The Cellar: The King: Amarone

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Steffen Rasch, GoLocalWorcester Wine Writer

One of my favorite wines in the whole world is the Amarone della Valpolicella – the ‘King of Verona.’ Growing up, this rich and delicious wine was the ‘special occasion’ wine in my family, only served on birthdays and holidays. One of the things that prevented (and still prevents) the Amarone from being an everyday wine in my house is its price point, as these wines rarely cost less than $50 per bottle. Made from partially dehydrated grapes, this age-worthy, full-bodied wine often displays rich dark dried fruits, smoked meats and herbs wrapped in firm, sometimes bitter, tannins and vibrant acidity - especially in its youth.

Amarone has always been a popular wine in Europe. However, in the past 10-20 years Amarone has experienced an increase in popularity and demand worldwide as new wine lovers (especially in the U.S. and China) have discovered these great wines and have started filling their cellars with them. Amarone received yet another boost in 2009 when it was ‘promoted’ to a DOCG wine, the highest level within the Italian wine classification system

Be Aware

The increased demand has had two consequences that you as a potential Amarone consumer should be aware of. First of all, as could be expected, the prices of the most sought-after Amarones have skyrocketed. In some cases to price points mirroring those of top-notch Burgundies and classified Bordeaux. On the other end of the spectrum a new ($30-$50) category of Amarone has been born. While some of these wines are absolutely delicious and thereby excellent values, many of them are not and the often large-scale producers behind these wines are ‘cutting corners’, i.e. using less than desirable vineyards sites, blending grapes from across the region, messing with the drying and fermentation process and meeting only the absolute minimum aging requirements for making Amarone (revised in 2009).

Keeping Things Traditional

Thankfully there are still a bunch of family owned wineries that make Amarone the traditional way. A few years ago a dozen of them came together and formed the Association of Amarone Families who made it their goal to raise awareness and maintain the reputation of the traditional Amarone. While each family makes their own unique wine they all adhere to the highest standards in doing so. Many of the producers use the traditional grapes Corvinone and Oseleta in addition to the widely planted Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. In terms of the aging of the wines, which often happens in both new and used oak, as well as in bottle prior to releasing them (yet another thing that adds cost to making Amarone) these producers simply refuse compromise. While the minimum requirement for aging is a combined 24 month, many members of the Amarone Families age their wines for up to 5 years!

If you’ve never tasted an Amarone I urge you to find an occasion to make the splash. Many of the Associations member’s Amarones are available locally including Zenato, Allegrini, Tomassi and Masi.

Cheers!

Steffen Rasch is a Certified Sommelier and Specialist of Wine. Feel free to email him at [email protected] with any wine-related question or learn about wine in person by signing up for one of his tastings through the Providence Wine Academy .

Related Slideshow: Valentine’s Day Events in Central Mass

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Jillian's, Worcester

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Valentine's Day Workshop

Crompton Collective, Worcester

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Parent's Night Out

The Children's Workshop, all MA locations

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The Children’s Workshop has 7 locations throughout Massachusetts.

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Valentine's Day Symphony

University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, Worcester

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A Lesson in Chocolate

Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston

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Ice Skating

Buffone Arena, Worcester

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Admission is $5 and an additional $5 for rental skates.

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Valentine's Day Ball

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Valentine's Day Dinner

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Valentine's Day Massacre

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Historic Valentines

Old Sturbridge Village

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Dinner for Two

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Chocolate Making

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For more information, go here.