Claudio Vassanelli is the founder of Roccolo Callisto winery. Born in in Quinto di Valpantena in the province of Verona, in the "house with the tower". Olive groves and vineyards filled the surrounding valley, and one vineyard in particular surrounded the house; it was there that at the age of four Claudio had his first contact with grapes.

Over the years Claudio has graduated in engineering, and started a successful industrial activity, but his passion for the land has remained. So he and his wife Patrizia decide to return to the countryside by purchasing a two-hectare farmhouse on the hill of Parona in Valpolicella, a stone's throw from Verona.

In addition to an old cottage, there was also a turret there, surrounded by trees, used to capture the birds that alighted in the open space in front of it by means of the "roccolo", a particular net that was thrown from the turret itself. Given the position and the view they called it "Callisto". Callisto derives from the Greek "Kalistos", the superlative form of the adjective "kalos", which means beautiful and therefore "Beautiful Roccolo".

Thus began the business starting from a small vineyard with typical blends: corvina, corvinone, rondinella, molinara, the mother grapes of Valpolicella and Amarone. Over the years the company has expanded, with the purchase of more land and the addition of new vineyards. Today in Parona, the Roccolo Callisto farm is an estate of fourteen hectares of woods, olive groves and 5.5 hectares of vineyards, an authentic paradise on the hill.

However, Claudio has remained the link with his land of origin, and so a few years ago he bought 9 hectares of olive trees, cherry trees and 5.5 hectares of vineyards in Vendri, a small district, close to Quinto di Valpantena, "the native soil ".

The soils of Valpantena are different from those of Valpolicella and consequently the wines obtained in the Vendri vineyards possess specific organoleptic characteristics that clearly distinguish them from wines obtained with Parona grapes. Since the winery firmly believes in offering typical wines, children of their terroir, it decides to keep the two productions distinct during winemaking.

Finally, in the logic of true respect for nature and the environment, the winery is about to conclude the biological path and this is the purpose of their work and commitment for the future.