Valipolicella Wine
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Thank you for visiting Valpolicello Wines. We try to provide you with the most complete information we can about how to use wine with game available anywhere, If you have recipes to contribute, please do and we will give you credit if you wish. We update our sources constantly. Please scroll down to learn more.
size=5>Game to Eat with Valpolicella size=4>
Valpolicella is a light, refreshing , easy to drink wine, most similar to a Cote de Rhone. It does not require long aging and then bottled in the spring to be drunk on a daily basis. It tends to have a lively bouquet with floral notes and hints of cherry or berry fruits - this is definitely an aromatic wine. On the palate it is light, fruity, and with a pleasant touch of acidity that leaves a clean finish. As a light wine it should be served with Wild Turkey, Quail, Pheasant, Partridge and pasta with meat-based sauces and soups, or vegetable-based entrees.
size=5>History and Characteristics size=4>
The Romans applied the term Rhetic to the wine coming from the area around and to the south of Lake Garda but the beverage highly praised by Pliny the Elder, Virgil, Martial and Suetonius was quite clearly the wine known today as Valpolicella. That wine was named for the valley to the north of Verona and is different from those made in other areas because of the mild climate produced by the water of Lake Garda and that gives it a bigger body and a more intense color.
Valpolicello is a very important red-wine doc zone located in northeastern Italy's veneto region. It's situated between Bardolino and Soave, just north of Verona. Valpolicella ranks just after the chianti docg for Italy's total DOC red-wine production. The wine is made primarily from Corvina Veronese (corvina), Rondinella, and Molinara grapes, although four other varieties can comprise up to 15 percent of the blend. All tis gives it a powerful bouquets, be full on the palate with good fruit, velvety, and have a pleasing aftertaste. They arealso less tannic than the wines from Tuscany or Piemonte.
size=5>Valpolicella Classico size=4>
Valpolicella Classico Superiore is a very different animal from the above. Though made from the same grapes it is aged in wood for at least a year; it emerges more structured and interesting, and in some cases reaches great heights.To add tannins to the wine they pass it over the skins and seeds left over from the fermentation of Reicioto (more on that below). The tannins gained are light and tend to be well rounded, while the skins surrender more aromatics to the bouquet, and add intriguing complexities to the wine on the palate. This technique, which is unique to Valpolicella, is called Ripassa, and can give wondrous results. Though Valpolicella Classico Superiore can be drunk throughout the meal, it will go best with more involved entrees, for example roasts or stews.
size=5>Valpolicella Amarone size=4>
A great part of Valpolicella's worldwide reputation, however, must be attributed to two versions of the wine, the Recioto and Recioto Amarone. In making them, grape clusters are carefully selected and then dried, after the harvest, for a period varying between 30 and 90 days. Pressing and fermentation occur at times, under environmental conditions and according to methods that are different from those of the normal Valpolicella. Reicioto Della Valpolicella is one of Italy's greatest and oddest wines. It's made from red grapes harvested and then set to dry on racks until late fall, when evaporation has concentrated their sugars considerably and a variety of metabolic changes have taken place (Mr. Allegrini, one of the best producers, notes that fructose is concentrated with respect to glucose, and that malic acid is consumed, which helps to insure that the acidity of the wine will be balanced). After fermentation the wine is aged in casks or barriques, and bottled. Sounds simple, but what emerges is a "seduction wine"(quoting from a thick Italian wine guide here), a purple-red inky-dark gift of the Gods with stewed cherries on the nose, mixed with spices and hints of licorice. On the palate Reicioto is sweet, with wonderful fruit flavors and well rounded tannins that give it a velvety texture. The finish is persistent and clean. Oh yes--Reicioto is also strong, at least 14% alcohol. It goes well with elegant pastries, and some suggest Gorgonzola Dolce as well. Reicioto Amarone is the dry version of Reicioto. The nose is astonishingly complex: Warm, vinious, with stewed cherries, licorice, hot bricks and a host of other things. In short, captivating and marvelous. On the palate the wine is lush with intense fruit flavors and bitter undertones (amaro means bitter), and is, well, the Italian word is avvolgente -- it's like being hugged. The tannins are velvety, and the finish amazingly persistent. Again, it's a strong wine. And again, there are two schools of production: Those who use barriques, and those who don't. The wines of the former have some toasted vanilla overtones in the bouquet, with perhaps a hint of spices, while those of the latter have a wider range of fruit scents. To be honest, I like them both. In terms of serving, Amarone goes well with complex and involved meat dishes, and even more so with cheeses. Especially aged ones, and I was told to try it with Gorgonzola Piccante, which rather resembles Roquefort.
