Pasqua Wines – The Hottest Summer Wines For The Season

Pasqua Wines

Verona is best known as the home of Romeo and Juliet.  In Verona, you find the famous home of Juliet on Cappello Street. Every day thousands of tourists visit Juliet’s house and leave love letters.  The famous love story of Romeo and Juliet is the inspiration for Pasqua’s Passione Sentimento line of wines.  These Pasqua wines have romantic labels adorned with love letters similar to those found on the walls of Juliet’s home.

Three generations of the Pasqua family have been making wines in Northern Italy, right outside of Verona in Valpolicella. The family-owned winery has been making wine since 1925, producing quality wines with the “appassimento” technique. Pasqua makes wines of exceptional texture and taste.  Over the years, the Pasqua family has been making investments in technology and innovation and is one of the premier winemakers in the Valpolicella region.  Today Riccardo and Alessandro Pasqua, the third generation, lead the company.

Winemaking runs in the Pasqua family.  Originally from Puglia, they made cherries in the region and also Primitivo wines. In 1925, the first generation of Pasqua brothers saw winemaking opportunities in the Veneto region and Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine was founded.

Riccardo and Alessandro are talented and passionate.  Their wines are a delicious selection of some of the most unique wines of Italy.  When they took over the family winery, things were in disarray.  Respecting traditions yet bringing in a sense of youthful creativity and modern techniques the brothers have turned around the Pasqua brand.  Under their leadership, the wines are now receiving worldwide recognition and are sold in over 50 countries.

Now, let’s taste their incredible wines….

Pasqua Trevenezie 11 Minutes Rosé 2019  (SRP $19)

Begin your journey with Pasqua wines by starting with this fresh and elegant 11 Minute Rosé. This wine is a new edition to the Pasqua collection made from a unique blend of local varieties of Corvina (50%), Trebbiano di Lugana (25%), Syrah (15%), and Carmenère (10%).  11 minutes is the extent of skin contact and soft pressing of the grapes.  This light touch ensures a perfect blend with an elegant pale pink color.

There is a soft floral bouquet along with delicate spices.  On the palate, the rosé is fresh, expressive and aromatic. The acidity and minerality make this rosé intense and complex. The elegant glass stopper requires no special opener, making it an irresistible summer rosé that you will want to grab for a beach day.  

Pasqua ‘Romeo & Juliet’ PassioneSentimento Bianco Veneto 2019 (SRP $16)

The famous love story of Romeo and Juliet is the inspiration for Pasqua’s Passione Sentimento line of wines. This wine is based on the Venetian Garganega variety. The Pasqua brothers have been making wines utilizing the appassimento method with their red wines, but they had the ingenious idea to make the Bianco with the same method, albeit for a shorter duration of drying.  This rare white wine is made with the same drying process as their reds but dried for only 30 days.  It is a modern and complex wine that breaks all the rules.

On the palate, there is great acidity, ripeness and sweetness of the fruit. It is voluptuous and voluminous on the palate.  Fresh, lively, and bright with flavors of peaches and tropical fruits, this wine evokes a feeling of young love — much like that of the ill-fated sweethearts in the tragic romance for which it’s named.  The PassioneSentimento Bianco is the perfect pairing for a romantic picnic.  

Famiglia Pasqua Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2016 ($49)

This classic wine from the Pasqua family is a quessential Amarone Della Vaploicella with a blend of Corvina (65%), Rondinella (25%), Corvinone (5%), and Negrara (5%).  Made from the traditional appassimento process the wine has a deep red color and an expressive bouquet of blackberries, cherries, chocolate and spice.  The same notes are detected on the palate.  The wine is perfect for BBQs and for summer grilling.  The soft tannins allow you to gently chill the wine for warm summer nights.

Pasqua Mai Dire Mai Valpolicella DOC Superiore 2013 ($48)

Mai Dire Mai is made from the extraordinary terroir of the Monte Vegro Vineyard.  The vines are situated on top of a hill at an altitude of 350 meters. The soils are basalt and calcareous, delivering wonderful minerality to the wines. Mai Dire Mai is an iconic line characterized by its elegance, complexity and unique palate.  The Monte Vegro Vineyard site is named as such because of its high elevation.  The translation in Italian, where monte means mountain and vegro means unattainable.  Many felt that vines could not be grown here, hence the name Mai Dire Mai which means “never say never”.  Or maybe the Pasqua brothers just had an affinity to James Bond movies(wink wink).

This Valpolicella Superiore is a blend of Corvina (50%), Corvinone (30%), Rondinella (10%), and Oseleta (10%) and is a beautiful expression of its terroir with its minerlity.  Notes of cherries, cloves and coffee coat the palate with great length and finish.  Pair with a hearty wild mushroom pasta, grilled steaks or mature cheeses.  Enjoy this very special wine for a mid-summer night soiree with great friends.

**Photos Credits Pasqua Wines**