Vintage Amarone Wine Tasting

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

- James Branch Cabell, Beyond Life

We are trying to keep the calendar of events full at the Wine Bar so we have at least, Friday and Saturday night filled with wine tasting events!  And we have a schedule of events that you can count on some of my favorite wines coming out in July and August with our annual vintage Amarone wine tasting.

Amarone is one of the most unique wines in the world because they use a style of production known as appassimento.  This style of winemaking is when they dry the grapes before they ferment them making the wines more concentrated and, in most cases, higher in alcohol than other wines that are made fermenting the grapes right after they are picked. 

The ripasso technique which is used here is also unique in the wine world and was also created in the Valpolicella region of Italy.  This is a method of production where they pass the juice of grapes that were crushed right after harvest aka already fermented juice (wine) over the must of the freshly crushed dried grapes used to make Amarone.  The must contains a little yeast and sugar so the wine now goes through a second fermentation giving the resulting wine more body, flavor and of course more alcohol!  This wine is known as Valpolicella Ripasso and if you want to learn more about these amazing wines come out and taste some of the best that the land of many cellars has to offer.

Join us as we experience some of the oldest Amarones that we have ever shown at Wine Watch along with a special menu to accompany the wines.  The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $350 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Vintage Amarone Wine Tasting back to 1964

Saturday, July 25th

7:30pm

1964 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

1985 Le Ragose Amarone della Valpolicella

1988 Paolo Boscaini Marano, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

1988 Masi Amarone Recioto della Valpolicella Classico

1988 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

1990 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

1993 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

1995 Luigi Righetti Capitel De' Roari, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

1997 Le Ragose Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

1997 Mastino Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico

Menu

Gorgonzola and Stilton Blue Cheese

Portobello Mushroom and Burrata Salad with Sundried Tomato Balsamic Vinaigrette

Beef Short Rib Wellington with Amarone Wine Demi

Scaramouche Coconut Crème Pie with White Chocolate Shavings and Dark Chocolate Sauce

The fee for this tasting is $350 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any food allergies or aversions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.

A bit about Amarone and Valpolicella:

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.