Valpolicella and Amarone

The cellars of the great red

North of Verona, between the city and the Lessini mountains, the hills of the Valpolicella form one of the most famous wine regions of Italy, a landscape of vineyards on terraces supported by dry stone walls, the "marogne", cherry trees, olive groves, Venetian villas and villages such as Negrar, Fumane, Marano and San Pietro in Cariano.

The main grape varieties are Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara, which produce a range of reds: the fresh Valpolicella, the richer Ripasso, "re-passed" over the skins of the Amarone, and above all the great Amarone della Valpolicella. To make it, the best bunches are left to dry for three or four months on racks of bamboo or in ventilated lofts, the "fruttai", losing much of their water and concentrating sugars and aromas; the grapes are then pressed and fermented until dry, producing a powerful, velvety wine with notes of cherry, plum and spice, among the most prestigious in the world. The sweet version, the Recioto, is the oldest, already praised in Roman times. Many wineries, from historic estates to small producers, offer tours of the fruttai and cellars.

Tip: the Romanesque parish church of San Giorgio di Valpolicella, with a cloister, and the villa of Villa della Torre at Fumane are worth a stop between tastings.

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