Super Amarone Wine Tasting with Special Guest Dr. Robert Maliner

“The only way of rendering life endurable is to drink as much wine as one can come by.”

- James Branch Cabell, Beyond Life

Due to the Hurricane that we can’t pronounce (Isaias) we have postponed the Marcassin wine tasting tonight- it is rescheduled for Saturday, August 15th.  But we are drinking as much wine as we can tonight just in case the weather man is wrong and Isaias becomes at category 5 hurricane overnight and turns south and destroys the Wine Watch.  That would be alcohol abuse if we suffered a total loss because of the storm.  Don’t worry it ain’t gonna happen….

We are happy to have our good friend Dr. Robert Maliner back!  One of South Florida’s most prolific wine collectors is fully recovered from Covid-19 and we have around 6000 more bottles to help him drink from his cellar.  This tasting is one of the greatest collections of vintage Amarone that we have ever had on the table.  If you love Amarone this is a “Once in a Lifetime” wine tasting of vintage Amarone that you do not want to miss.

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $295 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Super Amarone Tasting with Special Guest Dr. Robert Maliner
Friday, August 14th
7:30pm

1964 Bertani  Amarone
1968 Bertani Amarone
1990 Allegrini Amarone
1991 Quintarelli Amarone
1994 Dal Forno Amarone
1995 Tommaso Bussola Amarone Vigna Alto TB
1997 Allegrini Amarone
1997 Tommaso Bussola Amarone Vigna Alto TB
2003 Masi Serego Alighieri Vaio Armaron Amarone della Valpolicella
2004 Zyme Amarone
2003 Monte Faustino Recioto Della Valpolicella (500ml)

Menu

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts with Soy and Brown Sugar

Pork Belly bites with Blueberry Maple BBQ and Kale Potato Chips

Beef Shortrib with Mole Sauce and Creamy Polenta

Blue Cheese Stuffed Strawberries Balsamic Drizzle

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $295 + tax for reservaions call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com

Valpolicella, according to some accounts, means “valley of many cellars,” which seems fitting.  It is derived, they say, from the Greek word poli (many) and the Latin cella (cellar).   This area is approximately 27 miles long and 5 miles wide, it passes north and west of Verona, extending from the Adige River to the Cazzano Valley.  Bardolino and Lake Garda lie to the west and Soave to the east.  The land ranges in altitude from 490 to 1,475 feet above sea level.  The vines in the classico district to the northwest of Verona, are planted on the hillsides and mountain slopes of the valleys of the Adige tributaries and the Fumane, Marano, and Negrar torrents.  Some of the vineyards are terraced with stone.  The cretaceous, calcareous soil is of glacial origins.  And volcanic activity in this area contributed elements to the soil as well.  

The area around Sant’Ambrogio is considered the heart of the Amarone production zone.  Within this area, northeast of Gargagnago, is a valley called Vaio Armaron, which may have given the wine its name.   The blend of grapes typically used in Valpolicella is Corvina (40%-70%), Rondinella (20%-40%), Molinara (5%-25%) and may contain up to 15% Negrara Trentina, Rossignola, Dindarella, Barbera, and/or Sangiovese.  Before 1989 producers were allowed to add as much as 15% of grapes, must, or wine from outside the zone to correct problems from a weak vintage, but this practice is prohibited today.  Corvina contributes color, body, bouquet, flavor, and the basic Valpolicella character to the wine.   Rondinella, which is resistant to disease and rot, is added for its color and strength, tannin and vigor, it also adds some refinement to the azromas.  Molinara, or Mulinara, is also known as Rossara Veronese and Rossanella, is blended in to make the wine lighter and more drinkable.  It also contributes dryness and acidity, as well as that characteristic bitterness.  Negrara, adds softness, freshness and early drinkability.

The first dry Amarone, according to writer Cesare Marchi, was the result of a fortunate accident.  In the early 1950s, Adelino Lucchese, Bertani’s cellarmaster, discovered a barrel of wine in the cellar that had been overlooked and neglected for some time.  Certain that it had spoiled he was about to discard its contents, when curiosity prompted him to take a taste just to see what had happened.  He was astonished to discover that the forgotten wine had a velvety texture and a penetrating perfume, a slightly bitter taste, but not at all unpleasant. 

There is however evidence that the Romans made a type of bitter Recioto for diabetics or other people who couldn’t take sugar.  Sandro Boscaini of Masi pointed out that some of the oldest families in Valpolicella, the Count Campostrini and Count Serego Alighieri, as well as his own produced an Amaro, a dry Recioto.  This would seem to indicate that Amarone is considerably older that Marchi admits.  According to another book called Valpolicella Spolendida Contea Dei Vino, written by Lamberto Paronetto, the name Amarone has been in use since the eighteenth century.  It became popular at the beginning of this century and the name could very well be derived from the Italian word amaro, meaning “bitter” (scholar Scipione Maffei, writing in the first half of the eighteenth century, refers to an amaro, a dry wine from the Valpolicella area), or it could come from Vajo Armaron, where some highly regarded Amarones have been produced for ages. 

All the Amarone in the store:

1967 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella
Price: $705.00    Sale Price: $595.00           Quantity in Stock: 1

1978 Bertani Amarone
Price: $595.00    Sale Price: $495.00           Quantity in Stock: 1

1998 Dal Forno Amarone della Valpolicella
Price: $471.00    Your Price: $414.48          Quantity in Stock: 1

2000 Masi Amarone Della Valpolicella Mazzano
Price: $225.00    Your Price: $198.00          Quantity in Stock: 1

2003 Masi Serego Alighieri Vaio Armaron Amarone della Valpolicella
Price: $99.00       Sale Price: $79.00             Quantity in Stock: 11

2004 Dal Forno Amarone della Valpolicella
Price: $495.00    Your Price: $435.60          Quantity in Stock: 3

2007 Masi Agricola Mazzano Amarone della Valpolicella
Price: $168.75    Your Price: $148.50          Quantity in Stock: 2

2007 San Rustico Gaso Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Price: $79.00       Your Price: $69.52            Quantity in Stock: 2

2007 Brigaldara Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva San Floriano Magnum
Price: $420.00    Your Price: $369.60          Quantity in Stock: 6

2009 Monte dei Ragni Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Price: $90.00       Your Price: $79.20            Quantity in Stock: 15

2009 Brigaldara Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva San Floriano
Price: $186.00    Your Price: $163.68          Quantity in Stock: 3

2009 Quintarelli Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico Riserva
Price: $795.00    Your Price: $699.60          Quantity in Stock: 1

2009 Monte Faustino Amarone della Valpolicella 3 Liter
Price: $300.00    Your Price: $264.00          Quantity in Stock: 1

2010 Brigaldara Amarone dell Valpolicella 3 LITER
Price: $389.00    Your Price: $342.32          Quantity in Stock: 1

2010 Tommaso Bussola Amarone della Valpolicella Classico TB
Price: $120.00    Your Price: $105.60          Quantity in Stock: 5

2011 Masi Campolongo Torbe Amarone
Price: $160.50    Your Price: $141.24          Quantity in Stock: 5

2011 Quintarelli Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico
Price: $450.00    Your Price: $396.00          Quantity in Stock: 2

2011 Masi Mazzano Amarone della Valpolicella
Price: $177.75    Your Price: $156.42          Quantity in Stock: 1

2011 Brigaldara Amarone Della Valpolicella Case Vecie
Price: $96.00       Your Price: $84.48            Quantity in Stock: 4

2011 Corte Sant'Alda Valmezzane Amarone della Valpolicella
Price: $99.00       Your Price: $87.12            Quantity in Stock: 8

2012 Marchesi Fumanelli Amarone della Valpolicella Octavius Riserva
Price: $150.00    Your Price: $132.00          Quantity in Stock: 7

2012 Brigaldara Amarone Della Valpolicella Case Vecie
Price: $109.00    Your Price: $95.92            Quantity in Stock: 10

2012 Zenato Amarone Della Valpolicella Riserva Sergio Zenato
Price: $112.75    Your Price: $99.22            Quantity in Stock: 3

2014 Tommaso Bussola Amarone Classico
Price: $71.25       Your Price: $62.70            Quantity in Stock: 9

2015 Masi Amarone Costasera Classico
Price: $53.25       Your Price: $46.86            Quantity in Stock: 1

2015 Brigaldara Amarone Della Valpolicella
Price: $63.50       Your Price: $55.88            Quantity in Stock: 20

2015 Corte Figaretto Amarone della Valpolicella Graal
Price: $75.00       Your Price: $66.00            Quantity in Stock: 1

2015 MasoMaroni Amarone della Valpolicella
Price: $49.50       Your Price: $43.56            Quantity in Stock: 2

2016 Corte Lenguin Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico DOCG
Price: $50.00       Your Price: $44.00            Quantity in Stock: 10