Amarone della Valpolicella is an intensely flavored dry red wine made from dried (passito) grapes. It is made in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy, and is one of the region's most prestigious red wines. Though Amarone wines from the Classico zone
Amarone della Valpolicella is an intensely flavored dry red wine made from dried (passito) grapes. It is made in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy, and is one of the region's most prestigious red wines. Though Amarone wines from the Classico zone in particular are often described as the pinnacle, there are many top producers operating outside the Classico zone, with Romano dal Forno probably the best known. The amarone style developed as Veneto's winemakers searched for a way to increase the body, complexity and alcohol content of their wines. As demonstrated by modern-day reds Valpolicella and Garda, wines made from locally grown Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, the reviving Oseleta and the increasingly phased-out Molinara can sometimes be too light to give satisfaction. These three mainstays of the Valpolicella vineyard are not renowned for their inherent depth (only Corvina is able to produce wines with much body), a deficiency compounded by the cool growing conditions of western Veneto. In order to concentrate the natural sugars and aromatics in Valpolicella wines, local producers began drying their grapes after harvest, to remove water from the berries while retaining sweetness and flavor.
