High-Elevation Amarone Is Bringing a New Dimension to This Wine

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The creation of Amarone is one of the wine world’s great accidents, ranking right up there with the unintended secondary fermentation in bottle that created Champagne and the fermentation-stopping addition of neutral spirit to wine barrels that resulted in the production of Port. While it’s said a forgotten barrel of sweet Recioto wine made from raisins inadvertently became the first Amarone 90 years ago, a lighter, fresher style of Amarone della Valpolicella we have noted more recently is clearly the result of deliberate decision making by winemakers and viticulturists.

Long considered a heavy category of wine due to the nature of its production technique, Amarone is undergoing a revolution. A focus on fresher, more lifted expressions is shifting attention toward higher-elevation vineyards. The primary contrast in this new style is thanks to cooler hillside sites that offer grapes the ability to retain acidity and develop softer tannins and increased aromatics. Vineyards in Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG are situated north of Verona in a 20-mile-wide mountainous band at the foot of the Dolomites at altitudes ranging from 500 to 1,640 feet above sea level, with heights above 1,100 feet really making the difference. The main grape grown here is Corvina, which must account for 45 to 95 percent of the finished blend. Other varieties include Rondinella, Corvinone, and Oseleta, and it is the winemaking process that really puts its mark on the heart and soul of Amarone.

Immediately after harvest, grapes are laid out on straw mats or shallow wooden boxes, where they dry for three to four months in a process called appassimento; they are turned into raisins before being made into wine. Starting with grapes that have higher acid and lower sugar is key to increased elegance. “Altitude is one of the most important factors in Amarone production,” explains Marta Galli, third-generation family member and sales director of Le Ragose, whose Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva is made from estate vineyards that sit between 820 and 1,310 feet. “Being above the fog line and benefiting from cooler, breezier summer conditions is essential for producing high-quality Amarone. Thanks to elevation, ours achieves remarkable elegance and balance, while maintaining relatively low residual sugar levels.”

“The estates located at elevation are going to be more expressive of their unique fruit aromas and flavors,” says Brian Mitchell, corporate beverage director at Connecticut-based Max Hospitality Group, which serves Le Ragose at several of its restaurants. “The acidity that is captured in wines from elevation tends to lift the fruit flavors even more, really making these wines stand out across the region.” While Mitchell contends there are folks who enjoy the “big, alcohol-driven expression” Amarone can be known for, he believes especially in restaurants, where the wines will most likely be opened while young, the combination of expressive fruit- and acid-driven freshness is a much better fit for pairing with food. “The main difference between these wines and lower-elevation producers will be the acidity and lift they provide,” he says.

The entire region benefits from the cooling effects of nearby Lake Garda and the Adige River, which forms the western boundary of the Valpolicella zone. Farther to the south, the Adriatic Sea offers warm, humid air that provides a moderating factor during winter and a cooling fog during the growing season as it collides with cold air currents descending from the Alps. Giovanni Lai, general manager of Cesari and Tenute Caviro, says in addition to mild winters, the 1,640-foot altitude of Cesari’s Bosan vineyard, home of Cesari Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG Bosan, offers “pronounced day-to-night temperature swings, especially during the grape ripening period.” Steady breezes and the vineyard’s south and southeast-facing slopes “allow the grapes to ripen more slowly and evenly, preserving freshness, aromatic complexity, and acidity while still achieving the concentration required for Amarone.”

“High-elevation Amarone tends to express greater freshness, elegance, and aromatic definition,” says Matteo Allegrini, export coordinator at Allegrini. His Fieramonte Amarone Classico Riserva DOCG hails from a 1,361-foot-high vineyard, which benefits from optimal morning sun, constant air circulation, and pronounced day-to-night temperature variation during the ripening season. “These conditions slow maturation naturally, allowing the grapes to develop aromatic complexity and preserve the natural acidity that is essential for producing a refined, age-worthy Amarone,” Allegrini says. The growing season is longer and cooler than on the valley floor, allowing grapes to accumulate phenolic ripeness gradually and to develop thicker skins, more defined tannins, and natural acidity that cannot be replicated at lower-altitude sites.

Pasqua Mai Dire Mai Amarone della Valpolicella’s name translates to “Never Say Never,” which Pasqua Wines CEO Riccardo Pasqua says reflects his family’s desire to “push boundaries and explore new possibilities within one of Italy‘s most iconic wine denominations.” Born in Pasqua’s 1,150-foot-high, 57-acre Monte Negro Vineyard, Mai Dire Mai benefits from the advantages of altitude as well as clay and calcareous soils which contribute to the wine’s characteristic minerality. “The result is an Amarone with all the depth, texture, and complexity expected of the category, but also with greater vertical energy, vibrancy, and elegance,” Pasqua says. “We believe this balance is what makes Mai Dire Mai distinctive: a wine capable of expressing intensity without losing its sense of lift and refinement.” Allegrini says appassimento is not just a drying process; it is a complex biological metamorphosis in which the chemical composition of the grapes continues to evolve. “Grapes grown at altitude, with their greater integrity and natural acidity, are better equipped to undergo this transformation,” he says. While in the past Amarone may have been defined by concentration and richness alone, today’s high-altitude bottlings speak not just to the vinification method but to the lofty heights from which they came.

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