A Big But Gentle Amarone (2024)

FAQs

What is so special about Amarone wine? ›

It is, above all, a luxurious wine, the most opulent dry wine produced in the Valpolicella, and a good one should just explode on the palate, with abundant red and black cherry flavours, as well as coffee and chocolate notes (indeed, the name Amarone means 'the big bitter one' because of the wine's distinctive ...

Both of these full-bodied Italian red wines can be rich in flavour and have the Corvina grape at their heart, but Amarone is dry, or off-dry in taste, while Recioto della Valpolicella is sweet. Legend has it that Amarone was born after a Recioto fermentation was left too long.

Probably Lecter's most famous saying – from the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs – is: “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” In the 1988 novel (upon which the film was based), the wine to go with census taker's liver is “a big Amarone”.

Perhaps you've seen him lingering at the bottom of a wine list next to other recognizable stars such as Brunello di Montalcino or Barolo and wondered: What is the story on this dude? Amarone will usually run you $50-$60 which isn't cheap.

Valpolicella wine is made to be drunk young and fresh, showing the pure essence of the grape. It's not inferior to the bold Amarone made from dried grapes. Valpolicella is like an agile cheetah, while Amarone is like a powerful lion – they're just different animals.

Luckily there's Ripasso della Valpolicella aka “baby Amarone”, a style that received official DOC classification in 2009. This wine is made by taking Valpolicella juice and passing it over the leftover Amarone pomace (skins and crushed grapes).

Always make sure to serve Amarone at the right temperature (cool it down for 30 minutes in the fridge when needed). Too hot or too cool wine can really destroy the taste. The best temperature to serve an Amarone is between 18°C and 20°C or 64°F and 68°F.

Be it a delicious claret or red Bordeaux ( "The Dying Detective" and "The Cardboard Box"); vintage port (three glasses after dinner) enjoyed in "The Sign of the Four" (as well as a Beaune red burgundy); or pricier white burgundies with which to toast success ( "The Veiled Lodger"), which he purchased from his favorite ...

Châteauneuf-du-Pape - The Pope's Wine.

What is Miranda Lambert's wine? ›

About Red 55 Winery

In 2006, we launched the signature wines of Miranda Lambert to celebrate those traditions with a collection inspired by Miranda's multi-platinum, Grammy-winning music. We named it Red 55 Winery in honor of Miranda's first truck, a candy-apple-red 1955 stepside.

According to Riccardo Tedeschi, owner of Tedeschi Wines, "Aging Amarone is similar to Barolo. At 10-12 years old is when it starts to show its best." With time, boisterous fruit mellows and nuances of cocoa, tobacco and balsam - those resinous herb and forest notes - emerge.

Why is Amarone so high in alcohol? Basically, because drying those grapes loses a lot of water but not a lot of sugar. Sugar converts into alcohol (and CO2), so the higher the concentration of sugar, in essence, the more alcoholic your wine is going to end up at.

Cardiovascular health

In fact, red wines, such as an Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, have many great qualities, but, most importantly, contain a great quantity of antioxidants, fighting the action of free radicals, improving the organs' functions.

With the heavier Italian reds such as Ripasso and Amarone, then generally an hour or two breathing in the bottle is sufficient, although decanting can help also. There is an Italian saying of “hours for years”, meaning an hour breathing before drinking for every year of it's age.