The Story of Amarone: How Dried Grapes Became a Legend
It is the most powerful wine of the Veneto, born of patience and a happy accident: Amarone della Valpolicella owes its existence to a centuries-old technique – and a forgotten bottle.
The Secret of Appassimento
The story of Amarone begins with drying. After the harvest, the grapes – mainly Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara – are laid out for months on straw mats or in airy drying lofts. During this phase, called appassimento, the berries lose up to 40 percent of their water, while sugar, aromas and tannins concentrate. What remains is the concentrated essence of the grape – the foundation of one of the densest wines in the world.
A Legend Born by Accident
According to legend, the first Amarone was born of a mistake. The intention was to make the sweet Recioto, but a bottle forgotten in the cellar fermented completely – all the sugar turned to alcohol. Tasting it, the cellar master is said to have exclaimed: Questo è amaro! – This is dry! Thus the wine gained its name: Amarone, the great bitter one. From this supposed mishap arose, in the 20th century, one of Italy's most celebrated wines.
Three Faces of a Great Wine
- Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG – the embodiment of the style: powerful and velvety, with dried cherry, chocolate and spice. Concentration and elegance in perfect balance.
- Amarone Sergio Zenato Riserva DOCG – the royal class: a Riserva of great depth and long ageing potential, with notes of plum, leather and noble wood. A wine for the ages.
- Zenato Ripassa Valpolicella Superiore DOC – the little brother of Amarone: a Valpolicella re-fermented on the Amarone pomace, gaining power and richness. Approachable and complex at once.
How to Enjoy Amarone
Amarone is a wine for great moments. Thanks to its richness and sweetness, it calls for powerful companions: braised beef, game, roasts and aged hard cheeses such as Parmigiano or Pecorino. In the Veneto it is traditionally served with risotto all'Amarone. But often it stands alone – as a meditative wine after the meal, with a square of dark chocolate or simply for a long conversation.
Patience in the Glass
Serve Amarone at 17 to 18 degrees and open it in good time – an hour or two in the decanter does it good. Great vintages age for decades and gain in complexity. To open an Amarone is to pour not only wine, but a piece of Venetian history – concentrated, patiently matured and full of character.
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