# What's the main difference between Valpolicella and Amarone?



## abefroman (Feb 4, 2011)

What's the main difference between Valpolicella and Amarone? Is one better than the other?
 
TIA


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## robie (Feb 4, 2011)

Wikipedia has a nice write up on Valpolicella, which is made from three different grapes. Valpolicella is actually a wine growing region.

Valpolicella is drunk much younger than amarone should be.


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## ibglowin (Feb 4, 2011)

Probably the biggest difference would be the use of partially dried grapes (almost Raisins) in Amarone. This is also known as the Ripasso method. Some of the higher end Valpolicella's also use a portion of grapes that have been dried as well to concentrate the flavor.


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## deboard (Feb 4, 2011)

Never had an Amarone, but reading about it on wikipedia it seems that Amarone is a higher alcohol wine similar to port, but what you will find labeled as Valpolicella is a standard wine, normally about 12-13% alcohol. I have had Valpolicella and it's one of my favorites. Bolla makes a very inexpensive one that is actually very good (at least to my unrefined tastes).


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## Runningwolf (Feb 4, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> Probably the biggest difference would be *the use of partially dried grapes (almost Raisins)* in Amarone. This is also known as the Ripasso method.



Around here that would be called Ice Wine.


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## ibglowin (Feb 4, 2011)

Ha! They actually dry them on racks indoors.


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## abefroman (Feb 4, 2011)

Yep, that wikipedia article is pretty good.

I just had a glass of 2008 Ripasso Valpolicella, the predominent taste was spice, does that hold true with Amarone?


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## ibglowin (Feb 4, 2011)

Vanilla cinnamon is one of the notes of Amarone, as is black currants, cherry, cedar, tobacco, hazelnut, chocolate.......

Lots of good notes which is why Amarone is a favorite of the home winemaker.


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## Lurker (Feb 4, 2011)

I like Amarone, but why is it that I never taste all of those things in wine?


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## Wade E (Feb 4, 2011)

Richard, some of us arent as super sensitive when it comes to taste buds. There are actually people called super tasters whose taste buds are extremely sensitive to stuff like this and it can be a good or a bad thing depending. These people can usually taste all this stuff but some things we like will be extremely nasty to them It is said they usually hate stuff like Broccoli and stuff like that s its very pungent to them. Usually the grapes in an Amarone are sun dried on planks.


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## ibglowin (Feb 4, 2011)

Your not practicing enough Richard! 



Lurker said:


> I like Amarone, but why is it that I never taste all of those things in wine?


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## Tom (Feb 4, 2011)

Guess he needs to do some amarone tasting HERE


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## roblloyd (Feb 4, 2011)

Never having tried it. And hearing such great things about, what's the best amorone? Are the kits worth the money or juice buckets etc... How do I make the best one?


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## ibglowin (Feb 4, 2011)

The CC Showcase, MM AJ, Masters, Meglioli and RJS Winery are all VERY good. That said , you should expect to wait for 18 mo to 2 years for them to mature. These are not "early drinkers"!



roblloyd said:


> Never having tried it. And hearing such great things about, what's the best amorone? Are the kits worth the money or juice buckets etc... How do I make the best one?


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## vinividivici (Feb 5, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> The CC Showcase, MM AJ, Masters, Meglioli and RJS Winery are all VERY good. That said , you should expect to wait for 18 mo to 2 years for them to mature. These are not "early drinkers"!



Mike,

Who's a good online supplier of RJ Spagnols? I'd like to order a Valpolicella kit after reading this thread!

Cheers!

Bob


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## homer (Feb 5, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> Vanilla cinnamon is one of the notes of Amarone, as is black currants, cherry, cedar, tobacco, hazelnut, chocolate.......
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## abefroman (Feb 5, 2011)

vinividivici said:


> Mike,
> 
> Who's a good online supplier of RJ Spagnols? I'd like to order a Valpolicella kit after reading this thread!
> 
> ...



For Valpo go with this one:
http://www.finevinewines.com/p-1899-24808.aspx

For Amarone go with this:
http://www.finevinewines.com/p-2934-me78a.aspx
or this:
http://www.finevinewines.com/p-1955-ep6.aspx


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## ibglowin (Feb 5, 2011)

Here is the link to the Cellar Craft Showcase Amarone. 

Amarone with Super Pack

Amarone Tips

It comes with a 2.6L "Super Pack" that contains both Raisins and Grapes! You for sure need a 7.8 Gal Primary for this guy. My first Amarone was the Mosti AJ with Raisins. It is 18 mo old and fantastic. The next time around I will probably go with the Cellar Craft Showcase kit due to the larger Super Pack.


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## ibglowin (Feb 5, 2011)

Too funny, that sounds just like something Homer Simpson would actually say! 



homer said:


> Buuut, are those flavors really there and if so, how do they get there. Chocolate, tobacco, cherries, come on, really.


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## vinividivici (Feb 5, 2011)

Thanks, Mike and Abe, for the links and info. Can't wait to do both of them.

Bob


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## Lurker (Feb 5, 2011)

Wade E said:


> Richard, some of us arent as super sensitive when it comes to taste buds. There are actually people called super tasters whose taste buds are extremely sensitive to stuff like this and it can be a good or a bad thing depending. These people can usually taste all this stuff but some things we like will be extremely nasty to them It is said they usually hate stuff like Broccoli and stuff like that s its very pungent to them. Usually the grapes in an Amarone are sun dried on planks.


In Puerto Rico right now and just took a tour of the Bacardi Distillary. I tasted the 3 different unflavored drinks, 2years old, >8 yrs old and >16yrs old. They were all as expected, very good and each was different. They also allow you to smell some of the diff. ingredients. My wife found each to be diff. I could smell nothing. So maybe that's why I never smell/taste all that stuff that is supposed to be in wine. But I still love the taste of wine. 
BTW They don't leave them in the sun anymore, they do it indoors away from the bugs and under lights


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## dpriver (Oct 10, 2013)

I'm afraid this is still not clear. If we're talking about the same grapes and both use this ripasso process involving drying out the grapes and "repassing" the juice over them to extract more flavor, what permits one to be called Valpolicella ripasso and the other to be called Amarone (and charge 3x more for it)?


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## Gwand (Oct 11, 2013)

dpriver said:


> I'm afraid this is still not clear. If we're talking about the same grapes and both use this ripasso process involving drying out the grapes and "repassing" the juice over them to extract more flavor, what permits one to be called Valpolicella ripasso and the other to be called Amarone (and charge 3x more for it)?



Amarone is pressed from the dried grapes. Usually 3 grapes including corvina. Ripasso is made from valpolicella that is fermented with the dried skins and lees from the Amarone fermentation.


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## lilvixen (Apr 25, 2017)

I'm reviving an old thread with a follow up question:

I've been on the forum long enough to learn that Amarone is a favorite among kit makers. So to decide whether to add it to my to-do list, I have tried a few Valpolicella Superiore and Ripasso wines, because splurging on a bottle of Amarone isn't something I'm ready to do yet.

I like to pair my wines with dinner, and based on a couple sites I've found, Amarone pairs with red meats and game, neither of which we eat at home. The Valpolicella styles have a broader range of pairings and include dinners that we make.

So my question: I understand that a kit cannot produce a "true" Amarone, so do the CC Showcase or RJS En Primeur Amarones pair with food like a commercial Amarone or commercial Valpolicella?

I see that RJS has an En Primeur Valpolicella, which I'll probably do if the consensus is that the Amarone kits pair like their commercial counterparts.


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## Brian55 (Apr 25, 2017)

lilvixen said:


> I'm reviving an old thread with a follow up question:
> 
> I've been on the forum long enough to learn that Amarone is a favorite among kit makers. So to decide whether to add it to my to-do list, I have tried a few Valpolicella Superiore and Ripasso wines, because splurging on a bottle of Amarone isn't something I'm ready to do yet.
> 
> ...



Kit Amarones tend toward "Amarone Lite" when compared to commercial Amarone. Being significantly lighter, they pair well with a wider variety of foods than commercial Amarone does.


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## sour_grapes (Apr 25, 2017)

I agree with Brian.


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## Cellar_Dweller (Apr 26, 2017)

Well Cat, I'm going to be the dissenting view. As it just so happens, I opened a taster bottle of my WE Amerone last night. Its got about a year from the date of pitching on it, but my guess is, that it needs another year (or so). It is good, and has loads of potential, but it needs a lot of maturation. It is very bold! Almost chewy. Close to a port. If you aren't big meat eaters, I'd stick with Valpola. 

After tasting my juvenile Amerone, my wife and I both only came up with a couple of food "pairings" that immediately came to mind. All meat based. The first is slow smoked beef brisket, with an herby, spicy rub. It is slow cooked in a Kamado-style grill (generic Green Egg). It is really excellent with a charred crust, but needs a bold wine to stand up to it. The other, though it took some thought, is duck. Specifically, Magret de Canard. So, I'll let my Amerone sleep for another year, while we continue to think of what to have with it. It may last for a decade or so waiting for the appropriate meals to come up. 'Glad I used the long corks.

I've never splurged enough to taste a quality, commercial Amerone, so I can't compare, but mine is plenty stout. I'm really not sure what I'd pair with it that isn't meat-based. Perhaps free range, Angus eggplant parmesan!

Greg


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## lilvixen (Apr 27, 2017)

Thanks, Greg. I don't care for port, so that's valuable information.

We had a Valpolicella Ripasso with chicken parmesan tonight, and hubby and I thought it went nicely, and we both enjoyed it. It's 14% alcohol, and though it's listed as medium-bodied on the description, it's intense.

So I'm thinking that we should stick with a lighter style than the Amarone. The obvious answer is do the Valpola style kit and call it good. Or - I may be naive and/or crazy for this thought - the Amarone kits do chaptalization to get to 15+% alcohol, right? Could I do a CC Showcase Amarone without the chaptalization part and have it potentially result in something closer to a Valpola style? I'm hesitant to ask this, lest I be flogged, but inquiring minds want to know.

ETA: In poking around manufacturer websites, Vineco reports the CC Showcase Amarone is 14% alcohol, but I remember seeing the Amarones made on this forum being in the 15% range. Is the CC Amarone "lighter" than the WE Amarone? The available info is so confusing sometimes!


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## sour_grapes (Apr 27, 2017)

WE adds a 900 g pack of dextrose, whereas CC does not chaptalize. 

I have a WE open right now. In addition to their prescribed chaptalization, I added ~1 lb of sugar via some Zante currants. I also added some tannins. It is a big wine, for sure, but not overpowering. But this seems bigger than I gather you are interested in.

Personally, I would not compare these to a port. Most ports you would have come in contact with are sweetened (and, of course, fortified), and Amarones are not at all sweet.


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## lilvixen (Apr 27, 2017)

Thanks, sour_grapes, that's helpful too.

Short story long, I don't know what I'm expecting, and as a planner, that's a tough thing for me. I've made a Super Tuscan already, and that seems like a medium-bodied wine to me. I enjoy a bold Cab with pepperoni pizza, so maybe I'm over thinking this and intimidated by the awe surrounding Amarone. I have a couple kits on deck, so I'll mull it over, but I'll probably make an Amarone just because I need to know what the awe is about. Silly reason, I know, but I was allergic to alcohol until about a decade ago, so me making wine now is entirely silly too. I'm par for the course!


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## kevinlfifer (Apr 28, 2017)

I splurged on my first commercial bottle of Amorone this winter. I won't do it again, I'm afraid I'd get addicted. I am getting a couple of juice buckets of that this fall.


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