Valpolicella: One of the Best-Kept Secrets of Italian Wine

When people talk about Italian wine, they’re quick to rattle off names like Chianti, Barolo, Lambrusco, or Prosecco.

But one of the best-kept secrets of Italian wine is the wine region of Valpolicella. Tucked away between Verona and Lake Garda in Northern Italy and part of the larger Veneto wine region, it gets a lot less attention (and fewer visitors) than places like Tuscany or Sicily. Yet it produces no less than five distinctive red wine styles, some unique to the region, as well as several local traditional wines. This is why if you have limited time in the area we suggest that you make Valpolicella a priority.

The five types of red wine produced are:

·         Valpolicella, lighter, simpler in flavor, made from fresh grapes

·         Valpolicella Classico, more complex, made from fresh grapes

·         Valpolicella Ripasso (“repeat”), made with partially dried grapes re-fermented with standard Valpolicella wine

·         Amarone della Valpolicella, intense and very complex, made from grapes partially dried for weeks or months before fermented (known as the appassimento method)

·         Recioto della Valpolicella, a sweet red wine, also made using the appassimento method, and a style dating back to Roman times

Amarone (which means “bitter” although the wine definitely is not) is considered one of the most important wines of Italy.

While the region specializes in red wine, some of the wineries produce white and rosé.

There are about 350 wineries in the region, mainly family-owned. Many families live in the same buildings as their production facilities and use ancient winemaking techniques, such as growing the vines into an umbrella shape.

Several operators offer tours to Valpolicella, many of them from Verona, the closest city. We chose a small (six people) group tour with Romeo and Juliet Tours because the company, run by two women, seemed very knowledgeable about the region and was willing to customize our itinerary to visit three different family-run wineries in the countryside. We enjoyed a wonderful trip with Virginia, one of the owners. Each tasting was private for our group.

One fun fact: it is traditional in the region to prepare a wine glass by rinsing it with a bit of wine, not water, before drinking from it. The process, called  “avinamento” or “screwing” refers to the turning of the glass so that the wine reaches everywhere.

Monte Santoccio

The first winery we went to was Monte Santoccio near the village of Fumane. Only 7.5

hectares, this winery isn’t even on the official tourism map. We first stopped in the vineyards to learn about the wines of Valpolicella and taste Corvina grapes right off the vines.

The owner/winemaker Nicola, who spoke little English, then gave us a full tour of the caves and production facilities (the building is also his home). We first tasted Amarone straight from the barrel; while it wasn’t ready for prime time yet, it already tasted very good; one could tell that once it was bottled and aged it would be outstanding.

Nicola then took us to his backyard terrace overlooking the vineyards for a wine tasting, accompanied by homemade breadsticks, pate, bread, and his olive oil. This winery is known for some of its more unusual wines.

We sampled:

Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore, an IGT (the wine is considered of good quality, but the winemaker is not constrained by DOC or DOCG requirements) 😊++

Santoccio Rosso, a Valpolicella Classico 😊😊

Amarone 2019 😊😊

Amarone Reserva 2015 (Nicola’s favorite) 😊😊+

Ammandorlato Stella IGT, a unique, unlabeled wine produced by very few wineries 😊😊

Grappa (we first put it in our hands; interestingly, you can’t smell the alcohol) 😊

Grappa infused with Ruta twigs, a Veneto tradition, he makes for his own consumption 😊+

Corte Borghetti

We then proceeded to nearby Corte Borghetti for wine tasting with lunch. The winery has been with the same family for four generations. The current owner, Barbara, has been expanding the winery, which now offers private event space and will soon have apartments and a pool.

We had lunch in a private room in the wine cellar. The wine was paired with each course.

We tasted:

Bianco Veneto Tre (named after Barbara’s three children), a white made from the Garganega grape 😊+ paired with charcuterie and local cheese, bread, and olive oil

Valpolicella Classico Superiore 😊😊 paired with pate and bruschetta

Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore 😊😊 paired with pasta with cherry tomatoes and zucchini

Amarone 😊😊 paired with parmesan cheese, dark chocolate, and biscuits

After all that, we were taken to a patio for pear cake, and then enjoyed a full tour of the production facilities and the vineyard.

A Small Detour

On our way to the third winery someone mentioned an interest in churches so Virginia made an unscheduled pit stop to show us San Floriano Church, which dates to 900 AD.

Venturini   

Our third winery was Venturini, another family-owned winery, established in 1963. We toured the production facilities (which, again, was also the family’s home) and then enjoyed a tasting in the cellar, with bread sticks and hazelnuts.

We sampled:

Amarone 2018 😊😊

Amarone 2011 limited edition 😊😊+

Recioto della Valpolicella 😊😊 

Valpolicella, one of the best-kept secrets of Italian wine, is well worth a trip to Northern Italy. I hope you get the chance to discover it. Salute!

What other “secret” wine regions should we know about? Let us know!  We’re at info@winewithourfamily.com. 

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