Hello,

As part of our monthly wine group, we're drinking some Italian wines next
month. My assignment is an Amarone. I know little about these wines, and
am looking for suggestions of good representatives of that style and area.
I live in upstate New York, so with enough notice I can get wines from NYC
if necessary.

Price is not real important, but I would like to, if possible keep it to $40
or under. Thanks in advance!

David

On 18-Jan-2004, "bijoudog" > wrote:

> Hello,
>
> As part of our monthly wine group, we're drinking some Italian wines next
> month. My assignment is an Amarone. I know little about these wines, and
> am looking for suggestions of good representatives of that style and area.
> I live in upstate New York, so with enough notice I can get wines from NYC
> if necessary.
>
> Price is not real important, but I would like to, if possible keep it to
> $40
> or under. Thanks in advance!
>
> David

Well David, you have certainly been given a great opportunity Amarone's
are one my personal favorites, and certainly one of the most unique in the
wine world.

First, some background on the wine itself. The grapes used are
predominately Corvina, Rodinella and Molinara. By law they can also use a
little bit of Negrara and/or Syrah. After the mature grapes are picked,
they are placed on straw mats and air-dryed for up to several months almost
to the point of being raisins. Then, they are crushed and the resulting
high-density juice is fermented.

Because of the drying process, there is less juice extracted and what is
tends to be very rich and complex. You will find a lot of different tastes
within the wines themselves, with some of the more common characteristics
being raisin (okay, that was a given), leather and black cherry.

Interestingly enough (as a sidebar), in the Valpolicella region of Veneto,
they make 4 different wines from the same combination of grapes:
Valpolicella (regular table wine), Ripasso (by pouring Valpolicella juice
repeatedly over the skins left over from making Amarone), Amarone (described
above) and Reciotto (desert style).

As to what to find and try, I learn towards Allegrini and Tommasi. Part of
this is because these are the 2 best that are available in my neck of the
woods. Allegrini is very consistent; Tommasi tends to be a bit more
erratic. In Alabama, they both tend to run about $55-65 depending on the
quality of the year. You should be able to find them for less in NYC area.
I'm sure there are other great Amarones out there that I haven't been able
to partake of, and you will get a lot of great ideas from others in this
group.

Good luck, and enjoy!

Cheers,
Gary

CabFan wrote:
> On 18-Jan-2004, "bijoudog" > wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> As part of our monthly wine group, we're drinking some Italian
>> wines next month. My assignment is an Amarone. I know little
>> about these wines, and am looking for suggestions of good
>> representatives of that style and area. I live in upstate New York,
>> so with enough notice I can get wines from NYC if necessary.
>>
>> Price is not real important, but I would like to, if possible keep
>> it to $40 or under. Thanks in advance!
>>
>> David
>
> Well David, you have certainly been given a great opportunity
> Amarone's are one my personal favorites, and certainly one of the
> most unique in the wine world.
>
> First, some background on the wine itself. The grapes used are
> predominately Corvina, Rodinella and Molinara. By law they can also
> use a little bit of Negrara and/or Syrah. After the mature grapes
> are picked, they are placed on straw mats and air-dryed for up to
> several months almost to the point of being raisins. Then, they are
> crushed and the resulting high-density juice is fermented.
>
> Because of the drying process, there is less juice extracted and what
> is tends to be very rich and complex. You will find a lot of
> different tastes within the wines themselves, with some of the more
> common characteristics being raisin (okay, that was a given), leather
> and black cherry.
>
> Interestingly enough (as a sidebar), in the Valpolicella region of
> Veneto, they make 4 different wines from the same combination of
> grapes: Valpolicella (regular table wine), Ripasso (by pouring
> Valpolicella juice repeatedly over the skins left over from making
> Amarone), Amarone (described above) and Reciotto (desert style).
>
> As to what to find and try, I learn towards Allegrini and Tommasi.
> Part of this is because these are the 2 best that are available in my
> neck of the woods. Allegrini is very consistent; Tommasi tends to
> be a bit more erratic. In Alabama, they both tend to run about
> $55-65 depending on the quality of the year. You should be able to
> find them for less in NYC area. I'm sure there are other great
> Amarones out there that I haven't been able to partake of, and you
> will get a lot of great ideas from others in this group.
>
> Good luck, and enjoy!
>
> Cheers, Gary


Gary mentioned Ripasso style and I find this one to be one of my very
favorite representations...."Palazzo Della Torre" 1999 Allegrini.
I buy it for about $12.99 bottle in Boca Raton Fl, but it typically
sells for about $16-17 in the Miami area. This particular producer and
year are special. This is a small blurb about it....

---------
Allegrini's Valpolicella Classico is the basic wine, light, fresh and
undemanding but with good quality fruit - a sort of Italian Beaujolais,
and very pleasantly drinkable. The "serious" version of this is the
Palazzo della Torre made with a version of ripasso where whole dried
grapes (rather than the residue from making Amarone) are added to the
must. This wine is 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella and 5% Sangiovese and so
does not qualify as Valpolicella as it does not contain the requisite 5%
of Molinara which Allegrini believe to be a worthless grape. The 1999 is
very enjoyable with a slightly cooked fruit quality.

burris

Hi David,

I would recommend the Amarone from Allegrini.
The most famous producer is probably Dal Forno, but you'll have to
spend about 150 EUR (200 USD) on a single bottle.
I love Allegrini ; these wines are splendid, very deep, and so
representative to the classical amarone.

Pierre
Brussels, Belgium


On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 16:46:13 GMT, "bijoudog" >
wrote:

>Hello,
>
>As part of our monthly wine group, we're drinking some Italian wines next
>month. My assignment is an Amarone. I know little about these wines, and
>am looking for suggestions of good representatives of that style and area.
>I live in upstate New York, so with enough notice I can get wines from NYC
>if necessary.
>
>Price is not real important, but I would like to, if possible keep it to $40
>or under. Thanks in advance!
>
>David
>
>

At the "budget" end of the Amarone scale I've enjoyed: "Villalta" (Fraspe?)
1997 & 98, Zenato 1995, Brigaldera 1997, Vignale 1995 & 98, & Tedeschi 1998,
all between 12 & 18 GBP. Masi Costasera (18 GBP) seems to be widely
available but I thought a bit dull compared to the others

"bijoudog" > wrote in message
news
> Hello,
>
> As part of our monthly wine group, we're drinking some Italian wines next
> month. My assignment is an Amarone. I know little about these wines, and
> am looking for suggestions of good representatives of that style and area.
> I live in upstate New York, so with enough notice I can get wines from NYC
> if necessary.
>
> Price is not real important, but I would like to, if possible keep it to
$40
> or under. Thanks in advance!

I only know a little about Amarone - I finally bought a bottle and I really
enjoyed. It has a unique taste, but it is not overpowering (but then my
palate is not expert...) I had a Tommasi, from 1985 or '6. It's not cheap
though, and you would be hard pressed to find a good bottle for much less
than $40. I think Tommasi would be right up there in your top 2 or 3
choices in that general price range.

On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 17:08:30 GMT, "CabFan"
> wrote:

>
>Well David, you have certainly been given a great opportunity Amarone's
>are one my personal favorites, and certainly one of the most unique in the
>wine world.
>
>First, some background on the wine itself. The grapes used are
>predominately Corvina, Rodinella and Molinara. By law they can also use a
>little bit of Negrara and/or Syrah. After the mature grapes are picked,
>they are placed on straw mats and air-dryed for up to several months almost
>to the point of being raisins. Then, they are crushed and the resulting
>high-density juice is fermented.
>
>Because of the drying process, there is less juice extracted and what is
>tends to be very rich and complex. You will find a lot of different tastes
>within the wines themselves, with some of the more common characteristics
>being raisin (okay, that was a given), leather and black cherry.
>
>Interestingly enough (as a sidebar), in the Valpolicella region of Veneto,
>they make 4 different wines from the same combination of grapes:
>Valpolicella (regular table wine), Ripasso (by pouring Valpolicella juice
>repeatedly over the skins left over from making Amarone), Amarone (described
>above) and Reciotto (desert style).

>Cheers,
>Gary

Another reason why I read this group every day. There's so much wine
from so many places that even a dedicated drinker needs some help to
find the good stuff.

Dinner last night at Biaggi's, a better than average Italian chain.
Lo, on the wine list was "Ripasso" Valpolicella by Zenato, 1999 at
$35. Bottle turned out to be 2000, but was excellent. Dark purple and
almost syrupy. Warm vanilla, leather and black cherry to raisin nose.
Great mouthful of fruit with just a tiny bit of funk lingering--which
will probably go away after I buy a case and squirrel it away in the
basement for a year or two.

Thanks for the lesson on Valpolicella, which I usually avoid as being
too light, watery and unsatisfying. There's a lot more to Valpolicella
than had previously met my eye.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

Wow! These have all been great notes. Thanks, everyone!

David

"bijoudog" > wrote in message
news
> Hello,
>
> As part of our monthly wine group, we're drinking some Italian wines next
> month. My assignment is an Amarone. I know little about these wines, and
> am looking for suggestions of good representatives of that style and area.
> I live in upstate New York, so with enough notice I can get wines from NYC
> if necessary.
>
> Price is not real important, but I would like to, if possible keep it to
$40
> or under. Thanks in advance!
>
> David
>
>

The days of straw mats and out in the sun are pretty much gone, as
near as I can tell. They have been replaced with concrete drying
buildings with lots of shuttered windows. Not very romantic.


On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 16:46:13 GMT, "bijoudog" >
wrote:

>Hello,
>
>As part of our monthly wine group, we're drinking some Italian wines next
>month. My assignment is an Amarone. I know little about these wines, and
>am looking for suggestions of good representatives of that style and area.
>I live in upstate New York, so with enough notice I can get wines from NYC
>if necessary.
>
>Price is not real important, but I would like to, if possible keep it to $40
>or under. Thanks in advance!
>
>David
>