How a wine made from dried grapes became Italy’s velvet heavyweight — and four estates where you can see the drying lofts yourself.
Amarone della Valpolicella is a dry red made from grapes — mainly Corvina, with Corvinone and Rondinella — that are laid out on racks in airy lofts and left to dry for three to four months after harvest. Water evaporates, sugar and flavour concentrate, and fermentation turns all that sugar into a rich, powerful wine of 15–16% alcohol with dried-cherry, chocolate and spice notes. The technique is called appassimento; the same dried grapes, left sweet, make Recioto, the older dessert-wine cousin.
A fresh Valpolicella is light and cherry-scented; an Amarone is a heavyweight. Ripasso sits between them: a young Valpolicella is “re-passed” over the still-warm Amarone skins for a second fermentation, picking up body and depth. Masi invented the method in 1964 with Campofiorin, and it is now its own appellation — the smart, affordable way into this style.
Masi, in Gargagnago, has made wine since 1772; the tour includes the drying lofts, the historic Serego Alighieri estate owned by Dante’s descendants, and a tasting of Costasera Amarone — by reservation. Allegrini, in Fumane, has farmed here since the 16th century; its showroom is open Monday to Saturday and tastings are reserved. Tommasi, in Pedemonte, is a fourth-generation family house open Monday to Saturday by reservation, and a good place to taste the whole ladder from Valpolicella to Amarone. Guerrieri Rizzardi makes its Amarone from the Negrar hills but welcomes visitors at its Bardolino winery, a short walk from the lake.
The Valpolicella Classica hills sit just north-west of Verona: 20–25 minutes from the city centre, 25–35 minutes from Bardolino or Peschiera on the lake. It combines naturally with a Lake Garda day — see our lakeshore route.