Amarone Families visit Manhattan
By Marisa D'Vari | October 4th, 2011 | Category: News | No Comments »
Twelve historical producers of Amarone visited Manhattan for a tutored tasting that was literally 'standing room only." They included Allegrini, Begali, Brigadara, Masi, Musella, Nicolis, Speri, Tedeschi, Tenuta Sant' Antonio, Tomassi, Venturini, and Zenato.
These "families" have created the association "Amarone Families" to combine their wealth of tradition with craftsmanship and standards in wine making.
The area of production is Valpolicella, just outside of Verona in northwest italy. The basic grapes are the same used for dry, lower alcohol Valpolicella ... rondinella, corvione, corvina, molinara, and small portions of croatina and oseleta. In the production of Amarone, the grapes are dried in September, and then undergo a slower fermentation in December and January. Wine is typically aged in various forms of wood for three years, then more than a year in bottle.
I visited the region a few years back and saw the grapes drying ... it's quite a site!
The takeaway from today's tasting were how diverse the flavors were of the wines, which were all the 2001 vintage (except for a 2004). Lots of red cherry, black licorice, caramel, black olives, and prince edward cherry tobacco with some wines having more of a certain flavor than other wines. There is a stewed fruit quality to the wines, as well as remarkable acidity,
One producer spoke about how to pair the wine with food, which in NYC is often with steak. The producer suggested caramelized onions on the side, with other producers trying to break away from the "steak and Amarone" theme by suggesting pork and spicy foods (Asian market, anyone?)
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