Why it matters
The producer
Monte del Frà owns 137 hectares of vineyard and rents a further 68, making it one of the larger family estates working across Verona's appellations. Its headquarters sit at Strada Custoza 35 in Sommacampagna, inside the white-wine zone of Custoza DOC, while its most talked-about bottles come from a separate set of vineyard holdings in the Valpolicella Classico hills to the northwest. The Bonomo family runs both territories from the same estate.
Marica Bonomo is the third generation of the family at the property. She presents wines that span from the light Custoza whites to the full weight of Amarone, but the estate's clearest argument is made in its Valpolicella hierarchy: three bottles, the same three grapes, and a cellar that turns the dried-fruit process up by degrees from Ripasso to Amarone to sweet Recioto.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Sommacampagna lies on the Veronese plain south of Lake Garda, in the Custoza DOC zone known for its fresh, dry whites. The Valpolicella Classico hills sit northwest of Verona, a compact range of valleys where the villages of Fumane, Marano, Negrar, San Pietro in Cariano and Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella give their names to the most traditionally respected sub-zones. Monte del Frà holds vineyard land across these hills, working under the Valpolicella Classico, Ripasso Classico Superiore, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico and Recioto della Valpolicella Classico designations.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The appassimento process sits at the centre of Monte del Frà's Valpolicella winemaking. After harvest, grapes destined for Amarone are laid on racks and dried slowly, losing water and concentrating sugars, acids and flavour compounds over several months. The pace matters: a slow, gradual wilt preserves aromatic complexity in a way that faster drying cannot. Indigenous yeasts carry the fermentation in small steel vats, with a long skin maceration running alongside to pull polyphenols and aromatic compounds from the grape skins into the wine.
For Amarone, the oak ageing is longer: at least 24 months in 20- and 30-hectolitre French-oak barrels, followed by a minimum six months in bottle before release.
Wines to know
The range in view
The three Valpolicella wines at Monte del Frà are built around the same grape trio, Corvina Veronese, Corvinone and Rondinella, but the cellar routes them into three distinct styles.
The Tenuta Lena di Mezzo Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore is the entry into the dried-grape range. The second fermentation on Amarone skins gives it more body, deeper colour and dried-cherry character than a straight Valpolicella, while the 20-month oak élevage adds a firm tannin layer and a slightly cedary edge. It opens with floral lift alongside the darker fruit and carries a bite of acidity through the finish. The drinking window runs to 10 to 12 years from vintage.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with the Tenuta Lena di Mezzo Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore. It carries all three native grapes, explains the appassimento process through the Ripasso method, and delivers the dried-fruit character of Valpolicella at a weight and price point below Amarone. The floral lift from Corvina sits alongside concentrated dark cherry and the firm tannin grip from 20 months in large French oak. Acidity keeps the mid-palate clean and the finish alive. It can be opened young or held for a decade.