By The Glass
Lyle Fujioka
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
My focus today is Valpolicella, the primary red wine of Italy's Veneto region. It continues a quest, begun here last month, to find the perfect BVD (Barbera, Valpolicella, Dolcetto) for your palate. Rich Valpolicella wines
arriving fresher in HawaiiIn contrast to Barbera and Dolcetto, which are grape varietals, Valpolicella designates a defined growing district and the wine itself is a blend of three red varieties: Corvina, Molinara and Rondinella.
As with Barbera and Dolcetto, there is a growing interest and acceptance of this wine that can be attributed to the determination of producers in the district to create world-class wines. This determination, coupled with new and correct shipping conditions to Hawaii, has improved the quality of these wines, ensuring that we get the original freshness of fruit that is so characteristic of Valpolicella wines.
Like Barbera and Dolcetto, Valpolicella can be found at all levels of appreciation, from the simple, quaffable Beaujolais-like to the palate-boggling level that would make a Turley Zinfandel shudder in comparison.
I find a particular style of Valpolicella made in what is called the Ripasso style very seductive. This method makes the wine richer, bigger and fuller, with darker flavors. Valpolicella made in this method possesses a cult-like following because of its rich hedonistic quality.
Ripasso refers to the practice of running the fermented Valpolicella wine over the leftover sediments (lees) of the previous year's Amarone production. Amarone, in turn, is made of the three grapes of Valpolicella, using the Passito method -- the grapes are hung on hooks or laid on mats in cool, ventilated rooms for two to four months. The grapes lose the water content, therefore concentrating the fruit sugars, resulting in a wine that makes Amarone the rich, full-flavored beast it is.
Here are some of our Valpolicella and Ripasso-method picks:
1998 Palazzo della Torre, Allegrini, Veneto, Italy $15.95: Although not made in the Ripasso method per se (because they add actual Amarone wine), this thing of beauty has great focus, with generous berry and tree fruits in the nose and on the palate. This medium-bodied wine shows a wonderful balance and complexity and is great for pairing with foods or cheeses.
1998 Valpolicella, Zenato, Veneto, Italy $8.95: This is the regular Valpolicella, not enhanced by additional special methods. It is an astounding value, delivering lots of pleasure. The forward berry fruits show themselves well in the aroma, with typical familiar and easy earthiness from the Veneto region. Straightforward and unassuming, the medium body delivers a very nice balance and wonderful fruit follow-through.
1999 Quintarelli Guisseppe Primofiore, Veneto, Italy $22.95: As indicated by the dark color, this medium-plus-bodied wine delivers awesome richness both in the nose and on the palate. Textured like velvet, showing off surprising fruit intensity, lengthy flavors, depth and complexity, this is a great example of a Valpolicella made by the Ripasso method.
Lyle Fujioka owns Fujioka's Wine Merchants. This column is a weekly lesson in wine pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals.
This column is a weekly lesson in wine
pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals.
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