Leonardo Pizzolo
Years of Participation
2018
Located in the green heart of Abruzzo, Valle Reale’s vineyards are situated inside one of Italy’s most beautiful national parks. This is a wild paradise, with deep gorges carved by glaciers, crystal-clear springs and a diverse array of flora and fauna. Valle Reale is one of the few wine-producing estates in this area of pristine beauty.
Owner, Leonardo Pizzolo was born in Verona on May 28th 1969. After achieving his degree in Economics, his first experience in the family business was cooperating with Giorgio Pizzolo in the family bottling company. In 1998, Giorgio and Leonardo started cultivating an old vineyard on the property situated inside the Majella National Park where the family has two of the most important trout farms in Europe.
Driven by their passion for agriculture, which they inherited from their grandfather, prompted the pair to contact Professor Leonardo Valenti of the University of Milan, in order to begin the research of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, rediscovering its ancient origins as a vine from the piedmont region in a yet uncontaminated area. As a matter of fact, first traces of the existence of this vine were found very close to the estate. Thus, began the Valle Reale agronomic project.
Working primarily with the Montepulciano varietal, the Pizzolo family strives to make wines that highlight the grape’s intrinsic qualities: strength, exuberance, vitality, color, elegance, balance and depth.