Notes From the Road: The Coolest Italians I know
Marco Zanoni and Giovanna Tantini have to be the two coolest Italians I know. Everything Giovanna does seems effortless, while Marco has that James Dean vibe about him. Even while traipsing about vineyards, they are elegantly dressed, with a perpetually breezy way about them.
No sooner had I arrived on Saturday morning than they ushered me into the fire-engine-red Land Rover for an over-landing tour of their vineyards, both old and new. We started with Giovanna's newest planting — Corvina trained on old-school pergolas, traditional in Bardolino — before heading to one of the oldest sites they own, a place called Montioni.
Montioni is the highest point of the municipality of Lazise, on the southern shores of Lake Garda. Arriving here felt like stepping onto a film set — the vintage 4x4, an allée of cypress trees, a grand old house, a grove of olive trees, gnarled old vines. And then the view opens up. To the west, a spectacular panorama of the lake, which brings morning winds through the rows. To the northeast, a jagged backdrop of the Dolomites. The same glaciers that carved the Adige valley deposited rich, rocky soils here, and each evening, cold Alpine air rolls down from the mountains. The results are wines with a signature vibrancy — fresh, mineral, and a saline finish you didn't even know you craved.
We headed back to their home for lunch, and yes, a few wines. By now, Marco knows how much I love Syrah, so along with a plate of salami and a bowl of pasta, he set a bottle of his most personal wine— a deep garnet and intensely aromatic Syrah from his beloved Montioni.
Syrah is a genuine anomaly up here, but Marco's father had a real affinity for the grape and decided to plant a one-acre plot at Montioni, surrounded by olive trees and bathed in sunshine. His instincts were rewarded. Farmed at low yields and aged two years in older oak barrels, this is a Syrah that is concentrated and silky, loaded with plum, red fruit, black olive and a whisper of dark chocolate — but never heavy. The wind-exposed site keeps everything fresh, with balanced acidity and that saline finish that makes your mouth water.
ZF4
‘Tre Monti’
Syrah 2019
About 1,000 bottles are made each year, and nearly all of it is snapped up by long-time customers and restaurant friends in Lazise who are in the know, and perfectly happy keeping it to themselves. But Marco, being undeniably cool, willingly stashed away ten cases for us — so you can enjoy some on this side of the world.
This very special syrah landed in our warehouse a few months ago, and I’ve been waiting for just the right moment to share it with you. A visit to this incredible place with two very cool people seemed like that moment. It doesn’t hurt that this wine is also the perfect red to bring out as you fire up the grill with the fine weather. This has grilled meat and backyard vibes written all over it.