Valpolicella

Valpolicella is a viticultural zone of the province of Verona, Italy, east of Lake Garda. The hilly agricultural and marble-quarrying region of small holdings north of the Adige is famous for wine production. Valpolicella ranks just after Chianti in total Italian Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) wine production.

Etymology

The name "Valpolicella" is derived from the words "valle" ('valley') and "cellae" ('cellars'). The area has been settled since the Bronze Age and was a favored location for aristocratic country houses in the Roman era.

Wine Production

In Valpolicella, the wine production is mostly red and rosé, the white wines being a small percentage. The region, as mentioned above, is one of the most important in Italy, and it's known for the production of Amarone, Recioto, and Valpolicella Classico.

Ripasso

Ripasso is a wine from Valpolicella, often known as "ripasso valpolicella". It is created through a method of fermenting the wine with the unpressed but drained skins and lees left over from fermenting Amarone and Recioto wines. This process, called "ripasso" (re-passing), gives the resulting wine more structure, complexity, and flavor.

Related Terms

• Amarone: A rich Italian dry red wine from Valpolicella, in the Veneto region. It's made from the partially dried grapes of the Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara varieties.
• Recioto: A sweet red wine, also from the Valpolicella region in Veneto, Italy. It's made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice.
• Ripasso: A method used in the Valpolicella region of Italy, where a young wine is re-fermented with the skins from grapes used to make Amarone wines.

Valpolicella Resources
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