Terre di Fumane was devised and took hold as a company operating in the drying of grapes used to produce Valpolicella Amarone and Recioto wines. It finds the international top for the volumes handled, the experience gained, and the technologies used and tested with the successful collaboration with the University of Verona.
This success comes from the intuitions, experiments and scientific studies on grapes drying carried out by Roberto Ferrarini and Franco Allegrini's entrepreneurial ability and foresight.
Terre di Fumane named the drying centre located in via Pellegrini, former York, in memory of Allegrini, who died in 2022, while the centre in via Ponte Vaio was named after Ferrarini, who died in 2014.
An agreement was also signed with the University of Verona in their memory, aimed at continuing and developing research through grants and scholarships, seminars, and funding of specific projects related to winemaking, to improve the service rendered to farms in one of the areas of Italy with the highest vocation for the production of high-quality Valpolicella wines, known throughout the world.
The relationship with the University is managed by the "Allegrini-Ferrarini technical-scientific group" established by Terre di Fumane, as an emanation and affilation of the company; it is chaired by the pro tempore sole director of the company and the representatives of the families of Franco Allegrini and Roberto Ferrarini, as well as close people indicated by the sole director, may be called to join it.
The group currently consists of Davide Ugolini, sole director of Terre di Fumane, Elisa Ferrarini and Matteo Allegrini, as representatives of the families, enologists Enrico Nicolis and Gian Maria Ciman, students of Ferrarini, and Lucio Bussi as coordinator.
Franco Allegrini
Franco Allegrini was born in 1956 and was a great protagonist of the classic Valpolicella. He joined the company in 1983, after his father Giovanni's death, alongside his sister Marilisa and brother Walter, giving new impulses and firmly believing in Amarone as the wine capable of competing with the great international wines.
He introduced innovations in the vineyards, first of all, the all-round experimentation of the Corvina grape, followed by the replacement of the Pergola Trentina with other forms of training (i.e. guyot) and with the creation of the "Terre di Fumane" drying centre for the preservation of grapes destined for Amarone and Recioto.
Allegrini was a dreamer, still he kept his feet on the ground, that of Valpolicella, a visionary who anticipated his times with his intuitions and gave substance to them, a passionate experimenter and a generous man who knew how to share his winning ideas with other winemakers.
Although he was accustomed to share its time with the geat minds of his time, he had maintained the joy of simple country life, always spending time with lifelong friends, having dinner in the trattoria near his home, mantaining a sincere relationship with his workers and employees, caring for the affaction of the family.
Franco Allegrini also joined Famiglie Storiche, the association that, since 2009, has brought together the most important producers of Valpolicella.
We like to think of him as he was still here, in his Valpolicella, where he left an indelible mark. He still lives in the people and places dear to him and in his amazing wine.
Roberto Ferrarini
Roberto Ferrarini was born in Cerea in 1953 and moved to Valpolicella when he was very young. He immediately fell in love with this land to which he devoted most of his life. After completing his studies at the classical lyceum and the achievment of a diploma in winemaking, in 1979 he graduated with honors in Agriculture at the University of Bologna presenting a dissertation about "Processing tests of wine production through the artificial drying of the grapes."
Starting from the 90s, he collaborated with Giancarlo Vason developing numerous patents. He also embarked on a university career and, in 2002, became a teacher of Oenology at the University of Verona.
He had a dozen international patents and over one hundred scientific and technical publications. He also took the responsibility of managing experimental cellars of universities and public bodies and research and development departments of private companies and universities.
At the University of Verona, he promoted various international networks, which have now become points of reference, including Oenoviti International and Erasmus Mundus.
He was gifted with an innate and tireless desire for knowledge, which guided him through cutting-edge research, such as first experiences of producing wines with a low alcohol content, and avant-garde procedures in the drying process of the grapes destined for the production of Amarone, not to mention the washing of the grapes and the flotation for the clarification of musts, and finally the studies on selective cryoextraction.
In addition to his commitment to the scientific field, he made the difference for Italian and International oenology by collaborating with numerous wineries creating wines that have become points of reference. Thanks to the results obtained in 2009, he was awarded Enologist of the Year by the Gambero Rosso wine guide and, in 2013, he was awarded Benemerito dell’ Agricoltura Veneta.
The desire for knowledge led him to travel to discover the traditional wine production areas of the world, but also new ones still seen as marginal, such as Georgia and Azerbaijan, to rediscover ancient traditions and decline them in an updated version for high-quality productions.
His illness prevailed over him in November 2014 in Santiago de Chile, where he was waiting to return to Italy after having joined the world congress of OIV, the International Organization of Vine and Wine, of which he was a member as a representative of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture.
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