Translation missing: en.The Very Unique Valpolicella: The Very Unique Valpolicella

Valpolicella is a famous Italian wine-growing region. It's located in the Veneto region, just north of Verona. The vineyards of this region are planted mainly to Corvina, Rondinella, Corvinone, Molinara and Oseleta  - varieties that are rarely found outside of Veneto. There are a handful off styles made in the region: Valpolicella Classico, Valpolicella Ripasso and Valpolicella della Amarone, as well as the fortified Recioto della Valpolicella.

Valpolicella Classico is the entry level, easier drinking wine from the region. The light bodied style came about in the 1960s when the expansion of the region grew to include the flatter, more fertile plains. Eventually, in the 1990s the consumer market began to look for more powerful and concentrated wines, which lead to growth in other wine styles.

Valpolicella Ripasso is a unique style to the region. The red grapes are fermented as per usual, but the finished wine is later passed-over (ripasso) the skins of the Amarone. This technique increases the concentration, tannin structure and usually alcohol of the wine.

Valpolicella della Amarone is also another unique wine style of the region. The grapes are harvested and layed out on mats to dry out for several weeks. This drying causes the water to evaporate from the berry, leaving more concentrated sugars, flavour, acidity and tannin. The resulting wine is much the same and it is the most famous and highly sort after wine style by collectors.

The final style of wine produced by the region is Recioto della Valpolicella. A sweet and concentrated, dessert-like wines, made in very much the same way as Amarone only it dries on the racks for a further month.