Due to their more intensive production process and longer ageing requirements, Amarone wines are considerably more expensive than Ripasso wines. Whereas Ripasso wines generally retail in the $15 to $25 price range, prices of Amarone wines typically run from $50 on up with some Amarones from premier producers sporting triple-digit price tags.
What is the difference between ripasso and Amarone wines?
Ripasso wines are rich, full-bodied and share some of the same aroma and flavor profiles as Amarone wines, just less so. Since Ripasso wines are more approachable and less expensive than Amarones they can be enjoyed regularly while saving the Amarones for special occasions when a more awe-inspiring wine is in order.
What is the difference between Amarone and Recioto?
Amarone wines will also generally have higher alcohol levels than Recioto; the minimum for each is 14% and 12% respectively, although Amarone often goes to 15% and sometimes higher. Both have prestigious DOCG status.
What is the difference between ripasso and ripasso?
Michael Garner replies: Both terms are common in the hills of Valpolicella north of Verona, though ripasso has much the more specific meaning. The word refers to the winemaking technique whereby a young Valpolicella is refermented on the lees of either Recioto or Amarone following their first racking.
Are Amarone and Recioto della Valpolicella the same?
These two titans of Valpolicella are forged by leaving grapes to dry out after harvest, but they won’t taste the same in your glass. Both of these full-bodied Italian red wines can be rich in flavour and have the Corvina grape at their heart, but Amarone is dry, or off-dry in taste, while Recioto della Valpolicella is sweet.
Is Amarone a Ripasso?
Ripasso and Amarone are two typical wines from the northern Italian wine region of Valpolicella. Ripasso is generally less well known than Valpolicella and Amarone wines even though it shares some features of both wines.
What is the difference between Amarone and Valpolicella?
While Valpolicella is a youthful dry red wine produced without ageing, Amarone is made by fermenting dried grapes and ageing them for two years. Ripasso calls for re-fermentation with added Amarone grape skins and then aging for one year.
Is Ripasso a baby Amarone?
Description: Its color is deep bring red. The aroma is ample with mainly red fruits especially sour cherries, prunes, and cherries. The taste is strong in flavor but balanced with soft tannins and good persistence.
What kind of wine is Ripasso?
red wineValpolicella Ripasso is a fruity, complex red wine from the Valpolicella viticultural zone of Veneto, in the northeast of Italy.
What is the difference between Valpolicella and Ripasso?
Valpolicella Superiore is aged at least one year and has an alcohol content of at least 12 percent. Valpolicella Ripasso is a form of Valpolicella Superiore made with partially dried grape skins that have been left over from fermentation of Amarone or recioto.
What does Ripasso mean in Italian wine?
to pass againDerived from the word "ripassare" meaning "to pass again." The technique involves pouring a simple Valpolicella over marc and residues from Amarone or Recioto.
Why is it called Ripasso?
Rather than chuck away so much tannic treasure, winemakers began using the skins in a second fermentation of Valpolicella, essentially infusing the wine with more complexity. Thus, Ripasso, meaning “re-pass,” or “go over again,” a process that proved so successful it was given its own DOC in 2007.
What is Ripasso similar to?
Ripasso-style wines offer a convenient and affordable alternative to Amarone wines. Ripasso wines are rich, full-bodied and share some of the same aroma and flavor profiles as Amarone wines, just less so.
What is a good Ripasso?
Looking For A Great Ripasso?Brigaldara Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2018, Doc. Veneto, Italy. ... Masi Campofiorin 2017, Rosso Verona. Veneto, Italy. ... Monte Del Frà Lena Di Mezzo Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore 2018, Doc. ... Cesari Mara Valpolicella Ripasso 2018, Veneto. ... Zenato Ripassa Valpolicella Superiore 2017, Doc.
Is Valpolicella Ripasso sweet or dry?
Ripasso Serving Suggestions Although it is made using medium sweet wines, Ripasso is quite dry and can be enjoyed alone or alongside a wide range of savory dishes.
Is Ripasso a heavy wine?
The link between these two major styles is Ripasso, where a lighter bodied wine meets the leftover skins from Amarone production to make a wonderful, affordable, baby Amarone. If you're looking for a diversity of wine styles and prices look no further than Valpolicella.
Does Ripasso need to breathe?
Many younger reds will benefit from this and it can sometimes help elevate the tasting experience a little. With the heavier Italian reds such as Ripasso and Amarone, then generally an hour or two breathing in the bottle is sufficient, although decanting can help also.
When is Amarone wine fermented?
At the end of January, beginning of February, the semi-dried grapes for Amarone and Recioto are squeezed and fermented together with grape skins. After a long skin contact fermentation grape skins are removed and wine is then stored for the ageing.
What is a ripaso grape?
Ripasso (Poor man’s Amarone) Grape skins of Amarone used in the production of Ripasso wine. Ripasso is an ancient wine making technique used for centuries in Valpolicella wineries and now become very popular among wine enthusiasts.
What wine is fermented in Autumn?
The basic Valpolicella wine that has been fermented in Autumn is then put over these Recioto and Amarone skins that, being still full of un-fermented sugars, start a second fermentation. These skins still contain aromatic compounds, tannins, etc. that thanks to this second, short fermentation are transferred to the simple Valpolicella wine. ...
What is the name of the wine that Valpolicella uses?
In the end, Valpolicella producers won the lawsuit and the word Ripasso, being the name of a traditional and widely used wine making technique, not an original process, became available to all Valpolicella producers. The winery who initially registered the name decided not to use it any longer.
Is Valpolicella wine fruity?
In all cases the wine is a medium bodied wine, fruity but yet with tertiary flavours and aromas, sometimes closer to a basic Valpolicella wine, sometimes closer to an Amarone wine.
Is Valpolicella Ripasso the same as Amarone?
Producers are not happy of these definitions but it is true that Valpolicella Ripasso is a wine that is in between the basic Valpolicella wine and the Amarone, sharing the freshness, the lightness and the value for money of basic Valpolicella wines, and some of the structures and flavours of the Amarone.
Does Valpolicella use Ripasso?
In the past, in spite of its old tradition and the wide use, producers didn’t feel the need of mentioning the Ripasso technique on wine labels. Few years ago, one of the biggest producers of Valpolicella registered the word Ripasso as a brand name and started to use it on labels, preventing other producers from doing the same.
What was objectionable about Amarone?
In fact, what was objectionable was when the wine meant to become Recioto kept fermenting, eating up all the residual sugars, resulting in a dry (some would say “bitter”) wine. This is the birth of Amarone: amaro=bitter, not in the sense of a bitter flavor but in contrast to the sweetness expected.
What is the story of Ripasso?
What Is Ripasso? Because wine is never simple, the story of Ripasso is the story of Amarone, which is the story of Recioto, which is also the story of Valpolicella, all wines from Italy’s Veneto region.
What is Valpolicella wine made of?
The place to start is Valpolicella, the “101” wine of Italy’s Veneto region, made with Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara grapes.
What is a ripasso?
In brief, ripasso is refermented on the lees of a wine made via the appassimento process. Michael Garner is an author and wine merchant specialising in the wines of Italy.
What is Valpolicella wine?
The word refers to the winemaking technique whereby a young Valpolicella is refermented on the lees of either Recioto or Amarone following their first racking. The technique has its roots in the feudal, mezzadria system (sharecropping or métayage), when nothing of any value was ever discarded.
What is the alcohol level of Amarone wine?
Amarone wines will also generally have higher alcohol levels than Recioto; the minimum for each is 14% and 12% respectively, although Amarone often goes to 15% and sometimes higher.
What is the origin of Amarone?
Legend has it that Amarone was born after a Recioto fermentation was left too long. Before fermentation, the two styles have a lot in common.
How long does a recioto wine last?
Subsequent fermentation is traditionally a slow affair and can last more than a month. Recioto wines retain sugar content at the end of fermentation, which gives them their signature sweetness – starting at around 50g/l residual sugar and upwards. You may also find a sparkling version, or ‘spumante’.
How long does Amarone wine age?
Ageing and alcohol. Amarone must be aged for at least two years starting in the year after harvest. Riserva wines have to be aged for a minimum four years; the stopwatch begins in November in the year of the vintage. As you’d expect, many estates age their wines for longer.
Who is the mother of Veronese red wine?
Decanter contributor Michael Garner writes in his book, Amarone and the fine wines of Verona, that among producers Recioto ‘is accepted unconditionally as the true mother of Veronese red wines, harking back to the times of wines such as Vino Retico and Acinatico’.
