The Veneto Region With Its Amarone, Recioto, and Ripasso Wines. You Will Never Want to Leave!

The Veneto region is in north-eastern Italy and is one of the biggest and most active wine regions in the country. It produces the largest amount of quality wines with the prized DOC and DOCG denominations. The vineyards can be mostly found around the beautiful town of Verona, home to Romeo and Juliet and second only to Rome itself in the number of Roman ruins it contains. The Veneto landscape is breathtaking in its natural beauty, with gorgeous valleys, misty mountains and winding streams.

To the north west of Verona lies the prestigious wine making area of Valpolicella. It is an intensely beautiful region, whose name comes from “val polis cellae” and means “ valley of many cellars”. The region is also known for its olive oil which has a DOP status (Malcesine, on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, and a destination on this month's feature tour, is famous for its olive oil). However, most importantly it is home to the wonderfully unique Amarone della Valpolicella wine.

Amarone is the star of the Valpolicella region. Once you have tried it you may not want to drink any other wine! It is a dense, concentrated wine with a velvety texture. ‘Amarone’ comes from the Italian word for bitter, and is made to balance the extreme fruitiness of the wine with a refreshing acidity. As it is highly aromatic and full flavoured, it is often compared with port wines. Due to its intensive production process and ageing requirements, Amarone wines are expensive. The wine making process is a unique ancient Roman tradition in Valpolicella, called “Appassimento”. It entails the partial drying of grape bunches after harvest for up to 4 months, allowing them to shrivel like raisins. The grapes are dried in special drying halls, which results in a concentration of sugars. They are then crushed and fermented until the wine is basically dry. Amarone goes perfectly with game and hearty foods.

Amarone is considered to be an off, dry wine, while its cousin, Recioto, has a bitter sweet flavour. Recioto is a smooth and deep coloured wine that is also reminiscent of Port, but with no added alcohol. It is made from grapes that are dried in the traditional way on straw mats, or hung from the rafters in warm lofts. This technique is called ‘passito’. The grapes are dehydrated, concentrating the sugars before fermentation. Recioto goes well with hard cheeses or cakes and pastries.

The name Ripasso is derived from the word re-passed, and this is a style of wine that is unique to the Valpolicella region. Ripasso refers to the production process whereby regular, fermented Valpolicella is added to a cask containing the skins left over from fermented Amarone wines. The process of adding the lighter Valpolicella wine over the remainders of the “bigger” Amarone wine imparts additional colour, texture and flavour to this particular wine. Also, it induces a second fermentation of the wine that increases the wine’s alcoholic content. Ripasso goes well with hearty foods, game and aged cheeses. Ripasso wines are less expensive than Amarone wines, and as such can be enjoyed regularly. Ripasso goes well with Porcini pappardelle, which is the focus of our recipe of the month below - Buon appettito!!