Blacktie Motorsport Number 4

Food & Wine ably the first to use the word “amaro” (bitter) was Scipione Maffei, an Italian literate from the Age of the Enlightenment.

It should be no surprise, then, that Amarone is one of the most expensive Italian red wines, with a plethora of small and bigger winemakers in the Valpolicella region boast their own properties, vineyards and often historical properties in producing their own brands.

A few notes about this famous wine: Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Oseleta and Negrara are the purely Italian grape varieties which, accurately merged, give birth to the Amarone. The transformation technique of the grapes, known as “appassimento,” calls for a staged and closely monitored drying process, most typically performed on the traditional “graticci” grates on which the grapes are laid, to be exposed to air circulation, usually under the roofs of barns.

The appassimento guarantees that the grapes reach a higher content of aroma and sugar. For this very same reason, the grapes must be hand picked and carefully selected to guarantee their integrity.

The pressing (“pigiatura”) of the grapes cannot take place before the month of January following the harvest, and the wort (“mosto” in Italian) is so concentrated that the fermentation takes place at a slower pace than most wines. With an average of 15 percent alcohol content (Italian law dictates a minimum of 14 percent) Amarone is arguably one of the strongest red wines in the world.

Despite its high alcoholic tenor, Amarone accompanies well a vast number of dishes, including roasted meats, desserts (try it 54 BlackTie • Number 15 - Issue 4