Awaiting Amarone

Amarone (pronounced ‘Aama-ronay’) wines are wines produced from a blend of three different red grape varieties (Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara) grown in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy that have been allowed to “wither” for up to four months after harvesting, losing 45 per cent of their weight in the process.

Essentially, the grape berries almost become raisins before being crushed to extract the juice — which consequently has a lot more sugar and flavour than regular grape juice. The resulting wine is rich, dry and full-bodied, with typically chocolate, spice and black cherry flavours and an alcohol content of about 15 per cent v/v.

The region where the grapes are grown is called Valpolicella (“Valley of Many Cellars”), lying between the city of Verona (the location of Shakespeare's immortal love story Romeo & Juliet) in Northeast Italy and the picturesque Lake Garda, 90 km to the north-west.

Actually, Valpolicella (“Vaalpoly-chella”) is the generic name of the red wines produced in the region. Valpolicella “Classico” forms the bulk of the production, while the “Superiore” is made from partially-dried grapes, and the “Ripasso” involves adding Classico wine to the spent skins of grapes used to produce Amarone. This results in a baby Amarone that has some of the characteristics of an Amarone but at half the price.

Then there is Valpolicella Recioto, also made from dried grapes (like Amarone), but where the fermentation is arrested before all the sugars convert to alcohol. The resulting wine is 

rich and sweet, with sugar of upto 250 gms/litre, but an alcohol content of only around 12 per cent.

But it is Amarone that is the patriarch of all the wines produced in the region — it commands the highest ratings and prices, ranging from 96 points on Wine Spectator and over US $500 per bottle downwards, although excellent 90-point Amarone labels are available for as little as US $50.

The top-rated Amarone wine producers include Dal Forno Romano, Masi, Allegrini, Pasqua , Fattori and Zenato. Unfortunately, few Amarone wines are available in India, a consequence of the statutory provisions imposed by FSSAI regarding back labels, and high label registration fees in states (Delhi now charges a whopping Rs 60,000 per label per year!) — apart from the 150 per cent Basic Customs Duty and varying state taxes (Excise Duty by another name).

So, pick up a bottle or two when next travelling overseas — I promise you will return again and again to this terrific wine.

Wines I’ve been drinking: Some research indicates that the following Amarone wines have been listed by some importers:

Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella (Brindco)

Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico (Aspri) — Rs 5,935 in Bengaluru

Tenuta Sant’Antonio Amarone della Valpolicella 2013 (Wine Park) — Rs 6,825 (Bengaluru)

Of these, the wine I tasted quite recently was the Tenuta Sant’Antonio Amarone della Valpolicella 2013 — 70 per cent Corvina, 20 per cent Rondinella and the balance Croatina & Oseleta. The 125 acres of vineyards are on the banks of Lake Garda, with the visitor-friendly winery designed to blend into the hillside. The wine undergoes a secondary malolactic fermentation in 500 litre oak barrels and is then aged for two years: a dark red colour, with a complex bouquet of ripe red fruit, liquorice and black pepper with hints of chocolate and a full-bodied taste that lingers. Yum!

Cin Cin, as the Italians say.

Alok Chandra is a Bengaluru-based wine consultant