This week we are highlighting the wines of Veneto, that corner of Italy that surrounds Venice. One wine in the Veneto ranks supreme, and that wine is Amarone. While its light and bubbly neighbor Prosecco may be more famous nowadays, the wines of Amarone della Valpolicella have long been renowned for their intensity of flavor, texture, color and aroma.

Made mainly by a grape called Corvina, how did the wines of the area get this world-famous reputation? The climate in the area and the grapes in question wouldn’t typically make wines like this, so what is up the winemakers’ sleeves?
Well, appasimento. Appasimento is a process that happens before the grapes start the fermentation process, it is a process of drying the grapes slightly to enhance and intensify the qualities that you are looking for.

The origins of this process are shrouded in history but we think that at some point during harvest a winemaker didn’t have enough room for all their grapes to be fermented, so they left some out in a hayloft of attic of some kind, and when they came back they had grapes that were much dryer than the ripe ones they picked. The grapes ended up making a wine that people seemed to love, and the process stuck. Today, there are very few haylofts or attics being used, but the same idea is there. Pick juicy ripe grapes and let them dry out for a few months, then make your wine.

So, what can you expect out of wines made in this process? A lot actually! To start, expect the obvious, you are making wines out of partially dehydrated grapes, they will have notes of raisins and other dried fruits. When grapes get dehydrated that means their sugars get concentrated, higher sugar means higher alcohol, and an Amarone is no slouch when it comes to alcohol levels, expect something above 15% and at times it can be pushing 17%. The wines get so alcoholic that special yeast strains are used so they don’t die out too early!

The wines of Amarone, while big, also tend to have a velvety mouthfeel, they coat the inside of your mouth like few other wines but are plush and ready to drink. You can also expect these wines to be a bit more expensive, 50% of the weight of the grape is lost during the drying process, that means that 50% less wine is created than what would be made if they used fresh grapes, that drives up the cost. Not to mention specialized equipment is needed for the drying process, and these grapes tend to be aged by the wineries for years before the winer releases them, all these factors add to the cost.

Let’s talk pairing. Big wines call for big foods, and Amarone is no exception. We think the best pairings are braised foods, whether that is braised short ribs, or try the classic Italian ossobuco if you really want to get into the spirit of the peninsula (ossobuco comes from Lombardy, the region just west of the Veneto). However, don’t think you must have food; a cool night and a cozy book will work fine to pair with this world wonder of wine!