The red wines of Veneto

The Italian region of Veneto has struck gold with its Prosecco, which has led to some decline in its red wine production. But, writes Veronika Crecelius, Veneto has always been a trading power and this has brought a wealth of varieties to the region, all of which have their strengths.

Verona, Italy
Verona, Italy

Veneto occupies a special position in the Italian wine sector. It is the region of Italy that not only produces the most wine, but also has the highest number of exports. This is due in no small part to the mentality of the people of Veneto: they are smart entrepreneurs and very efficient. ­Between the Dolomites and the Adriatic coast is where the vast bulk of the country’s sales are concentrated. Gruppo Italiano Vini (GIV) is based in Calmasino, near Verona, and, with 15 historic vineyards in its portfolio, is top of the sales ranking. Casa Vinicola Zonin, which belongs to influential private entrepreneur and bank president Gianni Zonin, is among the top 15, as is Casa Vinicola Botter, bottling factory Enoitalia, and Cantina di Soave, the largest cooperative winery in the country. There is also the Santa ­Margherita Wine Group, which initiated the triumphant advance of Pinot Grigio into the US market.

The centre of power

Veneto is the centre of power in Italy’s wine industry. Vinitaly, the world’s biggest wine fair, still takes place in Verona despite the fact that the city’s infrastructure can no longer cope with the increasing influx of visitors. Attempts by Lombardy to transfer the fair to the much more comfortable exhibition centre in Milan failed due to resistance from the local wine lobby. Inconvenient as it may be for the rest of the wine world, Vinitaly will always remain in Verona.

The supremacy­ of the Veneto region is in the nature of things, coupled with the business sense of its inha­bitants. 

The region is bordered in the east by Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in the north-west by Trentino-Alto Adige, in the west by Lombardy and in the south by Emilia-Romagna and the sea. The northern tip of the region hugs the Austrian border.

An incredible diversity of grape varieties thrive in these varying climatic and soil conditions. Three quarters of the vineyards of the Veneto are planted with indigenous varieties such as Glera (Prosecco), Garganega (Soave), and the Amarone grapes Corvina, Corvinone, Rondella, Molinara and Oseleta, to name but a few. In addition, there are the ­internationally sought-after varietal wines such as Pinot Grigio and Merlot, which have also been grown in the Veneto region for around 150 years. The area offers its own types and categories of wine to suit every segment and every taste. This is the key to its success in the export business. 

The trading companies, also a Veneto phenomenon that are found either rarely or not at all in other regions, opened up export markets at an early stage. In order to understand the deep-rooted mercantile character of Veneto, one need only look back to the Republic of Venice. From the seventh and eighth century onwards, until its dissolution by Napoleon in 1797, the ‘Serenissima’ was a maritime and commercial power which, some 800 years ago, traded in anything and everything that was not nailed down, including buying and selling wine and vines. This led to the large wealth of varieties in the region. Today, according to the Ministry for Agriculture, Veneto sells ­approximately 62% of its wine production abroad. This means that this region alone is responsible for over 30% of the total export value of Italian wines. In 2013, the northern Italians generated almost €1.6bn ($2.2bn) of revenue abroad. 

More Prosecco, less red wine

The worldwide boom and the profitability of Prosecco have led in recent years to a decline, mainly in the north-east of Veneto, in the cultivation of some red varieties, such as the acidic Raboso from the Piave area, as well as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The ratio of white to red wine produced currently stands at 70% to 30%.  Bucking this trend are the Bardolino area near Lake Garda, with its fruity, light red wines, and the increasingly popular rosé Chiaretto, and – especially – ­Valpolicella, the most successful and prestigious DOC and DOCG zone in the region. Its cult wine is Amarone, which is made from the must of grapes that have been dried for three to four months. 

Amarone’s direct ancestor is the Recioto, which is also vinified from the must of desiccated grapes.  In the case of Recioto della Valpolicella, however, fermentation is stopped when there is still a high residual sugar content, creating an opulent dessert wine. Legend has it that Amarone was born in 1936 due to the negligence of a cellar master: in the basement of the Villa Mosconi in Negrar, ­location of the cooperative winery Cantina Valpolicella Negrar, the cellar master, Adelino Lucchesi, had forgotten one of the barrels of Recioto and left it to ferment for too long. His boss, Gaetano Dall’Ora, tried the wine and ­realised he had a “rather ­bitter Recioto”, but a nevertheless wonderful wine on his palate. He called it ‘Amarone’ (amaro=bitter in Italian). In 1939, this first ‘Amarone Extra della Valpolicella’ was bottled and labelled. Of course, Amarone is not bitter, but a warm, soft, high-extract wine with an alcohol content of around 15% and a dazzling array of aromas. Its little brother is the Ripasso, a standard fruity, crisp Valpolicella with a cherry flavour, which is left to rest on the marc of Amarone grapes for 15 to 20 days. This makes the wine rounder, cau­sing it to lose acid and gain alcohol, ­phenolic substances and extract, without losing its original fruitiness. Less expensive than the fine wine Amarone, its production has exploded,­ spurred on by its huge market success. Its quantity is always bound to that of Amarone - the more Amarone is made, the more ­residue is available for Ripasso. It is ­possible to produce up to twice as much Ripasso as Amarone.  

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The cold war 

The significant increase in production of these two categories has led to concerns about quality, prestige and pricing. In 2010, the Consortium introduced restrictions on new plantings and yields, and in the last three years, Amarone production has remained stable. For some producers, however, nearly 14m bottles is already too many. In 2009, a group of ­private, mostly traditional brands decided to become “rescuers of the honour” of ­ ­Amarone and founded the association Le Famiglie dell’Amarone d’Arte: Allegrini, Masi, Tommasi, Tedeschi, Speri, Musella, Begali, Brigaldara, Zenato, Nicolis, Venturini, and Tenuta Sant’Antonio. The ­concerns of these 12 top-class wineries can be briefly summarised as follows: these houses claim that they have built up the reputation and success of Amarone, and it has taken many years for Amarone to be named in the same breath as Italy’s ­established top wines, Barolo and Brunello. As the product began to gain a foothold, the ­cooperative wineries, which are able to ­produce larger quantities more cheaply, have jumped on the bandwagon. They – and the Consortium of course – are accused of overproducing ­Amarone and creating the danger of price erosion. 

Last year, the Consortium wanted to strike an article from the rule, which has been “forgotten” in the decades since it was created and has not been applied, relating to the prohibition of cultivation in valleys. The valleys have been planted for a long time, so the Consortium wanted to legalise this reality by striking the article. This provoked a huge storm of protest from the Amarone families, guaranteeing plenty of media attention. They explained that this could increase production by 30% and lodged an objection with the Ministry for Agriculture. The Amarone families all stayed away from the vintage presentation ­organised by the Consortium, the ‘Anteprima Amarone 2010’ at the end of January in Verona, but instead invited selected journalists who had travelled there from around the world to taste their wines at the legendary Bottega del Vino at the same time. Thus, the Cold War ­between the Consortium and the families has reached its height for the time being. 

“Relations between us are ­frozen. It is simply wrong to ­assert that production will increase with the deletion of one tiny clause, not even by a hectare, because we introduced the cultivation restriction years ago. The intention is simply to strike from the rules an obsolete article that has never been applied,” said Olga Bussinello, director of the Consortium. “In addition, the market position of Amarone and Ripasso is good. In Japan, Amarone is developing into a fashion ­product. Trade with ­Russia is going magnificently, partly because we have facilitated trade through customs agreements. Following its success in the ­Nordic countries, Ripasso is in the process of conquering ­restaurants in Poland, to name only recent developments.” 

The powerful Cantina di Soave (6,000 ha) which, as the largest producer, ­accounts for around 50% of the Valpolicella production, similarly shrugs off the allegations of the Amarone families. “Valpolicella has become too greedy. For example, our members are only allowed to use 22% to 23% Valpolicella grapes for Amarone production, instead of the legally permitted 50%,” says Bruno Trentini, long-time director general of the winery. “If we ­allowed 50% to be used, with current capacities it would lead to a drastic collapse in the price and the market would be devastated. It is necessary to bear in mind the economic and productive ­balance of a ­denomination. In the same way that Champagne has always done.”

Despite the voluntary restraint in ­Amarone production, the  Cantina di Soave cannot ­prevent members of the cooperative from earning­ some tidy extra income elsewhere. They formally lease a part of their acreage, but as a rule, they cultivate it themselves and sell the permitted 50% of the grapes to private cellars. 

Casa Vinicola Sartori in Negrar gene­rates 84% of its annual turnover of €43m ($59.5m) abroad. Andrea Sartori, co-owner and sales manager of the winery, still sees huge sales potential for the wines of Valpolicella. “I have a great deal of confidence in Amarone because its organoleptic properties make it a consumer-­friendly product. It is soft, fruity and easily accessible. Moreover, it is hardly known in many parts of the world, for ­example in Asia. Even in the US, there is still ­plenty of room for market development,” he says, adding that the wine has a strong personality,­ but should not be too heavy on alcohol. “A strength of 16%, which has now become more common, is too high, mainly because wine should also be drunk at the table. The producers have several options to intervene in favour of elegance, for example, by using shorter drying times.” 

The signs still point to growth for ­Valpolicella, but if the denomination does not develop any more quality or identity concepts for the future, the tide could turn very quickly. “What brings  luck to Valpolicella today, could soon turn out to be dangerous for the denomination,” says Dr Emilio Pedron, former president of the Consortium and current president of the historic Amarone brand Bertani. “With regard to the appassimento [the drying of the grapes], the focus is on a production method rather than on the quality and the territorial character of the grapes and the wine. But anyone anywhere can apply a technique and that is already happening.” 

This classic has been a guarantee of top quali­ty­ and continuity, transcending all ­fashions, for over 150 years.  Valpolicella is therefore facing a large, unavoidable and perhaps overdue task: Amarone production must be evaluated more specifically according to the characteristics of the cultivation zones and the Consortium must develop corresponding production guidelines. To secure its future, ­Amarone needs defined ­locations in order to better protect and express its identity.

 

 

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