Amarone, Recioto and Ripasso: explain the process, then the difference

One area, four wine names

Valpolicella lies in the province of Verona in Veneto, north-eastern Italy. Its production zone spans 19 municipalities, 5 in the Classica area and 14 in the wider DOC area; it borders Lake Garda to the west and is sheltered by the Lessini Mountains to the north and east.

The area produces four wine types: Valpolicella DOC, Valpolicella Ripasso DOC, Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG and Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG. Valpolicella and Valpolicella Ripasso are DOC wines; only Amarone and Recioto are DOCG.

The same native varieties run through all four. For Amarone, the production rules require Corvina (Corvina Veronese) at 45–95%, within which Corvinone may replace Corvina up to a maximum of 50%, and Rondinella at 5–30%.

Three questions separate the styles: were the grapes dried after harvest, where did fermentation stop, and did the wine pass over pomace a second time? Answer those three and the names stop being confusing.

Hills, soils and air

The territory has three parts: the limestone mountains of the Lessini, the hills where most vines are planted, and the valley floor. In the Classico valleys many vineyards stand on terraces held up by dry-stone walls called marogne. In the Marano valley, for example, the vineyards face south while fresh air flows down from the Lessini.

Soils change with the rock beneath. On the hills, soils formed on white and pinkish marly limestones (Biancone and Scaglia Rossa) are moderately deep, high in limestone and well drained. Soils over volcanic basalt have a clayey surface, little active lime (0–3%) and basalt rock at 60–100 cm. Moraine and river deposits add further soil types.

The climate is continental or sub-continental, modified by local factors: Lake Garda softens both winter lows and summer highs, and on the hills summer nights stay cooler than on the plain. The Lessini shield to the north, the nearby lake and the southern exposure of the hills all help to keep the climate generally mild.

Vineyard elevation: the most important vineyards lie on the valley slopes between 200 and 450 m above sea level.

Appassimento: selecting and drying the grapes

For Amarone, grapes for drying are selected in the vineyard according to traditional practice, and the rules let a grower set aside no more than 65% of the maximum grape yield per hectare. The bunches are laid out in a drying loft, the fruttaio. Drying lasts about 100–120 days, during which the sugars and polyphenols in the berries increase.

How fast the grapes dry depends on the air. In a controlled study, Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella grapes were held at 10–25 °C and 53–95% relative humidity for 80 days: they lost water faster at higher temperature and more slowly at higher humidity. A 2021 study describes withering for Amarone and Recioto as usually lasting two to three months, until the grapes have lost about 30% of their weight.

Drying is not only shrinkage. A time-series study followed Corvina berries for up to 108 days: sugars and resveratrol rose markedly, and stress-related amino acids such as proline accumulated in the middle and late stages. The 2021 Amarone study found that faster drying in a controlled room left less accumulated sugar and acidity, probably because tartaric and malic acids were respired.

Losing water also means less juice. The Amarone rules cap the yield of grapes into finished wine at 40%.

Concentrated must sets the potential; fermentation decides the style

Yeast converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. A must pressed from dried grapes holds more sugar, so it carries more potential alcohol, but whether the wine ends dry or sweet depends on how far fermentation goes. Drying alone does not choose between Amarone and Recioto.

The calendar is set by the rules: grapes set aside for drying may not be vinified before 1 December after the harvest, unless the Veneto Region authorises an earlier start in a particular year. The dried grapes for Amarone are vinified in winter.

Keep aroma and sugar apart when you taste. Raisin or dried-cherry notes come from the dried grapes; they do not prove that a wine is sweet. Judge sweetness on the palate.

Amarone: dry, strong and within a sugar ceiling

For Amarone, fermentation continues towards dryness. The current production rules require at least 14% vol actual alcohol, and the result is a dry wine with high alcohol content.

Dry does not mean zero sugar. The rules allow at most 9 g/L of residual sugar at 14% vol, and the ceiling rises with alcohol: by 0.1 g/L for every further 0.1% vol up to 16% vol, then by 0.15 g/L for every 0.1% vol above 16% vol. Worked through, that gives 10 g/L at 15% vol, 11 g/L at 16% vol and 12.5 g/L at 17% vol.

High alcohol and concentration can give a full-bodied red, but power alone is not quality. In a balanced Amarone, fruit and acidity carry the alcohol; if heat dominates the finish, the wine is out of balance.

Recioto: keeping sugar for a sweet red

Recioto della Valpolicella starts from the same kind of dried grapes, but fermentation is stopped while a substantial amount of sugar remains, and that sugar gives the wine its sweetness.

The Recioto rules set at least 12% vol actual alcohol and at least 2.8% vol of potential alcohol still present as unfermented sugar. Its dried grapes, too, may not be vinified before 1 December.

The difference from Amarone is not 'more drying' but where fermentation ends; after that, the winemaker has to keep the remaining sugar from fermenting further.

Ripasso: a second pass over the pomace

Valpolicella Ripasso DOC is made by re-fermenting a basic Valpolicella on the pomace of Amarone and/or Recioto; ripasso means 're-passed'. The result has higher alcohol and more phenolic substances and extract than a basic Valpolicella.

The rules changed from the 2019 harvest. A Ripasso must now contain from 10% to 15% of wine destined for Amarone and/or Recioto, left on the pomace after it has been drawn off, and the re-passing is done once, in a single operation, not repeated.

The timing follows from the dried grapes: their pomace exists only after they have been fermented and drawn off, and they may not be vinified before 1 December. Ripasso is therefore neither a dried-grape wine nor a simple blend of finished wines; its base is a Valpolicella that ferments again in contact with the pomace.

Ageing and the cost of drying

Amarone must be aged for at least two years, counted from 1 January after the harvest; a Riserva needs at least four years, counted from 1 November of the harvest year. Long ageing in wood refines Amarone's structure.

Drying makes Amarone costly to produce. No more than 65% of the maximum yield per hectare may be set aside for drying, at most 40% of the grape weight may become finished wine, and the fruit occupies loft space for months, with a risk that some of it spoils. Ageing then delays sale by at least two years.

Ripasso reuses pomace that Amarone and Recioto production has already created, so it gains some of their character without drying its own grapes. Cost explains price only in part: brand, demand and distribution matter too.

Written practice: compare the three methods

Written practice (independent; not an official exam question). Question: explain how drying, the fermentation endpoint and ripasso create the differences between Amarone, Recioto and Valpolicella Ripasso.

Model answer: Amarone and Recioto are made from grapes dried after harvest in a fruttaio, for about 100–120 days. Water loss concentrates sugar and reduces the juice; the Amarone rules cap the yield of grapes into wine at 40%. Amarone is fermented towards dryness, with at least 14% vol alcohol and no more than 9 g/L of residual sugar at 14% vol. Recioto is stopped with sugar remaining: at least 12% vol actual alcohol plus at least 2.8% vol potential alcohol as sugar. Valpolicella Ripasso is a Valpolicella re-fermented once on Amarone or Recioto pomace, including 10–15% of their wine since the 2019 harvest, which gives it more alcohol, phenolics and extract than its base. Drying, the endpoint and the second pass explain the three styles.

Self-check: does your answer link drying to sugar concentration and lower juice yield, separate the fermentation endpoint from the drying, describe Ripasso as re-fermentation on pomace rather than a blend, and give the legal figures correctly?

This is an independent practice answer by Maison Media, not material from any exam body. The three names describe different production routes and styles, not a ladder of quality.