Veneto: A Constant State of Evolution

BY ERIC GUIDO | FEBRUARY 29, 2024

As I sit and begin to put my thoughts together regarding the goings-on and trends throughout Veneto, it’s clear that any report on this region going forward will look very different from everything that has come before. Whether speaking about Valpolicella, Soave or any of the smaller growing areas throughout the region, Veneto has undergone a tremendous amount of change—mainly in a positive direction—in what seems to be a very short period of time. However, in a region like this, especially in Valpolicella, where some wines are released as much as a decade post-vintage, these changes have been taking place for much longer than most of us realize.

The barrel aging cellar at the Speri winery.

Valpolicella: The Great Divide

Winemakers tell you that the decisions they make are for many years in the future or for the next generation. We are now at a time when ideas conceived over a decade ago are finally coming to fruition. I recall tastings almost 20 years ago, where much younger versions of many of the same people I meet with today talked about a future in which Amarone would be brought to the dinner table. Recent tastings have revealed many wines that can do just that. Producers throughout the region now focus on reducing alcohol and residual sugar. Unfortunately, Mother Nature continues to challenge this idea with a string of warm and dry vintages that push ripeness and concentration. It certainly isn’t easy. Winemakers don’t want to change the principles and traditions of Amarone, their most admired wine, but finding balance can be a challenge. Producers who excel have been working toward this goal for many years, and their wines stand as a testament to what is possible.

That’s not to say there isn’t a place for old-school, traditional Amarone, a wine of decadence and celebration—a perfect ending to an evening or a wine to be sipped by a roaring fire on a cold night. Plenty of estates remain firmly traditional and find a gorgeous balance between opulence and complexity in their wines. I would never want to see these wines disappear, but I question how much room remains for them in the market.

Valpolicella badly needs a reorganization and rethinking of how to market its wines to the world. In past articles, I exhaustively detailed the difference between the Classico and Valpantena subregions and the valleys of Marcellise, Mezzane, Illasi and Cazzano di Tramigna. This isn’t the organization I’m thinking of because it's clear that each individual area can produce superior wines. What I’m referring to is a divide between the producers who choose to create Amarone in its traditional style (often reaching 17+% alcohol, with residual sugars reaching into the teens) and those that aim for 15% alcohol and sugars as low as 1 to 1.5 grams. When tasting these wines together, it's very clear that they do not belong in the same category. However, to this day, I don’t hear any similar sentiments from producers or the Consorzio Tutela dei Vini della Valpolicella. 

This same logic now applies to Valpolicella Superiore as well. Producers throughout the region are pushing hard to elevate this category and show the world that they can produce dry reds, without appassimento, that communicate terroir. Appassimento was originally created to elevate an inferior wine into something special, yet as a result, it is no longer a product of nature—it is a fabricated wine. For this same reason, the Ripasso category has lost favor throughout the region (Ripasso, being a Valpolicella, passed over the sugar-rich pulp of an Amarone crush and allowed to go through secondary fermentation). While I find Ripasso to be a happy middle-ground between Amarone and Valpolicella, many winemakers confide that they only produce them to follow tradition. This brings us back to Valpolicella Superiore, existing beyond the fresh versions for easy and early drinking. These are far more complex and energetic than the Valpolicellas, bolstered through appassimento. The problem is: how can the consumer tell the difference?