Amarone della Valpolicella is a style of red wine that many
may have heard of, but relatively few know the methods behind. Production of such
a rich, full-bodied dry red requires methods dating back in history
to (supposedly) one producer who forgot to remove his grapes from barrel,
allowing them to ferment until dry.
Not officially recognised until 1953, Amarone della Valpolicella
is now renowned globally and makes up a quarter of the total wines produced in
the Valpolicella DOC. To create this nectar, however, the grapes undergo a
production technique called ‘Appassimento’ – the partial drying before slow
pressing and fermentation. The producers usually select older vines for their
Amarone; the grapes are harvested ripe in October, later than many wines, and
producers carefully select bunches not too close to one another to allow for
air flow. Then, the Appassimento process begins: traditionally on straw mats
but often nowadays on flat beds in specialised airy lofts, the grapes are left
for around 120 days over the entire winter period to dry out.
Racks of grapes undergoing Appassimento in an airy loft in Italy
Appassimento usually increases sugar by around 25-30% and
concentrates the flavours of the fruit immensely, while reducing malic acid
content by two-thirds and water content by 30-40%. After the long desiccation the grapes
are pressed in March before being put through a dry, cool fermentation process for over a month,
then aged in French or Slavonian oak barrels for up to another 7 years.
After all this slow desiccation, fermentation
and then aging, the wines are ready and much denser and more textured than
other methods would provide – giving us the lovely rich, intense dry wines of
Amarone della Valpolicella that we know and love. The entire process takes
years but results in wines with rich flavours of cherry, roast coffee and chocolate
complimented with lively acidity and high levels of sugar. They’re well worth
the wait!