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Italian · VI The Beverage Tradition

Amarone della Valpolicella

Valpolicella, Veneto

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I

Origin

Amarone della Valpolicella belongs to the hills north of Verona, in the Valpolicella, where the Veneto's tradition of drying grapes to concentrate them has long been the basis of its red wines. It descends from the older sweet recioto, made from grapes laid to dry after harvest; Amarone is the same method carried to dryness, fermented out until little sugar remains. It is carried by the growers and cellars of the Valpolicella, and it sits within the wider Venetian tradition of strong, long-aged wines served at the table and after it. Nino Zoccali's Venetian Republic is the source for the Venetian setting; the particulars of the appellation's rules and its precise dates are not drawn from it here and are left unstated.

II

Description

Amarone della Valpolicella is a dry, full-bodied red wine made chiefly from Corvina Veronese (Vitis vinifera), with Rondinella and other permitted local varieties in support. The bunches are picked ripe and set to dry for some months on racks or in trays until they have lost a considerable part of their water, then pressed and fermented slowly to a high alcohol and a dense, dark colour. The wine is then aged in wood before release. Its character is of dried dark fruit, bitter cherry and spice, with a weight and a bitter finish from which the name, from amaro, 'bitter', is taken.

III

The Thread

—Both wines begin with grapes dried on straw or racks after harvest so that the sugars and flavours are concentrated before pressing. Vin de paille is kept sweet and low in alcohol by comparison, while Amarone is fermented to dryness and made as a powerful red. French · (Jura)
—See also: a Lombard red from dried Nebbiolo grapes, following the same principle of concentrating the fruit before fermentation. It is lighter in structure and more acidic than Amarone, reflecting the grape and the Alpine valley. Italian · (Lombardy)
—Pedro Ximénez grapes are sun-dried before pressing, giving a must of great concentration much as in the drying lofts of the Valpolicella. The Andalusian wine keeps its sugar and is sweet, whereas Amarone is fermented dry and sold as a red for the table. Spanish · (Andalusia)
—Both rely on shrivelled, concentrated fruit to give a wine of unusual density and long ageing. Aszú berries are shrivelled by noble rot and added to a base wine to make a sweet wine, while Amarone's grapes are dried by air and fermented out dry. Hungarian
IV

Flavour Context

Amarone is drunk with braised and roasted red meats, game, and long-cooked dishes of the Veneto, and with aged hard cheeses such as Monte Veronese di allevo or Grana. It also suits risotto all'Amarone, in which it is used as an ingredient. The structural reason is its weight: high alcohol, concentrated fruit and a bitter finish stand up to the fat and protein of slow-cooked meat and cut through the richness of aged cheese, while a lighter dish would be overwhelmed. It is served at cellar temperature, not warm, so that the alcohol does not dominate.

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