sara is the registered legal owner of record. Paolo is the winemaker, day-to-day in the cellar and vineyard.
Note that this estate is distinct from Famiglia Cottini / Monte Zovo, a larger separate operation with different ownership, more hectares, and broader production. Paolo Cottini's Az. Agricola is boutique, family-scale, and focused exclusively on Valpolicella Classica fruit.
Paolo learned the craft from his father Silvano, who in turn learned it from his own father before him. Three to four generations of the Cottini family have grown Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella on these hills, through the era when Amarone was still a farmhouse secret, through its international rise, and into the modern phase of single-estate fine wine recognition.
The philosophy Paolo describes: "The difference between doing a job and doing it with passion is the result." Grandi Vini d'Italia summarized the wines as demonstrating "remarkable clarity and precision in a medium-bodied, focused style", an uncommon compliment in a category defined by extraction and power.
The Land
Six Parcels, Two Climates
Valpolicella Classica is not flat. Paolo Cottini's six parcels span 400 metres of altitude, from valley floor plots in Fumane at 180 metres to high-elevation positions at 580 metres in the Negrar and Marano valleys. That range matters in Amarone.
The Ca’ del Gallo and Magine parcels at 580 metres bring freshness and lift that is especially valuable during Amarone’s 90–110 day appassimento. Slower-ripened fruit from altitude retains acidity through the drying process, preventing the wine from becoming jammy or flat. The lower-elevation Fumane parcels. Banchette, Ca’ Beppi, Camparsi, San Micheletto, add the structural weight and fruit concentration that define Amarone’s character. The blend is 55% Corvina, 35% Corvinone, 10% Rondinella, reflecting the classic Classico zone hierarchy in which Corvina dominates but Corvinone carries comparable weight.
The Process
Appassimento:
Three Months of Transformation
Amarone della Valpolicella is built on a process with no equivalent in the wine world. After harvest in late September and early October, the best clusters, selected by hand, are transferred to fruttai: purpose-built drying lofts with high ceilings and windows engineered for maximum ventilation. The grapes rest there for 90 to 110 days.
During those three-plus months, each grape loses 40 to 50 percent of its weight through controlled dehydration. What concentrates in the skins is everything: sugars, polyphenols, acids, aromatics. What transforms chemically is equally significant. Malic acid metabolizes during drying, reducing harsh acidity, while tartaric acid remains as structural backbone. Glycerine accumulates, contributing to the silky texture that distinguishes great Amarone from the merely heavy.
Per DOCG regulation, fermentation cannot begin before December 1st, a rule that ensures sufficient drying before vinification. Paolo Cottini ferments for 35 days at 16–18°C, a long maceration extracting maximum color, tannin, and flavor from the concentrated skins before aging begins.
| Blend | 55% Corvina, 35% Corvinone, 10% Rondinella |
| Training | Pergola Veronese |
| Yield | 8 t/hectare |
| Harvest | Manual, late September–October |
| Appassimento | 90–110 days in fruttai lofts |
| Weight Loss | 40–50% of original grape weight |
| Fermentation | From Dec. 1 per DOCG, 35 days, 16–18°C |
Ownership
Sara Riolfi:
Registered Owner of Record
The business name says it: Az. Agricola Paolo Cottini di Riolfi Sara. Under Italian commercial law, the entity is registered under Sara Riolfi's name, making her the legal owner of record. The same registration appeared in the ProWein 2020 exhibitor directory under the same legal designation.
Sara and Paolo built this estate together from the ground up in 2010, carrying forward a family tradition of Valpolicella viticulture that reaches three to four generations back through the Cottini lineage. Paolo’s specific domain is the cellar and vineyard. Sara’s legal ownership is not a formality. It is the documented foundation of the business.
For programs that prioritize women-owned or women-led estate producers, the Paolo Cottini estate offers the clearest possible ownership documentation of any Italian wine brand: the owner’s name is embedded in the legal registration itself.
Grandi Vini d’Italia
"Remarkable clarity and precision in a medium-bodied, focused style. Suggestions of amarena cherries, menthol, spices and minerals emerge with air. One of the more accessible Amarones. Lithe structure. Overall balance beyond question."
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Boutique Amarone from the original Classico zone. Woman-owned estate. Dual-vintage offering for cellar and right-now programming. Exclusive US distribution through The Italian Connection.
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