A batch of Amarone starts nearly four months before fermentation does. Whole bunches of Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella are laid out on bamboo racks in ventilated lofts through the autumn and winter, losing a third or more of their weight to evaporation before anyone presses them.
Appassimento: drying, not sweetening
That drying process, appassimento, concentrates sugar, acid, and flavour in the grapes. Where Veneto's other appassimento wine, Recioto, stops fermentation early to keep the wine sweet, Amarone ferments fully dry, turning all that concentrated sugar into alcohol, typically 15 to 16 percent. The result is dense, dried-fruit and dark-cherry flavoured, with a bitter almond finish that gives Amarone its name (roughly, 'the big bitter one'), and a weight closer to a fortified wine than a table red despite carrying no added spirit.
Grapes and zones
Corvina and Corvinone supply the backbone, sour cherry and dried herbs; Rondinella adds colour and body but drops out of the best blends where growers can afford to. The hillside Classico zone around Fumane, Marano, and Negrar is generally considered the most refined; the flatter eastern zone produces riper, broader wine. Many estates still age Amarone in large Slavonian oak botti rather than smaller French barriques, keeping the fruit forward rather than adding new oak spice.
FAQ
Is Amarone the same as Valpolicella Ripasso?
No, though they are related. Ripasso is ordinary Valpolicella re-fermented on the leftover skins from Amarone production, gaining richness and colour. Amarone is made entirely from dried grapes and costs several times more.
How long does Amarone need to age?
The DOCG requires a minimum of two years in wood, and the best examples improve for a decade or two beyond that. Riserva bottlings, aged at least four years, are built for the long term.
What food suits Amarone?
Braised and slow-cooked meat, aged cheese, and risotto all'Amarone, made locally by finishing the rice in leftover wine, are the classic pairings for its weight and dried-fruit intensity.