June 29th, 2022
(Editorial team) ‘Rete Valpantena’ is born, the network for the enhancement and promotion of agricultural, food and wine productions of this territory, highly suited to quality in all its expressions.
“Rete Valpantena” sees the collaboration between Agricola Pernigo at the starting line, Angelini Wines & Estates, Costa Arente, La Collina dei Ciliegi and Ca ‘del Moro Wine Retreat, Ripa della Volta and the La Cru Restaurant with Villa Balis Crema. A project, that of the Network, originated from the confrontation of seven visionary entrepreneurs who proudly share their belonging to Valpantena and decided to develop together a long-term strategy of action to foster territorial identity projects with the goal to involve an increasingly wider audience in Italy and abroad.
“We have set ourselves the ambitious goal of increasing the innovative capacity and competitiveness of Valpantena: a landscape, productive, cultural, food and wine and hospitality kaleidoscope that is still underestimated within the tourist offer of Verona area- explains Ettore Nicoletto, CEO of Angelini Wines & Estates and at the helm of the newly formed Rete Valpantena -. Suffice it to say that in 2019, and therefore well outside the health emergency, tourism in this valley accounted for only 0.3% of the total recorded in the entire province of Verona. A negligible figure, mainly characterized by local arrivals during the summer months. We are convinced – concludes Nicoletto – that a synergistic turning point is needed, capable of channeling projects of virtuous growth in Valpantena, without affecting the great natural heritage that identifies it. An entrepreneurial mission, therefore, that we intend to realize by bringing other players in the valley to the table, in addition to the administrations involved “.
In fact, “Rete Valpantena is an open business aggregation, ready to bring further ambassadors of local excellence into the network – underlines Massimo Gianolli, vice president of the new network and president of La Collina dei Ciliegi -. The six companies that started the project show that it is possible to overcome both the dimensional limits and those of internal competition. We have started a network made up of many voices – adds Gianolli – united by the goal of finally creating the Valpantena brand “.
There are six programmatic points at the basis of the cooperative model of the Valpantena Network signed by the founding companies: enhancement of territorial identity; identification and promotion of tourism, food and wine routes, excellent products and leisure time activities; creation of synergies and a virtuous circle between all the activities involved in the project; incentives for new entrepreneurial realities to increase the multiplier effect and the protection of the beauty of the valley and its landscape features.
The companies of Rete Valpantena are all located between 200 and 600 meters above sea level in the North East of Verona, about 17 km from the city center. Overall, the network has a turnover of over 16 million euros (2021 figure).
The seven entrepreneurs of the network are: Andrea Pernigo (Agricola Pernigo); Ettore Nicoletto (Angelini Wines & Estates – Bertani); Igor Boccardo (Costa Arente di Genagricola – The Estates of the Winged Lion); Massimo Gianolli (La Collina dei Ciliegi and Ca ‘del Moro Wine Retreat); Tommaso Zanini and Francesco Montresor (Ripa della Volta) and Diego Zecchini (Ristorante La Cru and Villa Balis Crema).
Valpantena (Valley of the Gods) is a pre-alpine alluvial valley which includes the six municipalities of Grezzana, Quinto di Valpantena, Santa Maria in Stelle, Novaglie, Sezzano and Bosco Chiesa Nuova for a total of about 19 thousand inhabitants and an area of about 30 squared km. The first signs of the presence of man date back to the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC). The valley is characterized by a predominantly agricultural economy and by the extraction of gravel and marble.
In the photo, the entrepreneurs Rete Valpantena (from left): Tommaso Zanini (Ripa della Volta), Luca Gaudiano (La Collina dei Ciliegi and Ca ‘del Moro Wine Retreat), Francesco Montresor (Ripa della Volta), Andrea Pernigo (Agricola Pernigo and Ripa della Volta), Diego Zecchini (La Cru Restaurant and Villa Balis Crema), Ettore Nicoletto (Angelini Wines & Estates – Bertani) Giovanni Casati (Costa Arente di Genagricola – Le Tenute del Leone Alato).
