Amarone, Recioto, Alcohol Levels

Over the last couple of days I came upon two interesting questions regarding Amarone/Recioto and their alcohol levels. One is a topic on the Wineloverspage.com forums: does Amarone have the same rise in alcohol levels in hot years as other wines? The other question is something a friend of mine asked me: how can a Recioto have up to 14% alcohol and be so sweet whereas an Amarone with 16% is dry (or should I say is supposed to be dry)?

Do Amarone alcohol levels vary according to vintage?
There seemed to be several plausible answers. Since Amarones are usually pushing the tolerance of yeasts anyway, it would be more likely for a heat-concentrated vintage to have more residual sugar. On the other hand, some posters suggested that producers could counter-act a hot year by earlier picking or shorter drying period, but not everyone seemed convinced that was the case.

My cursory online research into this and the Recioto question yielded few results. So, unwilling to remain in obscurity, I simply wrote an e-mail to two quality winemakers, PierPaolo Antolini and Marco Venturini (Le Bertarole), who I will gladly thank again for their expeditious and enlightening replies.


The answer is actually rather simple. After all, the drying process concentrates the juice of the grapes and can therefore be used to “correct” a vintage's overconcentration or lack thereof. If the grapes are more concentrated, a quality produver will dry them for a shorter period, but that is also subject to the quality of the grapes, the time of the harvest and the weather or ambient conditions during the drying period.

Normally, the Consorzio Valpolicella dictates that the dried grapes may not be processed before December 15th. In exceptional years, that date can be subject to change. In 2003, where the harvest was also considerably earlier than usual, the legislature allowed the pressing of the grapes for December 1st.
This would seem to be the only factor that would keep a winemaker from achieving the desired targetted alcohol content and (lack of) residual sugar every year.

In fact, by pressing the dried grapes 20 days before the usual date, one can try and maintain the balance between alcohol, acidity and tannins even in a hot year. A winemaker aiming to create an Amarone with 16-17% alcohol can do that simply by routinely checking up on the sugar levels. The main point of variation would only be the production date.

So, the short answer (about time, after all my rambling): the alcohol levels of Amarone do not vary greatly with the vintage. If anything, they may be more constant, at least more constant than that of non-dried wine. However, it is possible that the vintage may still lack the certain balance that could have been achieved with a longer but less intense ripening period on the vine.


What about Recioto? How can you have a Recioto with 14% alcohol and say, 100gr residual sugar per liter, but an Amarone with 16% and less than 10gr sugar content?

Again, the simple and obvious answer turned out to be correct: Recioto has a longer drying period to improve this concentration. While Amarone may be pressed in December, the grapes destined for Recioto keep drying, sometimes up until March. The grapes, then with a must weight between approximately 29 and 31 brix, can easily yield a wine with 12-14% alcohol and a residual sugar between 80 and 120 gram.

Theoretically, it is perfectly possible to make both an Amarone and a Recioto from the same source material. Grapes with 30 brix can make a dry wine with 17% or a sweet wine with 12% and 100gr sugar, but greater concentration, which some may desire for their Recioto, would be pushing the limits for a smooth fermentation of an Amarone. If you ever see a producer whose Recioto has 12% and Amarone 17%, chances are they could be from the same grapes.

But thanks to the relative flexibility with which the drying process endows a careful winemaker, the desired alcohol and sugar content can be obtained for each individual wine.
In the Valpolicella, as in any other wine region, it is the attention by the producer that is rewarded.

Lago di Garda 11/08 - IX - Kellerei Kaltern

Kellerei Kaltern, Kaltern (Caldaro sul strada del vino)
http://www.winecenter.it/

And so we return to Alto Adige on the last leg of our journey, coming full circle. Stopping at the stylish, modern wine center of the Kellerei Kaltern - one of Alto Adige's big growers' cooperatives - as we did on our way back home is a lot less like paying a visit to a winemaker at his winery and a lot more like walking into a big store. But if you keep that in mind and therefore aren't disappointed by the lack of personal interaction, it can certainly be interesting.

The "wine center", for all intents and purposes the cooperative's representative building is a nice place to shop at at that: light and spacious, their wide range of wines displayed individually with all the information and available for tasting at the serviced tasting bars. As with most big cooperatives, the quality of the wines varies from the simple quaffing juice to some top notch labels that regularly garner favorable attention by critics.

The region of the Lago di Caldaro largely shares the typical varieties of Alto Adige: the white Pinots, some German/Alsatian whites, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc; Schiava/Vernatsch, Lagrein, Merlot, Cabernet. A wine labelled Kalterersee Auslese (Lago di Caldaro selection) is invariably made from Vernatsch and almost as invariably light and unoffensive. If there's a Vernatsch that's worth exporting, chances are it's a St. Magdalener.

Nevertheless the Kellerei Kaltern is diverse in all categories. Of the wines worth mentioning, there are some premium whites to be had like the internationally styled Chardonnays and Sauvignons; dessert wines like the Passito are regularly acclaimed. The better Vernatsch wines like the organically farmed Solos or the single vineyard Pfarrhof can offer nice complexity. The reserve wines from Lagrein, Cabernet or Merlot, some from single vineyards, can certainly play with the big boys as well.

One may scoff at the bus loads of tourists that are brought here in late summer and autumn or the kitschy storybook atmosphere gladly cultivated by Kaltern, but a visit to this cooperative costs nothing and may yield a surprise or two. Certainly beats wine shopping at many other places I've been to.

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And so we conclude our (virtual) tour down to the Lago di Garda and back again. Where will this blog go from here? It is definitely my intention to update regularly with tasting notes, comments, articles, etc. Another travel diary is at least a few months off, but there are other producers, especially in the Valpolicella, that I could elaborate on. Anything else will be a case of 'wait and see' for me as much as for anyone else. Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

Lago di Garda 11/08 - VIII - Bonazzi, San Pietro in Cariano

Bonazzi, San Pietro in Cariano
http://www.bonazziwine.it/

Last of the Valpolicella tour we have the Azienda Agricola Dario e Fabio Bonazzi, one we've been to several times already and probably will be again before long. The small estate run by the cordial Fabio Bonazzi is located just outside the center of San Pietro in Cariano, but the tasting room and sales point is directly in the heart of town. The vineyards are mostly outside of town and nearer to Fumane, particularly the Monte Gradela site.

(the tasting room)

Generally speaking, Bonazzi excels in having an unusually broad range of wines with something for every palate, many of these experiments with less typical grape varieties. There is a certain style running through his whole oeuvre: smooth and upfront fruit, balanced and uncomplicated. It certainly helps that most of the wines are released upon perfect drinking age, but perhaps the biggest reason why we and others keep coming back are the fair prices. No matter what you think of the wines, prices that are in some cases (like the Ripasso) about half that of other producers are just a strong argument in quality-price-ratio. Since the quality is also good and at least on par with many others we've tasted, it's probable that this estaste simply has not been discovered by enough people yet. Maybe I should not be writing this?


Seriously though, the Valpolicella Classico 2007 offers vibrant, fresh cherries and flowers for a nice quaffing wine at a price where it can be used as cooking wine. The wine's juicy fruit without any greenness is indicative of the producer's style.

The Ripasso 2004, which has enjoyed some barrel ageing, scores with dark cherries and bramble fruit jam backed up by brandy or rum notes and a smooth but firm body.

(the winemaker, Fabio Bonazzi)

Quite popular with many drinkers: the Rosso Veronese IGT San Nicola 2004, where the Valpolicella varieties are joined by some Sangiovese, all of them dried. The wine is aged in French and Hungarian oak, and it shows: modern, oaky, lots of vanilla and spice, and thick, sweet dark red fruits. This effort is closer to an Amarone than to a Ripasso.


The counterpoint to it is the IGT Antares 2001 from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Oselata. Made from dried grapes and in used oak with "ancient methods", it has thick dark cherries and obvious notes from drying and subtle oxidation (sherry, raisins, nuts) over a heavy but well-aged body.

Well worth a mention the white Passito Sofia from mainly Garganega and Malvasia and aged in cherrywood barrels to impart honey notes (as opposed to vanilla notes from oak). Delicious baked apples and wildflower honey persist on nose and palate, but a lively acidity keeps the sweetness in check.

(vineyards near the winery)

The IGT El Dario, dedicated to the winemaker's father, is made as a top notch Amarone would be but with a different varietal makeup: careful selection of the dried grapes, long fermentation and no filtration. With the dark fruit and apassimento notes joined by tertiary aromas of dried rose petals, tobacco and earthy spices and an opulent but refined body, it's definitely the estate's premium product.

(Trentino bower vines next to the winery)

More than just honorable mentions round up the field: the Recioto, a pleasant typical example, with the 1997 wine showing how well this dessert wine can age and what complexity it can achieve. Similarly profiting from its age is the Amarone Ca Volpare 2000.

In any event, I can only recommend tasting these for yourself with some nice plates of salami, cheeses and antipasti, such as you will be served at a tasting with Signore Bonazzi.

Lago di Garda 11/08 - VII - Le Bertarole, Fumane

Le Bertarole, Fumane

The next producer we visited was a far more pleasant surprise than the one in my previous post.
Le Bertarole, that is Giordano Venturini and his two sons, of which Marco Venturini is now the winemaker in charge.
Only a few minutes of talking to him (he speaks excellent English, by the way) will convince you of the sincerity of their commitment to high quality. As they are a small producer, with about 9 hectars of vineyards but only the winery capacity for about 10,000 bottles output, this seems like a good approach.
A new, bigger winery has just finished construction, and they are currently in between buildings: fermenting and barrelling in the old, drying in the new.

(the new winery)

Marco Venturini seems like a wine fanatic in the most positive sense. A note on the estate's door informs you that if he is not here, he is close by in Fumane and you should just give him a call on his cell phone and he'll be right by.
As he told us, "at night I dream of new things to do with the Amarone". That this is more than a hollow phrase becomes obvious when you look at the attention to detail that is evident in the winery and in talking to the winemaker.

(Marco Venturini, winemaker)

The new winery, a building of function, not flash, has its cellar 12 meters underground and will maximize the use of gravity for moving the wine, an approach rarely found with all but the biggest and best producers.
He also swears by cement vats for fermentation and even aging, as the cement mantle is already the perfect temperature control - cool in summer, isolating in winter. Some winemakers cultivate old school techniques for the sake of it. Venturini, on the other hand, does so out of careful consideration for the outcome.

(cement fermentation vats in front of the old winery)

New international grape varieties do not find their way into the wines of Le Bertarole. But that is not to say that they are shunning them out of local pride: they owned Cabernet Sauvignon vines before and experimented with them privately. However, as Marco Venturini pointed out simply and elegantly, "the best Cabernets are from France". The Valpolicella's claim to fame are Corvina & co, and these are the ones who receive the attention here. Things are similar with the increasingly popular white Passito: Le Bertarole are trying it out, but seem in no rush to put out a product they cannot back one hundred percent.

(the vineyard between the two wineries)

When the vineyards of Le Bertarole are picked over the course of October, they are among the last in the region to pull in the harvest, and all grapes are brought in by members of the extended family. It might very well be this steady handed approach that lets Marco Venturini declare 2008 to be an excellent vintage with great concentration, wheras most other producers we have talked to considered it to be merely a good year; not as great as 2007.

(the new cellar)

The wines, on the other hand, are only released when ready, with 2003 being the current vintage for Ripasso and Amarone, all in numbered bottles.
If the tasting room we moved on to seemed especially cozy (complete with crackling wood fire), it did so with good reason, as it was essentially the family's living room, just another sign of the hospitality you will receive at Le Bertarole.

(the tasting room)

Unfortunately, I am faced with a complete lack of tasting notes for the four wines - Valpolicella Classico, Ripasso, Amarone and Recioto. That should, however, not at all be taken as a sign that the wines are forgettable!
Quite the contrary, the Classico 2007 is as fresh and lively as they come, and the Ripasso firm but elegant. Even though Venturini considers the Amarone his favorite and pinnacle, the Recioto is no lesser accomplishment. The Amarone is a truly great wine with years and years to go and greatly improving with aeration. Not that it is tight now, but it possesses a depth of complexity between the classic Amarone notes and subtle tertiary aromas that are beginning to develop which will benefit from air and cellaring. I will post thorough tasting notes at later dates when I've opened the bottles. We will see if patience can win out over the desire to taste these wines again.

Lago di Garda 11/08 - VI - Le Salette, Fumane

Le Salette, Fumane
http://www.lesalette.it/

Sometimes you'll find a nice winery, professional yet personal, with good wines and a pleasant atmosphere.


And sometimes you'll come back 18 months later and find a winery that is now professional to a fault. The cellars are modern and big, the wines somewhat rough around the edges, probably because they are still a little young. Having scaled prices per bottle depending on how many cases you buy is acceptable. Even saying on your price list that the tasting will be 2 Euros seems fair enough, a small recompensation for the wine and effort.

What's inexcusable is then proceding to charge 2 Euros (~2.50$ US) per wine and person. The four of us who tasted a total of five wines had to pay 40 Euros for this dubious pleasure. That's 8 Euro for four small sips of Valpolicella classico which only costs 4 Euro a bottle. That's 8 Euro for a week old Recioto that has been drunk privately. That's 40 Euro and not a cent more they'll ever get from me again.

Lago di Garda 11/08 - V - Antolini, Marano di Valpolicella

Antolini Pier Paolo & Stefano, Marano di Valpolicella
http://www.antolinivini.it/


Located pretty much in the heart of the region, in Marano, this farm is owned by the energetic young brothers Pier Paolo and Stefano Antolini. They have only been making their own wines since 2003 (on a very small scale since 2000), but have already received some considerable acknowledgements in that short time, such as an outstanding 92 points Wine Enthusiast.

(vines between winery and residential houses)

A small producer, the winery seems typically Italian with the family houses next to the winery itself and all surrounded by vines (not the best plots, of course, as those are on the hills outside of town). The personal touch not only shows through in the scale of the winery, which is small but modern, but especially in the immediately friendly nature of the winemaker, Pier Paolo (who speaks good English). After a tour of the property, one cannot help but be affected by the man's enthusiasm for his work. Fortunately, it shows through in the azienda's wines.

(Pier Paolo Antolini)

The line of wines with their simply elegant coherent designs (the producer is acquiring a nice corporate identity, if you will) kicks of with the Valpolicella Classico.
It ranges from a good table wine, green and spicy with good acidity in less than great years like 2006 to an almost-more-than-a-table-wine - rich and flowery, with ripe cherries and fine spices - in good years like 2005 and 2007. The wine's richer but still elegant nature compared to most Classicos is due at least in part to a longer period in stainless steel tanks: it is bottled in the summer after the harvest, almost a year later. Personally, from the several I've had, I've found this to be my favorite Valpolicella Classico.



Ripassos generally seem to go one way or the other: either lighter and elegant, just a step above a Classico in concentration and alcohol, or dark and deep, closer to an Amarone than to a Classico. The Antolini Ripasso goes the latter route, and is the better for it: rich dark cherries, chocolate, spices and dried notes persist in the nose and on the finely balanced palate. Part of the wine spends 12 months in 2-3 year old oak of various provenances after the second fermentation on the lees already used for Recioto.

(part of the barrique cellar with the cherrywood cask in front)

These barrels from Hungarian, American and French oak are also used for the two year refinement of the Amarone, with one interesting peculiarity for good measure: a single cherrywood barrel for extra complexity. The single vineyard Amarone Moròpio is a classic example of this type of wine, from dark cherries to raisins, fine oak notes and spices to the dry and heavy finish. Another vineyard, Ca Coato is also used for an Amarone whose first vintage, 2006, is scheduled to be released in 2009.



Also from the 2006 vintage but already released in 2008 is the winery's experiment with Cabernet grapes. The wine called Theobroma, 'drink of the gods', is made from dried Cabernet Sauvignon, Croatina, Corvina and Rondinella. As it turns out, the French variety is actually easier to dry than the Valpolicella classics because of its small berries. This wine also spends one year in oak, elevating it into the same league as an Amarone in all but legal name. Although it is still a young wine with a long way to go, I am sure any doubts the Antolinis may have had about their experiment will soon be vanished by this offering's quality. The essentials are all here - the raisins, the chocolate, the spices, the cherries - but also a dark, foresty quality that probably comes from the ripe and dried Cabernet and promises an outstanding wine after some cellaring.

(the drying loft is fully occupied in November)

Finally we have the Recioto, which manages to impress with a great balance between the aromatic depth of cherries, some cassis and spices (cloves, cinnamon) and sweet richness. Its complexity, spiciness and comparatively moderate sugar level may be reasons enough to pick up a bottle even for those like me who are not crazy about dessert wines.

(the drying loft above the winery, open on nice days)

Well, that's whole lot of words for a great producer that could be summed up more succinctly by one simple fact: on their homepage, you have not only their cell phone number, but even an invitation and detailed explanation to take a hike to one of their vineyards and see it for yourself. Who could refuse?

Lago di Garda 11/08 - IV - The Valpolicella - the wines

As mentioned in the previous post, dry white wines are the red-haired stepchilds of the Valpolicella. Since the region is surrounded by other areas where they make good whites (Lugana, Custoza, Soave), that circumstance is certainly excusable.

The main flight of Valpolicella reds which almost all wineries produce are all made from the same source material, as I touched on earlier. They range from the simple Valpolicella to the trendy Ripasso and to the pinnacle wines of Recioto and Amarone.

What you get when you take your Corvina and other assorted grapes, ferment them for a couple of days and put them in steel tanks for a couple of months is the simple but delicious Valpolicella; the basic wine we usually just call Classico (if it is from the Classico region). Ruby to dark ruby red in color, its aromas are generally flowery and fragrant with dominating cherry notes, light to medium body, and sometimes a slightly bitter, almondy finish. It practically never sees any oak, and only some producers give it a longer refinement period in the tanks, bottling almost a year after harvest, sometimes designated superiore for heigher must weight and alcohol content. These efforts are darker and ideally more complex, but all Valpolicellas are pleasant, inexpensive table wines.

(grapes being dried on wood crates)

One defining peculiarity of the Valpolicella is the ancient and still very alive practice of drying the grapes. Part of the harvest is used for making the basic Valpolicella, while selected vineyards and grapes are placed in well-aerated drying houses or attics. Under constant streams of air and supervision to prevent and spot any mould, the grapes dry for 90 to 120 days, losing 30% to 50% of their weight in evaporating water. It is from these shrivelled half-raisins that the best wines are made.

After drying, the grape juice is highly concentrated, and long, slow fermentations yield a dark, rich wine called Amarone. High in alcohol content (and sometimes in residual sugar), it has to undergo barrel aging before bottling. The result is a wine with deep, dark aromas: the characteristic black cherries; aromas associated with the dried grapes like raisins, nuts or rum; dark chocolate, and to some extent oak notes. Good Amarone is as expensive as it is ageworthy; the pinnacle of Valpolicella winemaking.

(still looking good after about eight weeks of drying)

If the fermentation is stopped before all the sugar is converted into alcohol, the result is a moderately heavy wine with considerable residual sugar (usually more than 100g/l) - the Recioto. Incidentally, this is believed to be the older of the two wines (Amarone and Recioto), dating back to antiquity, whereas Amarone was only (re-)discovered in the 20th century. A good Recioto offers the complexity of an Amarone, with cherries, chocolates and spices while possessing a delicious sweetness; ideally less of it than some other famous dessert wines. In my opinion, balance, not opulence, is the key to a great Recioto. Not that there's anything wrong with opulence in an Amarone.

You certainly can't blame the people of the Valpolicella for being wasteful - they even found a use for the old lees of Amarone and Recioto after fermentation. I'm talking about Ripasso, which is of course far more than just a leftover wine. After putting the fermented Amarone or Recioto into tanks or barrels for ageing, the used lees can be taken and added to a Valpolicella base wine that has been finished months ago. With the introduction of the lees which still contain sugar and extract, a short second fermentation (about one week) can add more color, alcohol and flavor to the Valpolicella wine, turning it into a Ripasso. Originally invented and perfected by Masi in the 20th century, this method has caught on everywhere in the region. Ranging both in character and in price between the basic wine and Amarone, a good Ripasso can deliver the complexity of an Amarone with its rum-cherry-raisin and chocolate bouquet without the weight of its big brother.



"Experiments", as many winemakers will freely call them, also usually fall in this category of wine: some producers make a Ripasso with Cabernet in it, others add a little Sangiovese and let the grapes dry for a short time; one excellent such experiment we encountered is essentially an Amarone except that it contains a sizeable amount of Cabernet and thus can't legally be called that.

The other area where Valpolicella producers like to experiment is white passito dessert wines. These are the white counterparts to Recioto, commonly from Garganega and Trebbiano, and dried for a similar amount of time. Golden in color, with honey, nut and citrus aromas, these wines can be a delightfully inexpensive alternative not only to Recioto but to white (botrytisized) dessert wines and are marvellous with cheese.

But all that is just theory - we'll take a closer look at some examples in the form of four Valpolicella producers and their offers in the next couple of posts.

Lago di Garda 11/08 - III - The Valpolicella- the region, the vineyards

Living in the south of Germany, it's quite common for one to cross the Brennero and head south to Bella Italia. Unless you're already stopping in the Trentino, there's no excuse not to visit the Valpolicella on your way down.

Situated a few miles north of Verona, between the Lessini mountains in the north, the Garda lake to the west and the Adige plain and Verona in the south, it is divided into the Classico region, the historic center, to the west and a larger area to the east, bordering the Soave region. This non-classico zone is nevertheless home to several elite producers, such as Dal Forno.
The Classico region, which we've visited many times already, centers around hill ridges and the valleys and towns between: Fumane, Marano and Negrar.

(view south on Fumane and the ridge east of it)

Hilly and pleasantly rural compared to the nearby tourist hubs of the Lago di Garda and Verona, the Valpolicella is dominated by vineyards, cherry trees (cherry blossom is a lovely time to visit!) and olive groves. If you factor in the moderate climate, a far cry from the humidity of the nearby lake, it is a delight that it is not yet the center of everyone's attention as, say, Tuscany might be. But when you focus on the wines, as I will do henceforth, that circumstance seems almost surprising.

(view south on Fumane and the ridge west of it)

Most vineyards in the region still showcase the traditional growing method of the Trentino bower, where the vine grows about six to seven feet high and then divides in a Y-shape, aided by a framework. However, as this method necessitates careful foliage management and is prone to high yields, many quality producers are switching to the Guyot method, especially with new plantings.

The grape varieties of the Valpolicella are as typical as they are traditional and rarely found outside of the region. The famous reds, from the humble table wine to the calibers of Amarone and Recioto, all share a similar make-up of red grapes. Of these Corvina is the most common and is responsible for the range of cherry aromas found in many Valpolicella wines. In the DOC wines it has to provide 70% of juice together with its heavier clone Corvinone. A number of smaller grape varieties complete the wines: Molinara, Rondinella, Croatina, Oselata are names you will hardly find outside of the region, and even there they very rarely play more than a supporting role.

(what's left after the harvest)

International varieties have made their way to the region as well, particularly the usual suspects of Cabernet and Merlot. These are perhaps most promising in the sometimes still experimental wines that combine the traditional and the French varieties and are usually designated IGT.

And in case anyone is wondering why white varieties have not been mentioned yet, that is not an oversight by me - compared to the range of reds they play a minor role at best. Sometimes the Italian allrounders Garganega and Trebbiano are used in table wines, more often they are made into a dessert wine, parrallel to the red Recioto - but more on that later.

Lago di Garda 11/08 - II - Azienda Agricola Provenza

Azienda Agricola Provenza
http://www.provenzacantine.it/

The Lugana region to the south and south west of the Lago di Garda is famous for its stylish, elegant Lugana white wines. However, some producers, like Provenza in Desenzano del Garda, not only excel in whites (their flagship scored three glasses in the recent Gambero Rosso) but can also offer some truly interesting reds. So, with our prejudices against the chic Lugana whites fully engaged, we mainly concentrated on the reds on our visit to the winery.

(view from Manerba - south over the lake to the Lugana region)

The Lugana DOC Superiore Molin at least deserves honorale mention, with its typical cleanness and freshness of citrus aromas backed up by a beefed up body and alcohol content.

The region's reds are typically made from Groppello, Marzemino, Barbera and Sangiovese, with the usual suspects of international varieties rounding the pantheon up. While Barbera and Sangiovese are big players all over Italy, Marzemino is a rather provincial grape commonly found in the Trentino and usually advertised more for its mention in a Mozart opera than for its qualities as a grape variety. Groppello is one of those countless regional grapes in Italy that are rarely heard of outside of their native vineyards, but in this part of Lombardy, it usually makes up the lion's share of reds.

(the Provenza vineyards right next to the winery)

In the Garda DOC Classico Groppello, it shows its typical fragrant nature of fresh strawberries and flowers with a light but pleasant body. Certainly a nice table wine, but not one that would help to propagate the name of Groppello.

The other style of Garda red is exemplified by the Rosso Tenuta Maiolo, where Groppello is joined by Barbera, Marzemino and Sangiovese. It is medium-bodied with darker and more concentrated fruit and a pleasant texture.

Its reserve counterpart, the Garda Classico Negresco, already offers much more at a not much greater price: dark, rich and concentrated with finely integrated oak notes, it was our first eye opener to what Garda reds could be.

Nevertheless, our favorite wine was probably the one that possesses the least provincial charm, the Cabernet/Merlot blend Giomè. Instead it delivers a great balance of the peppery and bramble berry notes of the two varieties, with a smooth oak-infused body that is at the same time fulfilling as well as fresh and moreish.



The pinnacle of the estate's red wines is unquestionably the Garda Classico Selezione Fabio Contato, both in quality and in price. Like the Tenuta Maiolo and the Negresco it is a blend of Groppello, Barbera, Marzemino and Sangiovese, and it is a tribute to the wine maker's craft that selection and oak ageing can elevate these into this rich and concentrated effort of international class. Dark berries join a fine spicyness without the extended barrel time ruining things, but instead integrating itself beautifully.

If there is one negative thing that can be said about Provenza's fine reds it would have to be that for all their quality, they lack a certain distinctiveness or regional uniqueness. The Fabio Contato, for example, reminds more of a fine Spanish red or one of the modern Bordeauxs than it does of the sunny hills of the southern Lago di Garda. Then again, that's not too shabby at all, it it?

Lago di Garda 11/08 - I - Griesbauerhof Georg Mumelter

Griesbauerhof Georg Mumelter

http://www.tirolensisarsvini.it/


This small (3 ha) and family-owned estate lies in the heartland of the north Italian Alto Adige wine region, just 3 minutes from highway exit Bolzano-nord on the outskirts of the provincial capital.


In its elegant-rustic tasting room with its heavy wood furniture we were greeted by the amicable artisan winemaker Georg Mumelter (far right), not a man of show and excessive marketing, and perhaps a good example of the type of seemingly scruffy and tight-lipped but soon warming people of Alto Adige.

The wines are the range of typical Alto Adige varieties, with only one white, but showcasing the regional stars Schiava (Vernatsch in the commonly spoken German) and Lagrein.

The Pinot Grigio is a heavy weight fighter of a white wine despite the absence of oak. Clocking in at 14.5% alcohol it delivers blows of ripe pear and apple and possesses the length to go to round 12.

The two Vernatsch wines are different examples of this style of grape: the Grauvernatsch green and spicy-peppery, relatively light-bodied and perfect with the Alto Adige cheeses, salami and cured meats.
The St. Magdalener, the estate’s most produced wine, is fragrant with flowers and red berries, smooth and medium-bodied on the palate. Both are good wines for different occassions.
The IGT Isarcus was born out of a somewhat desperate experiment: to make a modern, trendy full-bodied red wine, but having only Schiava vines. Today it shares the variety makeup of the St. Magdalener, 90% Vernatsch and about 10% Lagrein. Extra late harvest and barrel aging for several months create an interesting super-Vernatsch with oak notes, green aromas and fresh fruit in excellent balance and condition. This may just be a one-of-a-kind wine in the region.

Earthy and inticing the Lagrein 2007, promising dark berries and fine marzipan notes in the future after further aging. As it is, it’s a rather closed young wine still.
The Lagrein Riserva is also very young, but even a short time in the glass shows the wine’s potential: full-bodied but perfectly velvety tannins, whose dryness promises a great future after aging in the bottle. A certain earthiness or “darkness” – for lack of a better word – reminiscent of dark chocolate or malty black Assam tea vies for the spotlight with dark berries (especially thick, pure blackberries), while a beautiful soy sauce/Asian spice component elevates the bouquet.
A picture perfect Cabernet that only suffers from being one of countless of Cabernets rounds up the producer’s line.

Then there’s the special wine Tirolensis: the 8 members of the Ars Vini Tirolensis association cooperate by contributing one barrique each of their best wine to make this cuvee. A blend of several Alto Adige grapes – Pinot Noir, Lagrein and Cabernet, it is round and soft, with many Burgundan influences; prominent berries and sour cherries, fine subtle oak notes and a very long finish elevate this very limited outing into a special category, both in quality and in price.

Welcome to Gone Viniferal and thanks for reading!

What is this? I’m a guy from Germany and I like wine. This is the place where I am going to write about wine.

Everything else should hopefully become clear with the first few posts on here: for example, I will start off the blog with an account of the trip I took with a couple of friends to the Lago di Garda, Italy from November 21 to 23. On our way down, we stopped in Bolzano to sample the Alto Adige wines of Georg Mumelter’s Griesbauerhof. On Saturday, we paid a quick visit to the Lugana region south of Lake Garda and then made our way to the Valpolicella, where we had been several times before and are always glad to return. A short sojourn at Lake Caldaro on our way back rounded up the tour of wineries and tastings.

That’s the bones – stay tuned for the meat.