Anteprima Amarone Tour: Visiting Villa Crine

Another stop on the Anteprima Amarone tour was the Crine winery, which is located in Pedemonte di San Pietro in Cariano, Verona.

Villa Crine is an entirely family run winery and visiting the winery is like visiting their home. Giovanni Battista Venturini the owner/wine maker, his wife Maria, their children Giuseppe, who recently graduated with a degree in enology and Diletta, a university student, all take part in the running of the winery.

Giuseppe

Giuseppe, a very personable young man, speaks English well and gave a tour of the winery. He said that he is the fifth generation and they want to preserve the values and techniques from the past but also keep up with any new innovations that would improve the quality of their wines.

He said that all their vineyards were in the Classico zone and showed us the grapes drying on wood mats in a barn that was open on both sides.

Giuseppe then took us through a tasting of the wines.

Valpolicella Classico “Il Pigaro” made from 60% Corvina Veronese, 30% Rondinella and 10% Molinara. The Pigaro vineyard has alluvial gravel soil. There is a hand selection of grapes at the end of September/beginning of October. The wine is aged for one year in very old barriques and in bottle before release. This is an intense wine with red fruit aromas and flavors and a hint of black cherries.

Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore grapes same as above. The grapes are picked at the best stage of ripeness and then they are left to dry for 20 to 30 days in late September and October. Destemming and soft pressing in stainless steel tanks occurs during November. In February re-fermentation occurs on the Amarone pomace and the wine gains fragrances and intensity. The wine is aged in oak barrels for two years. Their wine is bottled and remains in the cellars for one year until release. The wine has hints of cherry, spice with a touch of hazelnuts and cacao.

Giuseppe said even though the Molinara grape does not have to be included in Amarone any more they use it because it adds acidity to the wine. He said they always used this grape, and as the 5^th generation involved in the winery he will keep the traditions.

Drying the grapes

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2011 Made from 60% Corvina, 15% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella and 5% Molinara. Giuseppe said his grandparents and great-grand parents use to place the grapes for drying in the barns at Villa Crine using the “large table mats” which were traditionally used for the cultivation of silk worms. Today the grapes are placed on the mats or in wooden cases in the special drying room, which is controlled on a daily basis in order to check the temperature, humidity and the well being of the grapes.

Destemming and soft pressing takes place during the months of January and February, depending on the vintage, using rubber rollers. Traditional fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks using techniques which go back to 1893.

The wine is aged in large oak barrels of 10 to 30 HL depending upon the vintage for about one year. It then is bottled and remains in the ancient tuffa cellars, which were excavated at the foot of the mountain, until it is released.

Giuseppe said Amarone can be sold 3 years after the harvest.

Recioto della Valpolicella same as above for grapes. Giuseppe said the grapes used for Recioto are dried longer because they want sweeter grapes. They press the grapes in February when the sugar lever is high. The juice is removed and the fermentation is controlled by keeping a cold temperature. They need a cold temperature so the yeast remains dormant. The wine remains in stainless steel tanks for one year and 6 months in bottle before release.

This is a one of the best examples of Recioto I have ever tasted. It is very intense and complex with hints of violets, prunes, figs, black cherries and notes of hazelnut. The finish goes on and on and the aftertaste is fantastic.

They also make a wine from 100% Molinara called “Il Pellerossa.” It looks like a rose wine because the grape has low color extracts. It is produced in a very limited quanity.

In the past there were horses on the property.

We also tasted their olive oil which was very good

Anteprima Amarone Valpolicella Tour

After I made reservations for Naples and Rome, I was invited to the Anteprima Amarone Valpolicella Tour in Verona. It would mean I had only one week between trips!

I decided to attend anyway. Verona is a fascinating city, the food is very good and then there is the wine. I would be able to taste the wines of Valpolicella, visit the wineries and speak to the producers again at the dinners. When one has the opportunity to visit Italy, one goes.

The Consorzio per la Tutela dei Vini Valpolicella, founded in 1924, sponsored the event. The members include viticulturists, winemakers and bottlers from the Valpolicella wine production zone, a territory that includes 19 municipalities in the Verona area. Over 80% of the producers are members.

I received a listing of over 80 wineries that I could choose from to visit. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I visited 10 Wineries: Bolla, Bertani, Villa Canestrani, Villa Crine, Vigneti di Ettore, Roccolo Grassi, Massimago, Fidora, Cantina di Soave and Marco Mosconi.

The Valpolicella appellation is located north of Verona. It borders Lake Garda to the west and is protected by the Lessini Mountains to the east and north. It covers the Verona foothills area, which is part of the eastern Alps. The vines are traditionally pergola-trained according to the typical “pergola Veronese system.”

The main grapes are Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella and to a lesser extent Molinara. All of them are strictly indigenous and found only within the Verona province.

At the wineries I tasted Valpolicella, Valpolicella Classico, Valpolicella Superiore, Amarone della Valpoilcella and Recioto della Valpolicella.

On Friday night there was a dinner with all the participating wineries. I could choose the wines that I wanted with dinner and had a chance to speak to the producers at my table.

On Saturday morning there was a blind tasting of the 2013 Amarone with sommelier service. There were about 80 wines, both barrel samples and those already bottled.   After the tasting, representatives of the participating wineries gathered in another room with their wines and I was able to taste any of the Amarone wines that I missed.

It was a very interesting and informative event and I am glad that I went. For me the highlight was tasting a broad range of Amarone, one of Italy’s great wines.

Next time I will report on the wineries I visited.