Zyme
Zýmē is an award-winning Italian estate in the Veneto, it is a boutique winery founded by Celestino Gaspari in 2003. The portfolio includes leading Valpolicella Classico and Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, but which is perhaps best known for its flagship IGT Verona wines, Harlequin and Kairos, which are made from at least 15 different grape varieties. Zýmē also produce a rare varietal Oseleta.
Zyme is a name growing step by step, demonstrated in the efforts made in preserving venerable wine making but trying viticultural practices; in recovering traditional native grape varieties as well as preserving the local environment and cultural ethic. Known to be an extremely talented local vigneron, Celestino testified this in his remarkable wine productions.
Grapes are sourced from multiple small parcels of vines throughout the Veneto, with concentrations in Valpolicella, Verona and Vicenza. Vineyards total around 30 hectares (74 acres), some of which are farmed under contract.
The modern winery has been built on the site of a medieval quarry in the heart of Valpolicella Classico, and benefits from extensive cellars adapted from extensive quarry caves. Annual production totals around 80,000 bottles.
The medieval quarry located in the heart of Valpolicella Classica, the ancient sandstone quarry, dating back to the 15th century, testifies to the intimate interrelationship between Zýmē’s philosophy and its local corner of earth. This underground complex, irresistibly fascinating and radiating an utterly distinctive genius loci, provides unique continuity between the past of tradition and the future of innovation. As the locus where nature, culture, and history converge, the quarry serves as the very foundation stone of Zýmē, its bodily structure fashioned of natural stone, the magical cavern in which, year after year, the wines mature, then finally enter the bottle.
Owner-winemaker Celestino Gaspari met his future father-in-law, the Italian wine legend Giuseppe Quintarelli when Celestino was 20. He worked for 11 years at the Quintarelli winery during which time he married his wife Maria Rosa Quintarelli, the youngest daughter of Giuseppe Quintarelli. Celestino has consulted for many of the regions finest wineries and is known as an extremely talented local vigneron with technical expertise, an avant garde philosophy and healthy curiosity, making his wines not only unique but the top in their region. All of his experience in vitiviniculture has led to his winery - Zyme. Celestino is fuelled by passion for discovery and perfection, based on the new and the traditional, like a book waiting to be read. He transmits this passion to the forward thinking people around him - especially those who work on his team and grow in synergy with the vines they tend.