Italy • Veneto • Amarone della Valpolicella • Appassimento • Age-worthy red wines

Amarone della Valpolicella: a great red wine from Veneto, power and refinement

Amarone della Valpolicella is one of Italy’s great red wines. Produced in the hills of Valpolicella, north of Verona in Veneto, it embodies a unique style: dry, deep, enveloping, structured and built for ageing.

Made mainly from Corvina, Rondinella, Corvinone and sometimes Molinara, Amarone owes its identity to appassimento, the traditional method of drying grapes before fermentation. Buying Amarone della Valpolicella online means discovering a majestic Italian wine, ideal for generous meals, characterful dishes, mature cheeses, cellaring or a prestigious gift.

The spirit of Amarone

Dry yet generous, rich yet structured, Amarone della Valpolicella combines the depth of dried fruit, the freshness of the Veronese hills and the nobility of great age-worthy wines. Its strength lies in the balance between power, velvet texture, aromatic complexity and length.

Appassimento, the signature of Amarone

The singularity of Amarone lies in appassimento. After harvest, the finest bunches are selected and placed on racks or in ventilated drying rooms known as fruttai. The grapes dry slowly, losing part of their water while concentrating sugars, tannins, acidity and aromatic compounds.

Unlike sweet wines made from dried grapes, Amarone is fermented until dry. This long fermentation gives rise to a full-bodied, dense and structured wine, whose richness of fruit may suggest sweetness while retaining tension, freshness and balance.

Corvina, Rondinella and the terroirs of Valpolicella

Amarone is made from the traditional grape varieties of Valpolicella. Corvina brings elegance, black cherry, structure and fine tannins. Rondinella contributes consistency and a strong aptitude for drying. Corvinone adds depth and aromatic intensity, while Molinara, used more discreetly, can bring freshness and lift.

Valpolicella stretches north of Verona across a landscape of hills shaped by limestone, clay and sometimes basaltic soils, with the moderating influence of Lake Garda. The finest slopes allow grapes to ripen fully while preserving the freshness required for balanced, long-lived Amarone.

The style of Amarone: power, depth and velvet

In its youth, Amarone della Valpolicella often evokes black cherry, ripe plum, fig, raisin, sweet spices, cocoa, tobacco and dark chocolate. The palate is broad, warm and enveloping, supported by firm tannic structure and essential acidity.

In youth: black cherry, plum, fig, raisin, sweet spices, cocoa, blond tobacco and dark chocolate.

With age: leather, truffle, balsamic notes, dried herbs, candied fruit, undergrowth and more integrated spice.

Texture: ample, velvety and deep palate, present tannins, controlled warmth and a long aromatic finish.

Which Amarone should you choose?

For a great meal

Choose a full-bodied, structured Amarone that has already softened slightly, ideal with braised meats, game or deep sauces.

For the cellar

Select a great cuvée, a recognised estate or a structured vintage capable of evolving for many years.

For gifting

Choose a bottle from an emblematic Valpolicella producer, prestigious, readable and immediately recognisable.

For a contemplative tasting

Serve a mature Amarone, complex, long and profound, slowly at the end of a meal or during a tasting of great Italian wines.

Emblematic Amarone producers

Certain estates have played a major role in the prestige of Amarone. Giuseppe Quintarelli embodies an artisanal, profound and long-aged vision. Dal Forno Romano represents a dense, precise and highly sought-after style. Bertani, Allegrini, Masi and Tommaso Bussola offer other major expressions of Valpolicella, between tradition, power, balance and elegance.

World Web Wines recommendation

To choose an Amarone, start with the occasion: meal, cellar, gift or prestige tasting. For near-term drinking, favour a bottle that has already softened. For ageing, look for leading estates, long-aged cuvées and vintages capable of preserving freshness, structure and depth.

Food pairings with Amarone della Valpolicella

Thanks to its richness and depth, Amarone pairs naturally with generous, flavourful dishes. It works particularly well with braised meats, reduced sauces, mushrooms, truffle, mature cheeses and characterful recipes.

Meat and game: braised beef, wild boar stew, rack of lamb, game, slow-cooked meats and wine-based sauces.

Autumn cuisine: mushrooms, truffle, dried herbs, powerful risottos and long-simmered recipes.

Mature cheeses: Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino, hard cheeses and selected blue cheeses.

Tasting: dark chocolate, dried fruit, low-sugar desserts or simply on its own at the end of a meal.

Ageing and cellaring potential

Amarone is generally aged for a long period in oak casks or larger traditional vessels, depending on the estate’s style. The finest cuvées can be kept for 10 to 20 years, sometimes longer in great vintages. With time, the power becomes more integrated, tannins soften and the wine reveals a more spicy, balsamic and contemplative dimension.

Buy Amarone della Valpolicella online

World Web Wines offers a selection of Amarone della Valpolicella available online with delivery in Switzerland: leading estates, age-worthy cuvées, wines made through appassimento and emblematic bottles from Veneto. Each wine is chosen for its authenticity, balance, depth and genuine tasting interest.

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