Veneto

Of the wines from the Veneto, Valpolicella is probably the most well-known and comes from a blend of 3 principal grapes; Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. Amarone Classico, from the Amarone della Valpolicella DOC zone, came about in 1950 most probably following a mistake in the preparation of another wine of the same grape blend, Recioto. Amarone, like Recioto, is a wine obtained from the vinification of withered grapes that have been spread out to dry for 60 to 100 days. Amarone is a complex dry red that has fantastic concentration and body along with a higher than average alcohol content as almost no grape sugar remains in the final wine. Recioto is a sweeter version of Amarone in which fermentation is stopped early to retain the natural sweetness of the grape sugar.