Bringing Elegance to Amarone

Amarone – or more formally, Amarone della Vapolicella – is a robust wine that is highly distinctive due to its unique production method. Known as appassimento, this technique of air drying grapes for several months results in wines that are routinely 15.5 percent alcohol, with many of today's examples reaching 16 percent and even 16.5 percent.

Thus Amarone maintains its association as a red wine with strength and intensity, and not one of subtlety and charm. Think about it – when was the last time you read an article with the words "Amarone" and "elegant" in the same sentence? Let's be honest – it just doesn't happen very often. Yet today several Amarone producers are seeking to bring out greater complexities in Amarone by shying away from power, instead crafting more refined examples that while still having high alcoholic levels, sacrifice power for finesse; yes, Amarone can be elegant, but it takes a special approach by a producer to realize this.

We spoke with four leading Amarone producers and asked them two important questions: first, how do you make a wine with 16 percent alcohol elegant, and secondly, how do you accomplish this today, given the current situation with climate change? Their replies cover a lot of ground, from planting in the proper soils to the appassimento process to the choice of wooden casks for aging.

So how do you make an elegant Amarone? "It's an interesting question," replies Armando Castagnedi of Tenuta Sant' Antonio, a leading producer in the eastern reaches of the production zone. "Because when using the appassimento technique, the wines are powerful and it's not easy to have the proper balance between alcohol, residual sugars and acidity."

For Alessandro Castellani, proprietor of Ca' La Bionda in Marano, there are several factors that combine to make a more restrained style of Amarone. "First, you need a great terroir. The best soil to achieve elegance and minerality is calcaire (limestone)," he replies. "The acidity is normally higher, with a lower pH on this kind of soil. To balance the sweet sensation of Amarone that comes from the drying process, it is very important to have good acidity."

Alessandro Pasqua, proprietor of the eponymous family estate in Verona, agrees with Castellani about soils. "The presence of limestone in the soil contributes an underlying acidity and a pleasing mouthwatering effect in the finished wine." Pasqua also notes that Corvina, the primary variety used in Amarone, "can produce wines with significant aging potential, plus a welcome degree of subtlety and finesse."

For Sandro Boscaini, President of Masi, one of Amarone's most famous estates, making more elegant – and in reality, better versions of Amarone – meant a change in thinking among producers. "Masi was fortunate enough to be the first to realize that Amarone as it had been traditionally produced and evaluated was no longer a modern wine; the oxidation that resulted from an antique production system, fossilized in history, had robbed it of its elegance."

For Boscaini, forging ahead meant "understanding what to do and revising the technical process radically – it's the details that count." One of the most important changes for Boscaini was the use of selected natural yeasts that were capable of dealing with high levels of alcohol, along with natural yeasts coming from the grapes themselves; for the vintner, this "was a revolution. Fermentation became quicker and continuous." This meant fresher wines, unlike past versions of Amarone that had, in the opinion of Boscaini "obvious oxidation and minimal elegance," the result of too long a fermentation process.

Boscaini believes the use of the proper barrels is a critical factor in his work. "Obviously, the choice of new and recently used wood (French and Slavonian oak) for the barrels, toasted correctly, helped make the wine more elegant. Let's not forget that, historically, Amarone used to be vinified and aged in old barrels, often made of chestnut or other local woods." For Pasqua, aging the wine in new barrels, "grants elegance and good complexity."

The use of the best clones of Corvina and Corvinone, varieties that Boscaini comments are "recognized precisely for their elegance and cherry flavors," are additional pieces of the puzzle, along with specific winemaking details. "Pressing is done around mid-December (previously after Christmas) in order to have fresh fruit notes, and therefore a fresher style," Pasqua remarks. Boscaini notes other disciplines such as "meticulous hygiene inside the drying rooms, as well as lowering the ventilation and humidity," as work that needs to be done if Amarone is to be a cleaner and more sophisticated wine than in the past.

So better work in the vineyard and cellar, along with a philosophical mindset have changed the direction of Amarone, but how do you deal with climate change? For Casellani, the moment of harvest is critical to the production of better balanced wines. "You have to find the point where the fruit is ripe, but not too much … your level of acidity has to be nice and also quite high."

Castagnedi also believes in earlier harvests. "We understand that it's important to harvest the grapes a bit in advance in order to have more acidity and less sugar." He points out that in the past, harvest took place in October, when temperatures were lower, "and therefore appassimento was slow and gradual, so sugars had time to blend with the juice creating glycerol substances." Today, he explains, harvest takes place in September which causes acceleration of the drying process, resulting in wines with less glycerol and less oxidation."

For Pasqua, other factors come into play based on climate change. "As temperatures are higher and higher, I believe that we should use irrigation more, in order to have a correct process of maturation, and should change some techniques such as defoliation, that now can only be done two days before harvesting."

The final aspect in the vineyards towards a more subdued style of Amarone rests with the training system. Today, more vineyards throughout the Valpolicella zones where Amarone is produced are planted to the modern Guyot system, one used thoughout France, California and most wine regions in the world. However the traditional pergola, where the canopy is overhead, resulting in more shade for the grape clusters, is preferred by many producers. "I think that the future to make Amarone is in pergola, not in Guyot," comments Castellani. "In pergola you produce a little bit more grapes per vine, but the level of acidity is higher because of the shadows of the leaves (created by the overhead canopy)."

Finally, Castellani believes that producers should use only traditional local varieties, such as Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella. While Amarone must contain Corvina and Rondinella, current regulations allow for up to 15 percent of other varieties (10 percent maximum of a single variety), such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. For Castellani, this is not the way to go. "I think Corvina is the Italian Pinot Noir," he states. "Do you imagine for one second blending Cabernet in Pinot Noir?"

"The future is to make wines that will be the expression of the terroir like what we have in Valpolicella."