Valpolicella & Soave (Verona)

Valpolicella Classico / Superiore: light-to-medium cherry red - the everyday local.

Corvina-based red from the hills north of Verona: sour cherry, almond, light tannin, fresh acidity. Superiore is aged longer and a little fuller. Serve slightly cool.

Valpolicella DOC is mostly Corvina and Corvinone with some Rondinella. 'Classico' limits the grapes to the five historic communes - Fumane, Marano, Negrar, San Pietro in Cariano and Sant'Ambrogio; Valpantena is a separate valley sub-zone. Superiore is aged longer and has a little more weight. The best versions from top houses are bright and savoury rather than heavy, a good match for Veronese food. Order it by the glass, slightly cool, before you think about Ripasso or Amarone: it shows a producer's touch most clearly.

Soave Classico: dry white - lemon, almond, a salty finish.

Mostly Garganega from the hills around Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone. Light-to-medium body, citrus, pear, almond and a mineral finish; rarely oaked. The top hillside wines age beautifully.

Soave is mostly Garganega, with Trebbiano di Soave or Chardonnay making up the rest. Classico is the historic hill zone east of Verona, and official cru names can appear on the label. Plain-zone Soave is simple and fruity; Classico from a top grower has real tension and develops almond and honey notes over five to ten years. One of Italy's best-value whites when you choose the producer well: order a Classico by the glass with lunch, then a cru with dinner.

Risotto all'Amarone + Valpolicella Ripasso.

Verona's red-wine risotto, finished with local Monte Veronese cheese. A Ripasso has enough body for the rich rice without the heaviness of Amarone.

Verona's red-wine risotto, finished with local Monte Veronese cheese. A Ripasso has enough body for the rich rice without the heaviness of Amarone.

Amarone: dried-grape red, 15%+ alcohol - near-fortified in weight. Sip slowly.

Grapes are dried for months until semi-raisined, then fermented dry. The result is very full, around 15-16% alcohol, with raisin, dark cherry, chocolate and spice - heavy and warming, closer to a Port in weight though not fortified. For braised meat or aged cheese, not an everyday dinner red.

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG uses the same grapes as Valpolicella, picked early and dried indoors (appassimento) until winter, then fermented dry and aged for years before release (Riserva longer). The weight is the point - and the problem. Most bottles land around 15-16%, very full, with a sweet impression from ripe fruit and glycerol even when dry. Treat it as you would a fortified wine: small pours, slow-cooked meat, Monte Veronese or Parmesan, or after dinner. Classico and Valpantena are sub-zones; Riserva and single-vineyard names mark flagships.

Ripasso: Valpolicella refermented on Amarone skins - richer, still food-friendly.

Finished Valpolicella is passed over the still-warm skins left from Amarone or Recioto and ferments again for a few days. More colour, body and stewed-cherry flavour, but far lighter than Amarone. The value middle ground.

Ripasso now has its own DOC. The method takes the pressed-off skins (still holding sugar and flavour) from Amarone or Recioto and adds them to young Valpolicella, usually Superiore, for a second fermentation of a few days. The result gains alcohol, tannin and dried-cherry notes. Quality varies a lot: from a top house it's a rounded, savoury red for roast meat; cheap versions can be sweetish and soupy. Look for a good producer and 'Classico Superiore' on the label, and drink it within five years or so.

Hills over plain: Classico wines are fuller and longer-lived.

In both Valpolicella and Soave the old hillside cores (Classico) give more concentrated, higher-acid wines; the flat, fertile land south toward the motorway gives lighter, softer, drink-young versions.

In both Valpolicella and Soave the old hillside cores (Classico) give more concentrated, higher-acid wines; the flat, fertile land south toward the motorway gives lighter, softer, drink-young versions.

Appassimento: grapes dried for months in lofts before pressing.

Bunches picked early are laid on racks or in crates in airy lofts (fruttai) until winter, losing water and concentrating sugar and flavour. The base of Amarone and Recioto.

Bunches picked early are laid on racks or in crates in airy lofts (fruttai) until winter, losing water and concentrating sugar and flavour. The base of Amarone and Recioto.

Amarone vs Recioto: same dried grapes, fermented dry or left sweet.

Ferment the dried grapes fully and you get Amarone, dry and very strong; stop early and you get Recioto, sweet and a little lower in alcohol.

Ferment the dried grapes fully and you get Amarone, dry and very strong; stop early and you get Recioto, sweet and a little lower in alcohol.

Monte dall'Ora: small organic Classico estate with pure, lighter Valpolicella.

An organic family estate in Castelrotto (San Pietro in Cariano) whose Saseti Valpolicella Classico and Camporenzo Superiore show the fresh side of the region.

An organic family estate in Castelrotto (San Pietro in Cariano) whose Saseti Valpolicella Classico and Camporenzo Superiore show the fresh side of the region.

Soave's official crus (UGA) can appear on the label.

Soave has mapped its best hillsides into official sub-zones (UGA), most in the Classico hills - names like Foscarino, Froscà, Castellaro or Fittà. A cru name on a Soave Classico or Superiore marks the producer's best hillside wine.

The Soave consortium spent years mapping its vineyards by soil, altitude and slope, and the result is a set of official cru names. Most lie in the Classico hills around Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone, a couple in the dark volcanic Val d'Alpone and a few to the west on limestone. Producers using a cru name must keep the fruit traceable from vineyard to bottle. In practice many top estates already named their sites - Pieropan's Calvarino and La Rocca, Prà's Monte Grande - so the system mostly formalises what the best growers were doing. On a shelf, a cru name is the quickest way to find the age-worthy, mineral side of Soave rather than the plain, fruity wines from the flat land. Expect a cru Soave to need two or three years to open, and to keep improving for a decade.

Pieropan: the Soave reference; Calvarino and La Rocca are the crus.

The Soave reference house, and good value. Calvarino and La Rocca, its two single-site Soave Classico wines, are among Italy's reference whites.

Pieropan is the house most people point to when explaining why Soave can be serious. It is a top-level house, excellent value, and one of the best for Recioto di Soave. Its range runs from a classic Soave Classico to two single-site wines: Calvarino, the taut, mineral one, and La Rocca, the rounder, more textured one. Le Colombare is the Recioto di Soave, and the estate also makes an Amarone and a Valpolicella. A Calvarino with five years of age is the best demonstration of Garganega's ageing potential; the entry Soave Classico is the everyday bottle.

Quintarelli: the traditionalist legend of Amarone and Recioto.

One of Valpolicella's most revered houses. Long-aged, old-cask Amarone, Recioto and Valpolicella Classico Superiore; scarce and expensive.

Giuseppe Quintarelli's family estate in Negrar is widely treated as the reference for traditional Amarone: long drying, long ageing in large old casks and late release. It sits among the very best of Valpolicella, and recent Amarone releases remain at the top of the category. Bottles are rare and priced as collector wines; a glass in a serious Verona wine bar is the realistic way to try it. Remember the weight: these are big, powerful wines for slow meals and long evenings.

Dal Forno: the modern, ultra-concentrated counterpoint in Val d'Illasi.

Very dense Amarone, Recioto and a Valpolicella Superiore partly from dried grapes, from the eastern Val d'Illasi outside the Classico zone.

Romano Dal Forno built his reputation in the Val d'Illasi, east of the Classico zone, with wines of extreme concentration: low yields, long drying and new oak. It ranks among the best of Valpolicella, and even its Valpolicella Superiore is made partly from dried grapes. Where Quintarelli represents tradition, Dal Forno represents power and modern polish. These are among the most expensive wines of the region and the heaviest; taste one only if you specifically want the most intense expression of the style.

The rethink: less drying, more pergola, lighter wines.

Valpolicella's consortium has openly questioned the heavy, high-alcohol Amarone style. Research points to gentler drying, and many growers are expected to return to the traditional pergola.

Over recent decades Amarone grew bigger, riper and more alcoholic, helped by warm vintages and long drying. Now the consortium itself says drinkers want lighter, lower-alcohol wine, even as climate change pushes the other way. The ideas on the table include vineyards dedicated to Amarone or to Valpolicella, shorter drying (producer trials suggest aromas peak well before the grapes are fully shrivelled), a rethink of ageing, and a return to pergola training, which shades the fruit and keeps acidity. None of this changes the label yet, but the direction is visible in the glass: more estates now present a fresher Valpolicella Classico or Superiore as their calling card. For the traveler, ask for the producer's straight Valpolicella first - it tells you more about the house than the Amarone.

Hills over plain: Classico wines are fuller and longer-lived.

In both Valpolicella and Soave the old hillside cores (Classico) give more concentrated, higher-acid wines; the flat, fertile land south toward the motorway gives lighter, softer, drink-young versions.

In both Valpolicella and Soave the old hillside cores (Classico) give more concentrated, higher-acid wines; the flat, fertile land south toward the motorway gives lighter, softer, drink-young versions.

In the glass: Hills: more depth, acidity, ageing potential; plain: simple, fruity

Soave's volcanic and limestone soils give its salty, almond edge.

The best Soave comes from hills of black volcanic basalt and limestone-clay. They give tension, a saline finish and almond notes that develop over years, unlike the fruitier wines from sandy plain soils.

The best Soave comes from hills of black volcanic basalt and limestone-clay. They give tension, a saline finish and almond notes that develop over years, unlike the fruitier wines from sandy plain soils.

In the glass: Mineral, saline tension; ages to almond and honey

The rethink: less drying, more pergola, lighter wines.

Valpolicella's consortium has openly questioned the heavy, high-alcohol Amarone style. Research points to gentler drying, and many growers are expected to return to the traditional pergola.

Over recent decades Amarone grew bigger, riper and more alcoholic, helped by warm vintages and long drying. Now the consortium itself says drinkers want lighter, lower-alcohol wine, even as climate change pushes the other way. The ideas on the table include vineyards dedicated to Amarone or to Valpolicella, shorter drying (producer trials suggest aromas peak well before the grapes are fully shrivelled), a rethink of ageing, and a return to pergola training, which shades the fruit and keeps acidity. None of this changes the label yet, but the direction is visible in the glass: more estates now present a fresher Valpolicella Classico or Superiore as their calling card. For the traveler, ask for the producer's straight Valpolicella first - it tells you more about the house than the Amarone.

In the glass: Lighter, fresher, less alcoholic reds at the cutting edge

Appassimento: grapes dried for months in lofts before pressing.

Bunches picked early are laid on racks or in crates in airy lofts (fruttai) until winter, losing water and concentrating sugar and flavour. The base of Amarone and Recioto.

Bunches picked early are laid on racks or in crates in airy lofts (fruttai) until winter, losing water and concentrating sugar and flavour. The base of Amarone and Recioto.

In the glass: Raisin, dried cherry, high alcohol, full body

Amarone vs Recioto: same dried grapes, fermented dry or left sweet.

Ferment the dried grapes fully and you get Amarone, dry and very strong; stop early and you get Recioto, sweet and a little lower in alcohol.

Ferment the dried grapes fully and you get Amarone, dry and very strong; stop early and you get Recioto, sweet and a little lower in alcohol.

In the glass: Amarone: dry, 15%+, heavy; Recioto: sweet, jammy

Ripasso: a second fermentation on Amarone skins.

Young Valpolicella is pumped over the leftover dried-grape skins and ferments again for a few days, taking on colour, body and dried-fruit flavour.

Young Valpolicella is pumped over the leftover dried-grape skins and ferments again for a few days, taking on colour, body and dried-fruit flavour.

In the glass: More body and dried-cherry notes than Valpolicella, far lighter than Amarone

Pergola: high overhead trellis, shading grapes - back in favour.

Traditional overhead trellis that shades the fruit and keeps acidity; many growers had switched to Guyot, and a return to pergola is now expected for fresher wines.

Traditional overhead trellis that shades the fruit and keeps acidity; many growers had switched to Guyot, and a return to pergola is now expected for fresher wines.

In the glass: Shaded grapes, fresher acidity, less sunburn

Soave: steel for crunch, a little lees or old wood for texture.

Most Soave is fermented in stainless steel and rarely shows new oak; top crus gain texture from lees ageing or large old casks, keeping fruit clear.

Soave's best producers rarely want oak flavour. The usual approach is cool fermentation in steel or concrete, then months on fine lees, which adds creaminess without masking Garganega's lemon and almond. Some cru wines see large neutral casks or older barrels for extra texture, especially from riper hillside fruit. The upshot for the drinker: if a Soave tastes of vanilla, it's the exception, and the bottles that age best are the taut, unoaked crus. At a cellar door, ask whether the cru saw wood - the answer usually explains why one feels rounder than another.

In the glass: Steel: crisp, citrus; lees/old wood: rounder, creamier, still unoaked in flavour