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.
Winery
Zýmē’s new wine cellar exemplifies the felicitous marriage of nature and human culture, the precise combination that is the requirement for making wines that are seen as an exceptional synthesis of earth, sun, labour, and the sapient hand of man. The cellar emerges from, and measures itself against, a pre-existing reality: the stone quarry dating back to the 1400s, a physical place of course, but also a powerful symbol, the very icon of the synergy of nature and history.
The winemaking complex takes its shape while engaged in harmonious dialogue with the memories that inhere in this unique spot, while striving to bring out its innermost characteristics and to provide for the needs demanded by the nature, and naturalness, of wines resting in storage, ageing, ideal conditions ensured precisely by the absence of light and consistency of temperature. The lower part of the exterior is cladded with stone excavated to build the cellar itself, while carefully-placed openings with steel interstices convey the overall feel of the pre-existing quarry.
The cellar’s external contour and the layout of the hanging gardens create an irregular yet undulating thrust that softens the visual impact of the lower level and enters into a finely-calibrated dialogue with the sloping amphitheatre of Via Cà del Pipa. Seen from above, the cellar profile conjures up the pentagonal shape of a vine leaf, the logo of Zýmē.
The winery complex lies at the foot of the promontory known as Mattonara, between Progno di Marano on the east and Progno di Fumane on the west.
