Amarone Della Valpolicella the Legend of the Wine

MYTH AND LEGEND OF A WINE

AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA is a dry passito wine DOCG produced in the area of Valpolicella, in the Verona region.
It is a world-famous wine, whose "birth" seems to have come about by chance!
It is produced with the same grapes as RECIOTO DELLA VALPOLICELLA: Corvina veronese, corvinone and rondinella.
Before 2011, the year in which the production regulations for Amarone were revised, Molinara was also used.
According to "legend," the wine was born following an error during the production of RECIOTO.

The fermentation of this passito wine is interrupted to keep it sweet, but one day, due to an oversight, the process was not stopped and the cellar master Adelino Lucchese discovered that "il RECIOTO era SCAPÁ" – meaning its sweetness was gone, it had escaped.

He tasted the resulting wine, found it was not sweet, and exclaimed: "THIS WINE IS NOT BITTER, IT IS AN AMARONE!"
Some seventy years later, Amarone has become famous for what it represents: a great ITALIAN product appreciated and sought after worldwide.
The first bottles were produced and sold without a label for friends and family; in fact, the first labels and sales records date back to the 1930s.
Officially, Amarone "made not by choice and not by luck" was put on the market in 1953 by the cantina Bolla.
In 1968, the first production regulations were officially established and DOC recognition was granted, in order to protect the types of wines of the Valpolicella.
In March 2010, DOCG recognition arrived, making it autonomous, and in the subsequent revision of the regulations in 2011, the grape blend that comprises it was also modified.


Territorial overview
The production area extends from the province of Verona almost to the province of Vicenza, covering the foothills belt.
This area consists of valleys and hills which, thanks to the Lessini mountains to the north, the proximity to Lake Garda and the hillside exposure to the south, enjoys an overall mild and not excessively rainy climate.

WINEMAKING METHOD
After the harvest, the grapes are left to dry for approximately 100 to 120 days, although sometimes more time is needed, depending on the water content of the grapes.
During drying, the water evaporates leaving the sugars almost intact.
A clearly visible consequence of this process is, in addition to the shriveling of the berries, the weight loss of the bunches which varies by grape variety: 35% to 45% for Corvina and 27% to 40% for Rondinella, the one that "loses the least"!

The grapes set out to dry cannot be vinified before the first day of December.
Between late January and early February, the grapes are pressed and skin maceration is long; fermentation at low temperature is also "patient" (it can last 30 to 50 days).
This ensures that the sugars, through the action of yeasts, are transformed into alcohol.
If the final wine retains a low sugar content, it can be called Amarone. If the quantity is higher, it will instead be called Recioto.
All these operations – drying of the grapes, winemaking, aging and bottling – must be carried out in the production area permitted by the DOCG production regulations.


AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA, before being released for consumption, must undergo a maturation period of at least two years from January 1st of the harvest year.
To bear the RISERVA designation, at least four years must pass from November 1st of the year of grape production.


Serving and pairings
The ideal serving temperature ranges between 18 and 20 degrees.
The wine is perfect with autumn and winter foods, such as braised meats, pot roasts, stews and roasts, especially of game.

It is also recommended alongside cured meats, aged cheeses and traditional dishes such as "pasta e fasoi" and risotto all'Amarone.

Even enjoyed on its own, perhaps in front of a fireplace, it is a worthy companion for meditation and relaxation at the end of a hard day.