📜 Amarone della Valpolicella
A powerful dry red from semi-dried grapes in the Valpolicella hills near Verona.
Amarone della Valpolicella is a dry, powerful red wine from the hills of Valpolicella near Verona in northern Italy. Its special feature is that the grapes are dried before fermentation. The bunches lie for months on racks or trays in ventilated rooms. The berries lose water, and the sugar in them becomes concentrated. This method is called appassimento.
Dried grapes give a wine of high strength, often 15 percent and above, rich, with notes of dried fruit, cherry, chocolate and spice. Despite the concentration, it is fermented to dryness, so the taste is not sweet but rather dense and slightly bitter. The word "amarone" comes from the Italian word for "bitter".
The main grapes are Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella. The name is protected as a PDO, a protected designation of origin. The wine is tied to Valpolicella, which also gives the simpler red wines of the area.
Amarone is aged for a long time and served with meat, game and aged cheeses. Strong wine is drunk in small portions.
How it connects to Wine
📜 Amarone della Valpolicella ← main grape of ← 🍇 Rondinella → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Related to
- 📍 Valpolicella
- Main grapes
- 🍇 Corvina, 🍇 Corvinone, 🍇 Rondinella
- Wines
- 🍷 Red wine, 🍷 Still wine
Frequently asked questions
What is Amarone?
A dry, powerful red wine from dried grapes from Valpolicella near Verona.
Why are the grapes for Amarone dried?
So the berries lose water and the sugar and aroma in them become concentrated.
Which grapes make Amarone?
Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella.
What to read next
- 🍇 Corvina — The main grape of Valpolicella and Amarone wines in Veneto, Italy.
- 🍷 Still wine — Ordinary wine without carbon dioxide bubbles.
Similar
📜 Valpolicella Ripasso · 📜 Recioto della Valpolicella · 📜 Bardolino Superiore · 📜 Bardolino · 📍 Valpolicella · 📍 Yecla
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.