Italy’s northeastern Veneto region is a bottomless well of wine, and as such, quality struggles to find itself in that overwhelming quantity. But, with diligent searching, there are gems to be found here, and many bargains as well.
All of Italy’s best wines carry a government seal of authenticity, either Denominazione di Origine Controllata – DOC – or with an added G for e Garantita – DOCG – the highest level of certification reserved for their finest wines. But, with typical Italian con brio, many producers disdain to follow official guidelines, sending their wines to market under the designation IGT – Indicazione Geografica Tipica. The IGT designation indicates a wine made within a defined region, but without following the approved rules of production for DOC. Many of these IGT wines can be excellent, but as consumers we need to be vigilant, for there is much that simply doesn’t measure up to DOC quality that finds its way onto the IGT market. Campofiorin from the producer Masi is an example of an IGT wine that is regularly available locally.
In the eastern part of the Veneto, Valpolicella is the red equivalent of the well-known white Soave. Made from a blend of local native grape varieties, Valpolicella was an early success from the region, and its success inevitably gave rise to a multitude of imitators. Your best chance of finding good Valpolicella is to find one labelled Classico – which means from the central zone that is the original home of this wine – and Superiore, which means the grapes have achieved a superior degree of natural ripeness at harvest. A good Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC can be truly delightful, distinguished by its light, savoury brightness, a pleasing bitter tang on the finish, with an evocative aroma of cherries. An added bonus: it doesn’t require long ageing.
In the western part of the region, along Lake Garda’s sheltered eastern shore, they make a similar wine in an even lighter style called Bardolino. This light, pale red is for early consumption, and is not much more than rosé; in fact they make a delightful summer rosé called chiaretto. Much of Bardolino’s appeal was in its long-necked raffia-wrapped bottles, but modern efficiency has overseen the loss of those beautiful artisanal flagons from our LCBO shelves; you can still find them in touristy shops in their home territory.
In a quest to make a more serious wine, Valpolicella producers developed the technique of concentrating their grape juice by drying the newly-harvested grapes on straw mats. In this process, the grapes shrivel as their water fraction evaporates, and these shrivelled, raisin-like wines are fermented to make a dark, powerful high-alcohol wine they call Amarone. Good Amarone is always expensive, and should always be DOCG. This is a wine that you can age in your cellar for decades, as its early burly muscle softens to rich, warm complexity. Now some producers are taking their recently made Valpolicella and fermenting it a second time using the pulp and skins left over from their Amarone, adding weight and power – but not finesse – to the wine, calling the result Valpolicella Ripasso.
There is a small group of dedicated producers determined to make Valpolicella into a serious wine to compete with the finest on the world stage; Quintarelli is the leader of this movement, and Pra is not far behind. Their wines are gaining renown, but these are expensive collectibles, far removed from the easy accessible daily drinking delight that is the mainstay of the region – look to Bertani, Bolla, Folonari, or Tomasi for excellent value in both red and white wines from Italy’s delightful Veneto.
© Paul Inksetter 2024
