Amarone, By Any Other Name Is Appasimento
While most people have heard the name Amarone, not many know what it means.
Amarone is also a legal name for the wines produced in this specific area and is a style of wine born in Northern Italy from the Veneto region. But what makes it so special? Unlike most wines where the grapes are picked and then pressed to get the fresh juice, Amarone grapes are dried for weeks or months to create raisins. You can imagine how much juice you get from a squeezed raisin, if not try it!
Although this process can be expensive, it is this drying process that gives Amarone a unique full flavour that can not only be great with stews, but beautiful on its own.
There are many other areas in Italy that produce Amarone style wines, but they cannot be called Amarone, or Ripasso. Ripasso is also a legal name of wine that is essentially a 50/50 creation of dried grapes and fresh juice.
In other areas of Italy these wines are called Appasimento or dried grape wines. But unlike Amarone, which sell between mid $30 to over $400 a bottle, these other wines from these areas range between mid $20 to mid $30 and are also very good.
One such example that First Choice Cellars has been fortunate to bring to market is from Emilia Romagna. It is called Terre Cevico Appasimento. Made from Sangiovese grapes, carefully dried for seven weeks. This results in a 22% water loss leaving a concentrated grape (raisin) full of flavours that creates a crimson-coloured wine with red cherry, dried plum, chocolate, and coffee flavours. This wine was awarded the Gold medal for superior quality by Decanter Magazine, a world renown quality wine magazine.
This region is also famous for its cuisine, parmesan cheese, Lamborghini’s and as well the oldest university in the world, just to name a few of their jewels.
Please ask how First Choice Cellars can introduce you to this family, or other wonderful products.
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