The Valley of Many Cellars

The Valpolicella DOC rolls across the hills and valleys to the northeast of Verona, the ancient city that’s home to Romeo and Juliet. It’s also home to one of Italy’s most unique wines, Amarone, which we’ll come back to shortly. 
 
Valpolicella, which translated from Latin means valley of many cellars, is one of Italy’s most unique, misunderstood, and underappreciated wine regions. It’s home to a group of grapes not often found elsewhere and its wines run the gambit of styles and winemaking methods. 
 
The backbone of most Valpolicella wines is Corvina, a dark, thick-skinned grape with solid tannins and rich, red cherry flavors. Its main partner is Rondinella, also a dark grape that’s more aromatic. A third grape, Corvinone, which many consider a bigger version of Corvina, is also popular. 
 
The blends vary depending on producers, but the three grapes are used in making four very different wines. The most basic is Valpolicella, a thin, light bodied red wine similar in style to Beaujolais. Recioto della Valpolicella is a sweet wine, made by drying the late harvested grapes on specially made straw mats for up to four months before being pressed, a process called appassimento. 
 
Amarone is also made with the appassimento method, although the drying period is several weeks shorter than Recioto, which keeps it a dry wine instead of a sweet one, but the higher sugar concentration leads to higher alcohol levels. It’s not uncommon for Amarone to reach 17%. 
 
Finally, there’s the more recently created (mid-1960s) Valpolicella Ripasso. The Ripasso is a true middle ground between Valpolicella and Amarone. Ripasso means “to repass.” The wine is made by passing the lighter-bodied Valpolicella wine through the crushed skins and seeds of the dried grapes that made Amarone. The result is a super-charged medium-bodied wine that’s easy and fun to drink.