Amarone Wine
Romano dal Forno
Romano Dal Forno remade what Amarone could be: yields cut to almost nothing, grapes dried in temperature controlled lofts, long ageing in new French barriques, and a wine of extraordinary density that needs a decade before it opens. He is the modern pole of the valley, opposite Quintarelli.
A visit to Le Ragose
Le Ragose sits high above Negrar, one of the first estates to plant at that altitude, now in its third generation with Marta Galli. They make traditional Amarone in large Slavonian oak, and keep old vintages back. We went up to taste with them and this is what they said.
Why Amarone is the perfect gift for your client
Amarone works as a corporate gift because it is recognised without being common, it keeps for decades so it does not have to be drunk immediately, and the bottle explains itself. Expect to spend 40 to 80 EUR for something a client will notice, more for a name they will know.
Amarone Wine for Investment
Amarone works as an investment only at the top: Quintarelli, Romano Dal Forno, Bertani in the great years, and a handful of Riserva bottlings. Those keep for thirty years and appreciate. Ordinary Amarone does not. Buy in original case, keep provenance, and store below 16 degrees.
Amarone “Opera Prima” 2023
Opera Prima is the Valpolicella Consortium tasting held in Verona each winter, where the new Amarone vintage is presented to the trade and the press before it reaches the shelves. The 2023 edition showed the 2019 vintage, and this is what stood out in the glass.
The Advanced Guide to Amarone della Valpolicella Docg
This goes past the basics: the sub zones and their soils, how growers differ on drying time and vessel, what Riserva really changes, how residual sugar is handled, and why two Amarone at the same price can taste nothing alike. Read the beginner guide first if you have not.
2022 – Amarone end of year report
The 2022 Valpolicella year in one page: what was released, what the critics rated highest, how the harvest went and what changed in the region. Written at the end of the year from the shop floor in Venice, where we taste most of what comes out of the valley.
Valpolicella and Christmas pairings
For Christmas, pour by weight of dish. Valpolicella Superiore with antipasti and pasta, Ripasso with roast poultry and risotto, Amarone with braised or roast red meat and aged cheese, Recioto with the pudding. Serve the Amarone at about 18 degrees and open it an hour ahead.
Amarone Wine & Valpolicella Vintages, an in-depth analysis
Vintage matters in the Valpolicella because Corvina ripens late and the grapes are then dried through the winter, so both the autumn and the months after it decide the year. The best years of this century are 2000, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2019. The hardest were 2002 and 2014.
Amarone Wine ageing – All you need to know!
A good Amarone from a strong year improves for ten to fifteen years and holds for twenty five. The top estates go far past that. Keep bottles lying down, below 16 degrees, away from light and vibration. Warmth and movement kill more old Amarone than age does.
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