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
The hills north of Verona
Valpolicella is a region centered on the hills north of Verona. Geographical designations such as Classico and Valpantena indicate locations within the area.
Meanwhile, appassimento and refermentation are indications of winemaking technique. Even for the same region, location and method must be considered as separate matters.
FIELD NOTE 02
Processing steps of four wines
Valpolicella, Ripasso, Amarone, and Recioto are different wines associated with one region. Amarone and Recioto use dried grapes, but differ in the residual sugar after fermentation.
In Ripasso, Valpolicella wine is refermented by contact with the pomace leftover from Amarone or Recioto. By tracing the procedures, you can understand their respective relationships.
FIELD NOTE 03
Blend and finished product
Even though Corvina and other varieties may be shared, the outcome changes according to differences in raw material handling and fermentation. Simply arranging them from 'light' to 'strong' cannot explain differences in sweetness/dryness or refermentation.
If you align the appellation, grape composition, use of dried grapes, and fermentation method for the bottles being compared, then the name becomes logically connected to the production method.
Classico refers to place, appassimento is about raw material processing, Ripasso is about refermentation. Do not group these as the same type of information.
PAUSE & REFLECT
Check your understanding.
Do both Classico and Ripasso indicate vineyard location?
Read the explanation ＋
Classico is related to geographical indication, while Ripasso refers to a winemaking process involving refermentation. It's necessary to distinguish between location and method.
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View saved notes →Courses related to this question
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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 | Educational Program ↗
- Valpolicella Protection Consortium | Ripasso ↗