We recently ran across an Amarone (typically a wine we think of for winter foods) with a classical styling that means you can enjoy it with summer foods like grilled pork tenderloin or baby back ribs. It got us thinking about Amarone’s story …
The ancient Romans pioneered the art of intensifying their wines by drying the Amarone fruit.
Along with Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino, Amarone is often called one of Italy’s “Three Kings” – the greatest of the peninsula’s top red wines. But this Italian classic is actually a latecomer to the Italian wine scene – and may only exist due to a fortunate accident in the 1930s.
Some background. Roman winemakers pioneered the art of creating darker, stronger, and – importantly to Roman wine lovers – sweeter wines by drying ripe grapes on straw mats before fermentation. The loss of moisture during four to six months of air-drying meant that the grapes had too much sugar to easily ferment into alcohol before winter chills brought fermentation to a stop. The wine made this way in the hills around Verona was called “Recioto” by the Romans.
A Lucky Accident
As time passed, winemakers in what is now called the Valpolicella region turned their attention to the light, dry wines based on the Corvina grape that the region is known for today. However, many wineries (and even more families) continued making Recioto for home consumption with sweets or after a meal. Although no one knows for certain, at some point around 1935, it appears that one of these small lots of sweet Recioto was forgotten over the winter. When the weather warmed again in spring, the fermentation re-started and ran along until the sugar was gone – leaving the winemaker with a big, bold, and unexpectedly dry wine surprise.
No one is sure who discovered this new style of wine, but multiple wineries began experimenting with it, making what came to be called Amarone. By the mid-1950s, commercial quantities were available from several sources and over the 1960s and 1970s, the wines became famous for their heft, power, and distinctive dried fruit aromas and flavors.
Accordini’s Amarone
As the first Amarone experiments were underway in the 1930s, the Accordini family was already in their 110th year farming and making wine from what would become the Amarone cru of Le Bessole. As Valpolicella became more and more popular in the 1960s, the family replanted Le Bessole and added more land to their holdings. During the mid-1970s, they launched their commercial winery – featuring the Amarone from their home vineyard of Le Bessole.
The 2007 Amarone Le Bessole is a great example of pure, intense, and perfectly balanced Amarone made in a traditional style. It’s a blend of classic Amarone grapes – 70% Corvina, 20% Rondinella and 10% Rossignola. The ripe grapes are left to dry for about 3.5 months on racks in a temperature and humidity controlled room to gain plenty of concentration but avoid undesirable botrytis rot or volatile acidity bacteria. After a slow fermentation, the wine is aged in neutral wood and then in bottle until it’s ready to enjoy.
Come by Saturday, 12-4, (July 19, 2014) for a taste – or to talk about Italy’s three kings with importer Maurizio Farro.
Chain Bridge Cellars 