The houseCovalli has been in commercial use since 2003. It is not one estate on one hill. It is a single name working across a set of Italian denominations, each with its own boundaries, its own grape and its own rules for ageing.
Dated events only, in the order they happened. Nothing before 2003 is claimed, because nothing before 2003 is documented, and every score here carries its publication, its vintage and the day it was published.
First documented commercial use of the Covalli name.
First use of the Covalli name in United States commerce.
The Covalli word mark for wine is registered.
The word mark is renewed for a second decade.
The range extends past wine: Limoncello at 25%, an Aperitivo Spritz at 11%, and two ready-to-drink spritzes.
Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto and Cortese from the hills of Alba, Asti and Gavi. Clayey, calcareous soils; long maturation in large oak.
Barolo DOCG · Barbaresco DOCGCorvina Veronese, Corvinone and Rondinella dried in ventilated rooms on the hills north of Verona. Glera from Treviso, Padova and Venice.
Amarone DOCG · Prosecco DOCA denomination is a rule set: where the grapes may grow, which grape may be planted, and how long the wine must rest before it may be sold. These are the rules the range is built on.
The longest wait in the house: Nebbiolo held in cellar until the tannins turn velvety.
Barolo DOCGThe production area runs across Barolo, Serralunga d’Alba and Castiglione Falletto, with parts of La Morra, Monforte, Verduno, Novello, Grinzane Cavour, Diano d’Alba, Cherasco and Roddi. Extended ageing is mandatory before release.
Nebbiolo from Barbaresco and Neive, two years older than the vintage on the label before it is poured.
Barbaresco DOCGBarbaresco, Neive, Treiso and part of Alba. A minimum of two years’ ageing, of which at least nine months in oak, and longer again for Riserva.
Nebbiolo without the wait. The Langhe bottling to open on a weeknight.
Langhe DOCNinety-six municipalities. The denomination exists so that growers can allocate their Nebbiolo by quality and by the bottling it is intended for.
Nebbiolo and Barbera off an old sea floor, built for the table rather than the cellar.
Monferrato DOCHill country left behind by the retreat of the sea from what became the Po valley. The older white soils give fuller, longer-lived wines; the Asti sands mature faster.
Cortese from the marl bands of south-eastern Piemonte. Dry, taut, served cold.
Gavi DOCGRoughly 1,600 hectares across eleven municipalities of south-eastern Piemonte, in three bands: northern red clay and gravel, a central belt of marl and sandstone, white clay marls toward the Apennines.
Alpine nights hold the acidity in place. Drink it young and well chilled.
delle Venezie DOCA north-eastern zone shaped by the Adige, Brenta, Piave, Tagliamento and Isonzo. Calcareous deposits, gravel and sand that drain well; Alpine nights hold the acidity in place.
Glera from Treviso, Padova and Venice, poured at 6–8 °C. The house aperitivo.
Prosecco DOCNine provinces across the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Largely alluvial, clay-loam soils; the Alps hold off the northern cold and the Adriatic sets the rainfall.
Grapes dried before pressing, on the hills north of Verona. The fullest wine the house makes.
Amarone della Valpolicella DOCGThe hills north of Verona. The grapes are dried before they are pressed, and the finished wine must reach the denomination’s minimum strength before it may be called Amarone.
