FOLLOW THE PROCESS
The difference between drying and fermentation.
By switching the wine/method and selecting a process number, you can check what changes at each stage.
Valpolicella
The basic process without drying or refermentation.Corvina and other varieties are combined. Grape composition and winemaking method are separate pieces of information.
Fermentation of sugar progresses, as does the extraction of color and tannin from the skins.
The maturation method for each individual wine is to be verified according to producer specifications.
Amarone
Dry wines made from dried grapesUses dried grapes, as with Recioto.
As water content decreases, sugars and other components concentrate. At this stage alone, sweetness or dryness is not determined.
By consuming sugar, the wine is finished dry. Even if the starting material has a lot of sugar, the completed wine is not necessarily sweet.
Drying, fermentation, and aging are separate processes. Confirm aging conditions with both appellation regulations and individual product specifications.
Recioto
Sweet wines made from dried grapesWhat Amarone shares is the use of grapes that have gone through a drying process.
As water content decreases, sugars and other components become concentrated. Drying alone does not determine the final sweetness.
Retaining sugar creates a sweet wine. The difference with Amarone lies in this approach to fermentation.
Even when using the same appassimento drying method, the wine can be a different sweet style from Amarone.
Ripasso
Re-ferment the produced wineThe starting point is wine that has already been made. This is different from the drying of fresh grapes.
Skins and other solids remaining from vinification for Amarone or Recioto are used.
Wine is refermented. The subject of processing and the stage differ between appassimento and ripasso.
Even wines with similar blends are changed by this additional process.
This is a schematic diagram highlighting key steps to help understand the differences. The width of each step does not represent time. Specific production procedures and usage conditions vary by designation and wine.
FIELD NOTE 01
Concentration of grapes through drying.
Appassimento is the process of drying harvested grapes. As water content decreases, sugars and other components become concentrated. The drying temperature, humidity, and grape condition also affect the outcome.
At this stage, what is known is the condition of the raw material, not the finished wine’s sweetness or dryness. It remains to be seen how much of the concentrated sugar will remain after fermentation.
FIELD NOTE 02
Fermentation of Amarone and Recioto
Amarone is dry, Recioto is sweet, but both use dried grapes. In Amarone, fermentation continues until the sugars are consumed; in Recioto, fermentation is stopped to leave residual sugar. These fermentation differences create divergent styles from the same grape processing.
The statement 'it's sweet because the grapes were dried' is not always true, because drying and fermentation are separate processes.
FIELD NOTE 03
What is refermented in Ripasso
In Ripasso, a Valpolicella wine that has already been produced is refermented on the pomace left after Amarone or Recioto fermentations. What is dried are fresh grapes, but in Ripasso, what is refermented is wine.
If you remember drying and ripasso as the same operation, you will not understand what is being processed at which stage.
Amarone and Recioto differ in the amount of sugar remaining after fermentation. In Ripasso, the wine is refermented.
PAUSE & REFLECT
Check your understanding.
Why does Amarone made from dried grapes become dry?
Read the explanation ＋
The concentrated sugars from drying are consumed during fermentation. The amount of sugar in the raw materials is not the same as the sugar remaining in the finished wine. Recioto is made sweet by intentionally leaving residual sugar.
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Sources and reference materials
These are the reference materials for the main text. For details of production regulations, consult the current documents. For individual wine specifications, refer to materials for the relevant vintage.
- Valpolicella Protection Consortium | Recioto ↗
- Valpolicella Protection Consortium | Ripasso ↗
- Valpolicella Protection Consortium | Educational Program ↗