The wine-growing history of the Tessari family began in the first years of the 20th C, when Amedeo Tessari, aka “Midéo”, rented a tavern at Presina, a small village near Albaredo d’Adige, where he began to sell the wine of his family’s production. These were difficult years for the Tessari household: the start of the Great War marked the destinies of many families.
While he was at the front, Amedeo became sick with Spanish flu and returned home to Brognoligo, with his body racked by the illness. On 4 November 1918, the day of the Armistice, he passed away in his house in the Rugate.
Amedeo’s wife, Donna Adele, brought up their sons with courage and self-sacrifice, until one of them could take over the business at the end of the ‘30s – this was Fulvio, aka Beo.
Fulvio continued the trend that his father had begun, buying more vineyards in the most prestigious of the Rugate hills and starting to produce wine and sell his grapes, partly to the local co-operative winery and partly on his own.
In 1950 in Brognoligo, where the intensive cultivation of vines became widespread, the first vineyards in the area called Monte Fiorentine were bought, and planting was upgraded where it had formerly been neglected.
It was Fulvio, at the beginning of the ‘70s, who decided to free himself of all ties with the co-operative activities of the territory and began to manage his grapes independently.
Thus, the winegrowing company Tessari Fulvio and Sons was born.
Towards the end of the ‘80s Fulvio and his eldest son Amedeo started up the current business.
The name derives from the house of the same name on a hillside north of Brognoligo where the company’s vineyards are sited. The first bottles with the family business brand date from 1986.
These were years of great activity.
The winery in Brognoligo was extended and the wines started to be sold outside Italy
In 2001, when Michele joined the business, the Tessari family took the decision, a major financial commitment but a far-reaching one, to build a bigger winery equipped with the latest machinery, along the road of Val d’Alpone.
In the same year they also decided to invest in nearby Valpolicella, purchasing their first vineyards in the hilly zone of Montecchia di Crosara.
The new winery was opened in September 2002, and laid down the foundations for dynamic growth in the company’s last twenty years.
The entry of Michele into the business brought in a lively entrepreneurial spirit which led to growth not only from the point of view of quality, but also in organisation.
The most considerable growth of the wine-producing property of the Tessari family came about during these years.
From 2002 to 2021 about 60 hectares were purchased in the most ideal areas close to Monteforte d’Alpone, Montecchia di Crosara, Cazzano di Tramigna and Roncà, which contribute to the company’s overall wine-growing area of 90 hectares.
All the vineyards are cultivated with the method of BIOLOGICAL FARMING.