“When the moon hits your eye”
“like a big pizza pie, that’s amore”
“When the wine is so good”
“and pairs with most foods, that’s Amarone…”
Actually Amarone’s roots start with the simple wine, Valpolicella. Situated in the Verona region of Italy, Valpolicella starts with three grape varietals; Corvina Veronese, Rondinella and Molinara. Though it’s not considered a wine of distinction, Valpolicella is Italy’s second largest exported wine right behind Chianti. This easy drinking red wine that’s usually seen as Bolla Valpolicella or Allegrini Valpolicella is the perfect red table wine for your own version of Bolognese or Marinara sauce with pasta.
Not Just Grand Canals
Along with the picturesque grand canals of Venice and beautiful Venetian glass, this tourist destination is also home to the Veneto wine region. This region produces the easy drinking white wine, Soave and the equally subtle reds, Valpolicella and Bardolino. You may have tried a bottle or two of these food friendly, blended red wines as they are mass produced by that Italian conglomerate, Bolla wines. Affordable, food friendly wines that are available at most supermarkets. However there is a vast supply of Veneto wines beyond Bolla.
Starting with the Basics
As mentioned, Valpolicella (and Bardolino) wines are a blend of Corvina Veronese, Rondinella
and Molinara grapes. The Corvina Veronese is the backbone of Valpolicella mainly due to it’s hardiness in volcanic soils and it brings cherry, almond, spice and acidity to the party. Rondinella is mainly the party crasher that complements the qualities of Corvina Veronese but would never be able to stand alone as a single varietal wine. The Molinara brings enough acid to fortify the body of Valpolicella, more than Corvina and enough to make up for what Rondinella lacks. Alone, each grape would probably make a poor wine but combined, they produce a good red table wine perfect for your everyday Bolognese sauces or roasted white meats. And all for less than $20 a bottle… mostly.
For the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
The top level wines of the Veneto region actually aren’t limited to the upper echelon of wage earners. Amarone or the Queen of the Veneto region is made with the same grapes as their common cousin, Valpolicella. The difference lies in location. As your real estate agent would say; location, location, location. The grapes that produce Amarone usually originate from Southern facing vines so each grape cluster receives more afternoon sun and thus has a chance for full ripening. Of course, location doesn’t explain all. The best condo in the Tenderloin with southern exposure probably still costs less than the worst condo in the Marina with northern exposure. After ripening as much as
possible, these harvested grape clusters are then are laid on straw mats to dry for weeks… or even months before being pressed. These fully ripe, partially dried raisins have then concentrated their flavors logarithmically to produce that luscious wine known as Amarone.
As the story goes, Amarone was produced by accident years ago. The original intended product was Recioto della Valipolicella which is a luscious sweet dessert wine made from aforementioned dried grapes. Supposedly the winemaker left a batch to ferment too long and it produced a totally dry wine with slightly bitter – or amaro – qualities from the bitter almond flavor of the Corvina Veronese. Hence, the dry dried grape Valpolicella wine or Amarone was born.
Whether your tastes prefer dry (Amarone) or sweet (Recioto della Valpolicella) wines, these wines do cost a little more than basic Valpolicella wines. They start at $50 and rapidly progress all the way up to Guiseppe Quintarelli’s wines which are pretty much limited to the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
Amarone has a concentrated mouth feel with red, raisiny fruit and lots of spice. It stands up to the heartiest of meat based pasta sauces and stews. I find that the spiciness also complements Middle Eastern dishes that are flavored with cinnamon, coriander, cumin and fresh herbs.
The Happy Medium
Between the basic Valpolicella and luscious Amarone are the Ripassa wines of the Veneto region.
Basically, someone in the Veneto region had the foresight to say, “Hmm, we spent more time ripening the grapes that make Amarone and spent months drying them. What a waste to press the grapes and discard the remaining grape flesh”. Thus was born Ripassa or that bridge between simple Valpolicella and luscious Amarone. What the vintner does to make Ripassa is let the basic Valpolicella juice soak in the expended Amarone grape flesh – which still contains a lot of flavor compounds – then ferment said juice to produce Ripassa. Or Valpolicella juice that has been “passed through” Amarone grape flesh, skins and residue – Re-passed or Ripassa – to gain an additional level of complexity not attained with the initial production of Valpolicella. And Ripassa is usually closer in price to Valpolicella than Amarone.
Where to Start?
I recommend first purchasing a bottle of both a basic Valpolicella and a bottle of Ripassa for comparison’s sake. The cost difference isn’t that much though you probably have to peruse your local wine shop for a bottle of Ripassa. Try them side by side with roasted pork loin or roast chicken. You’ll probably notice that the Ripassa can handle heartier dishes – even up to a beef Carpaccio. Then after setting aside some dinero (skip that Starbucks mochalatta for 3 or 4 weeks), look for a mid level Amarone. This concentrated bad boy with its raisin, concentrated red fruit and tons of spice – allspice, anise, hints of cinnamon and ripe fruit – can pair with the heartiest of beef stews or Middle Eastern dishes. It also ages well so don’t feel compelled to drink your Amarone stash immediately. Of course, if you do feel compelled, I can be reached at…
“like a big pizza pie, that’s amore”
“When the wine is so good”
“and pairs with most foods, that’s Amarone…”
Actually Amarone’s roots start with the simple wine, Valpolicella. Situated in the Verona region of Italy, Valpolicella starts with three grape varietals; Corvina Veronese, Rondinella and Molinara. Though it’s not considered a wine of distinction, Valpolicella is Italy’s second largest exported wine right behind Chianti. This easy drinking red wine that’s usually seen as Bolla Valpolicella or Allegrini Valpolicella is the perfect red table wine for your own version of Bolognese or Marinara sauce with pasta.
Not Just Grand Canals
Along with the picturesque grand canals of Venice and beautiful Venetian glass, this tourist destination is also home to the Veneto wine region. This region produces the easy drinking white wine, Soave and the equally subtle reds, Valpolicella and Bardolino. You may have tried a bottle or two of these food friendly, blended red wines as they are mass produced by that Italian conglomerate, Bolla wines. Affordable, food friendly wines that are available at most supermarkets. However there is a vast supply of Veneto wines beyond Bolla.
Starting with the Basics
As mentioned, Valpolicella (and Bardolino) wines are a blend of Corvina Veronese, Rondinella
and Molinara grapes. The Corvina Veronese is the backbone of Valpolicella mainly due to it’s hardiness in volcanic soils and it brings cherry, almond, spice and acidity to the party. Rondinella is mainly the party crasher that complements the qualities of Corvina Veronese but would never be able to stand alone as a single varietal wine. The Molinara brings enough acid to fortify the body of Valpolicella, more than Corvina and enough to make up for what Rondinella lacks. Alone, each grape would probably make a poor wine but combined, they produce a good red table wine perfect for your everyday Bolognese sauces or roasted white meats. And all for less than $20 a bottle… mostly.For the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
The top level wines of the Veneto region actually aren’t limited to the upper echelon of wage earners. Amarone or the Queen of the Veneto region is made with the same grapes as their common cousin, Valpolicella. The difference lies in location. As your real estate agent would say; location, location, location. The grapes that produce Amarone usually originate from Southern facing vines so each grape cluster receives more afternoon sun and thus has a chance for full ripening. Of course, location doesn’t explain all. The best condo in the Tenderloin with southern exposure probably still costs less than the worst condo in the Marina with northern exposure. After ripening as much as
possible, these harvested grape clusters are then are laid on straw mats to dry for weeks… or even months before being pressed. These fully ripe, partially dried raisins have then concentrated their flavors logarithmically to produce that luscious wine known as Amarone.As the story goes, Amarone was produced by accident years ago. The original intended product was Recioto della Valipolicella which is a luscious sweet dessert wine made from aforementioned dried grapes. Supposedly the winemaker left a batch to ferment too long and it produced a totally dry wine with slightly bitter – or amaro – qualities from the bitter almond flavor of the Corvina Veronese. Hence, the dry dried grape Valpolicella wine or Amarone was born.
Whether your tastes prefer dry (Amarone) or sweet (Recioto della Valpolicella) wines, these wines do cost a little more than basic Valpolicella wines. They start at $50 and rapidly progress all the way up to Guiseppe Quintarelli’s wines which are pretty much limited to the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
Amarone has a concentrated mouth feel with red, raisiny fruit and lots of spice. It stands up to the heartiest of meat based pasta sauces and stews. I find that the spiciness also complements Middle Eastern dishes that are flavored with cinnamon, coriander, cumin and fresh herbs.
The Happy Medium
Between the basic Valpolicella and luscious Amarone are the Ripassa wines of the Veneto region.
Basically, someone in the Veneto region had the foresight to say, “Hmm, we spent more time ripening the grapes that make Amarone and spent months drying them. What a waste to press the grapes and discard the remaining grape flesh”. Thus was born Ripassa or that bridge between simple Valpolicella and luscious Amarone. What the vintner does to make Ripassa is let the basic Valpolicella juice soak in the expended Amarone grape flesh – which still contains a lot of flavor compounds – then ferment said juice to produce Ripassa. Or Valpolicella juice that has been “passed through” Amarone grape flesh, skins and residue – Re-passed or Ripassa – to gain an additional level of complexity not attained with the initial production of Valpolicella. And Ripassa is usually closer in price to Valpolicella than Amarone.Where to Start?
I recommend first purchasing a bottle of both a basic Valpolicella and a bottle of Ripassa for comparison’s sake. The cost difference isn’t that much though you probably have to peruse your local wine shop for a bottle of Ripassa. Try them side by side with roasted pork loin or roast chicken. You’ll probably notice that the Ripassa can handle heartier dishes – even up to a beef Carpaccio. Then after setting aside some dinero (skip that Starbucks mochalatta for 3 or 4 weeks), look for a mid level Amarone. This concentrated bad boy with its raisin, concentrated red fruit and tons of spice – allspice, anise, hints of cinnamon and ripe fruit – can pair with the heartiest of beef stews or Middle Eastern dishes. It also ages well so don’t feel compelled to drink your Amarone stash immediately. Of course, if you do feel compelled, I can be reached at…
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