The Wine of Veneto


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Written by Denny Toffolo Monday, 26 May 2008 10:16

The Veneto region is located in North Eastern Italy.  It is boarded by Lake Garda in the West, the Alps in the North, the Adriatic Sea (and Venice) to the South and the Region of Friuli to the East (my ancestral home).  The climate in Veneto is moderated by the mountains and the sea.  The following notes are a summary of the presentation I made at the April 10, 2008 AGC dinner.

By Dr. Denny Toffolo
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Prosecco

Prosecco is a semi sparkling (frizzante) wine made from the late ripening indigenous grapes with the same name sake.  Prosecco is most commonly used as a celebration wine like champagne.  I like to serve it as a mouth cleanser before a big meal.  Prosecco is often mixed with fruit juices to produce a light mixed drink.  The Bellini, made famous by Harry’s Bar in Venice is prepared by mixing peach nectar and Prosecco.  Various Proseccos are always available at your local LCBO store.  They are attractively inexpensive.

White Wines

The most famous white wine from Veneto is called Soave. Soave is the name of a city in the Veneto Region. Soave the wine, is made mostly from the indigenous Garganega grapes.  Lesser Soaves are often cut with Lugana the local grape clone of Trebbiano.  Lugana is also often used on its own to make white wine.  The best makers of Soave include Anselmi, Inama, Pieropan and Pra.  These wines are fruity with distinctive hints of nuttiness and bitterness. 

Another common white found in North Eastern Italy is Pinot Grigio.  Pinot Grigios are now grown through out the world.  Unfortunately most Pinot Grigios despite being incredibly popular are of mediocre quality. However there are gems among them.  In my opinion, the best Pinot Grigios come from North Eastern Italy and from the Alsace Region of France where they are known as Pinot Gris. 

Red Wines of Veneto
Valpolicella and Bardolino

Valpolicella is a region within Veneto.  It is also the name of a popular wine from that same region.  It is usually made up of a “trinity” of grapes: corvina, molinera and rondinella.  This trinity is the foundation of many red wines from Veneto.  Bardolino is a wine which comes from the Eastern shore of Lake Garda.  It is made of the trinity plus the addition of a lighter grape variety known as Negrara.  Consequently, you end up with a slightly easier drinking wine.  An interesting variation of Bardolino is Bardolino Chiaretto, which is the lighter rosé version of Bardolino.  

Amarone

Amarone is a wine style.  It is a wine made of the Valpolicella trinity grapes which have gone through the ancient apassimento process.  Apassimento is a technique where the grapes are picked, but instead of being crushed and fermented immediately they are stored on mats in lofts or in special climate controlled rooms where they are dried over a period of three to four months.  The grapes lose about 30 percent of their water volume.  The shriveled grapes are then put through the fermentation process using high alcohol tolerating yeasts.  The result is a concentrated, powerful and complex wine known as amarone.  Typically amarone wines contain over 15% alcohol.  Amarone is the emperor of Italian wines.   The best producers of amarone are Quintarelli and Romano dal Forno.     

Recioto della Valpolicella 

The simplest way to characterize Recioto della Valpolicella is to consider it as a ‘sweet amarone’.  Recioto della Valpolicella employs the appassimento method of drying specially selected trinity grapes. Unlike amarone, when Recioto is being made the fermentation process is stopped early.  Halting the process early either by natural or man made techniques, results in an increased sugar concentration.  It is like silky smooth port with less alcohol.  Reciotos can be served with strong cheeses like asiago from Veneto or with desserts.  My favorite way to enjoy Recioto della Valpolicella is to have it with chocolate covered strawberries.

Rippassa

The term Ripassa suggests another wine making process using the Valpolicella trinity grapes.  After the traditional Valpolicella is made it is poured into vats where the pomace from the previous year’s amarone is added.  Sometimes dried grape berries are also added.  Adding these ingredients causes another short fermentation event and increases the concentration of alcohol by approximately one-half percent. More importantly the addition of grapes and/or skins also adds another layer of flavor complexity.  Ripassa sales have taken off over the past ten years.  They have become more popular then Valpolicella!  Ripassas are like a baby amarones but half the price. 

Recioto di Soave

The appassimento technique can be applied to other grapes.  If you apply this drying practice to the soave grapes and stop the fermentation before all the sugar is converted to alcohol by the yeast you will have a sweet and intricate soave.  This sweet soave makes for a great dessert wine. It is best served with fruit tarts.  Recioto di Soave is a gem that is rarely brought into this country.   Perhaps the best producer of Recioto di Soave is Leonildo Pieropan. 

Conclusion

I hope these notes help clarify some of the important wines of the Veneto region.  I also hope they entice you to try some of these great wines and consider how they were created.