Opening hours: From monday to friday from 8.30 am to 7.00 pm Saturday from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm and from 2.00 pm to 7.00 pm Sunday from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm
About us
Cantina Bertagna
Wine growers for generations, such as Virgil
Our winery, as well as most of the Bertagna land, is located in Bande, a hamlet of Cavriana, in the province of Mantua, right in the heart of the moraine hills, a hilly arch that embraces the Garda lake in its southern part. The beautiful lake, also called Benaco, is about 10 kilometers from the Bertagna winery.
The history of the Bertagna winery interwined with the agricultural evolution of this beautiful and luxuriant strip of Mantuan countryside.
And precisely this hilly landscape was sung by Virgil, the greatest Latin poet, to whom we owe famous works such as the Aeneid, the Bucolic and the Georgic. In fact, it seems that Virgil (Andes, 70 BC – Brindisi, 19 BC), son of farmers and lived in the presence of the efforts of the countryside, was born in Bande, the small village, hamlet of Cavriana, where the winery is located. The town of Andes which gave birth to the great writer is in fact identified in Bande.
In addition to the assonance of the name, here we find the landscape, described in the Bucolic (ninth eclogue), of the gently sloping hills towards the waters of the Garda and the Mincio river, which flows from the lake (“from where the hills begin to rise, then sink their ridge in a gentle slope, down to the water”), with its thick rows of vines (“here, by the streams, Earth scatters her flowers of a thousand hues, here […] the clinging vines weave shady bowers”) and with the grapes that ripens on the slopes of the hills illuminated by the sun (“and the grape deepen its hue on the sunny hills”).
The Bertagna family has been dedicated to this Virgilian countryside and wine for at least four generations and the ancestors of Gianfranco, the current owner, have always had some land and a farm with dairy cattle. In the higher parts, where it was impossible to get water because there was no means of irrigation (irrigation arrived in 1973), they cultivated the vine, which can resist water scarcity. When by now the grandfather Ercole and also the father Francesco were missing, Gianfranco took the decision to close the stable and devote himself to the countryside.
After a period of forced stop and important reflections, having resumed his activity in his company, Gianfranco bet on viticulture. He loved the vine and wanted to make a quality wine. The company’s specialization towards viticulture began in 1991 and in 1995 with the cellar now functioning the first label came out: 3.000 bottles that Gianfranco, his wife Nadia and his whole family still carry in the hearts.
Calorosa l’accoglienza da parte del signor Gianfranco Bertagna che ci ha ospitatati nella splendida cornice architettonica della sua cantina con volte a botte e sasso a vista.
Monica Mirandola e Diana Setti
La principale caratteristica di tutti i vini di Cantina Bertagna è che sono veri, proprio come il titolare Gianfranco Bertagna. Lo rappresentano appieno. Genuini, sani, non pesanti. Estremamente piacevoli.
Daniela Valenti
We put love and passion into every single bottle we produce.
Gianfranco Bertagna
A simple starting point is that of the Bordeaux blend that Cantina Bertagna produces with Monte Volpe Rosso, marrying it with Corvina, a grape that blends well with a philosophy focused on roundness, maintaining a balance between fruity aromas, noble spices, body and velvety tannins.
