VENETO Pt. 2- SOAVE, RIPASSO, RICIOTO

If you haven’t read Veneto Pt.1, I strongly recommend it to better understand this, Pt. 2.  But here’s a little review.

Veneto is the #1 wine producing region in Italy.  Most of the wine produced here is white wine, 81% to be exact.

The western side of Veneto is devoted mostly to Valpolicella & Soave.  Valpolicella is a red blend of up to 4 different grapes, with the primary grape being Corvina.

The style is on the fruiter side, easy drinking with smooth finish.  Plenty of complexity & flavor but generally not a wine for long aging or for that special occasion.  A good everyday drinking wine.

I also discussed Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG.  This is taking the same grapes used to make regular Valpolicella wine and placing them on mats in large airy buildings to dry out.

After 90 days the dried grapes are then crushed and the wine making begins.  Amarone is a dry, high alcohol wine because of the sugar concentration of the dried grapes.

Amarone is a prized wine, capable of ageing for at least a decade, and a full-flavored, beautiful wine.

Now that we are up to speed, let’s talk about some other wines from the same area you should know.

VALPOLICELLA RIPASSO DOC-

This is a process or style of wine that takes the fresh Valpolicella wine and infuses it with the dried grape remains of the Amarone. 

Once the Amarone goes through fermentation, the grape skins are removed and then put into a tank with regular Valpolicella juice where they mingle for a minimum of 3 days to get the Amarone essence.

Adding the used Amarone pomace gives the wine more substance, character, and flavor than just basic Valpolicella. 

It’s an amazing idea that really works in providing another wine that is a step up from Valpolicella.

This provides a nice introduction to the wonders of Amarone without spending the Amarone price. 

Keep in mind they are different.  Ripasso isn’t Amarone by a long shot.  However, this is a great tease to how great Amarone can be.

To me it is like adding parm to pasta.  It gives that extra dimension of flavor that just makes the food better.

Ripasso isn’t aged as long as Amarone either but there is a minimum of 1 year of aging required to let the wine develop.

Ripasso is a very good wine value.  Cost of the wine ranges from $25 - $40 retail.

Ricioto della Valpolicella DOCG-

In simple terms Ricioto is a sweeter version of Amarone.  It is the same process up to fermentation.

A little chemistry discussion here to help explain.  Simply put, alcohol is a result of yeast eating sugars. Fermentation is the process. 

The higher the alcohol, the less sugars in the wine because the sugars were turned into alcohol. 

To have more sweetness in the wine, you stop the fermentation at the desired alcohol level.

When the grapes are dried, much of the water in the juice evaporates but the sugars stay behind.  To get the wine to be 14% or more requires longer fermentation.  There is still some sugar in the wine but that hides the taste and burn of alcohol.

Ricioto ferments during the winter so it is a longer, slower process than in the fall like most wines.

There is a semi-sweetness to the wine, yet full-flavored & full-bodied.  Ricioto is more purple in color and with age will go more garnet.

The trick to the whole Amarone & Ricioto wine making is in the drying of the grapes.  Too much humidity & not  enough good ventilation or air movement to evenly dry the grapes, can cause some problems.

Ricioto is more semi-sweet and Amarone is dry.  Two wines from the same process of drying out grapes over a period of time.

Personally, I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting Ricioto della Valpolicella DOCG.  They're difficult to find.  If they are half as tasty as Amarone, they will be amazing.

I think it is amazing how you can get 2 different styles of wine from the same basic process.

Ricioto is not as readily available to the public as Amarone is. 

Most of the production goes to Amarone. 

Should you find a Ricioto, I suggest you try it out and see what you think.

Food Pairings:

The go-to pairing with semi-sweet wine is Gorgonzola cheese or other blue cheese styles of cheese.  The saltiness of the cheese compliments the wine.

Dried fruit & aged meats would be nice too!

This would be a great wine without food too. 

I think that dessert foods and dessert wines aren't always an automatic magical pairing.

I think it is a personal preference.

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Soave DOC- 

The white wine from this part of Veneto is Soave.  Soave is a place and the grape of Soave is Garganega.  

The bulk of Soave is exported with only about 16% of production stays in Italy.  Germany and the UK get about half and the USA gets around 6%.

Most of the wine is produced by cooperatives.  One particular coop is Cantina di Soave.  They are the biggest, producing nearly half the volume of the entire region.  They have 5 production facilities and 2,200 growers.

The main knock against Soave has been the quality of the product.  When you are cranking out that much quantity, quality can suffer.

Soave quality has greatly improved and continues to improve at every level.

In my experience, when a wine becomes very popular, (think California Merlot 20yrs ago) the overall quality suffers.  The demand is so high, the wineries are cranking it out as fast as they can to fulfill the demand.   

Soave had some issues but has since rebounded with better quality wines for many years.

Don’t judge the wine until you taste it as there are some great Soave producers bottling great wine.

One producer I had recently was Pra Soave.  Great wine! 

I got lots of creamy apple, a slight bitterness, med-body, dry and worked wonderfully with grilled pork tenderloin. 

Pra leaves the wine on the lees (dead yeast) for a few months to give this elegance & creaminess which I found very appealing.  I didn’t get any citrus flavors, but it was still crisp & refreshing. 

It was quite tasty on the back porch while I was grilling the meat too!

The quality of Soave is great and can be enjoyed at every level.  

We all have different tastes and it might be difficult discern the differences between the cooperative wine and the estate brand. 

I don't know if I could tell the difference.  Though I am willing to take on that fun challenge.

For the more sophisticated palate I would suggest you seek out estate grown & produced Soave.  These wines will be higher priced than the cooperative brands. 

The cooperative brands might be the perfect fit for your taste buds and your wine budget so enjoy them!  Soave price ranges from $12-22.

One of my sources said there will be some changes in the wine laws of Soave. 

They want to simplify some things to further enhance quality. (mostly reducing the allowance of other varietals and emphasizing the Garganega grape)

Then they are going to introduce 64 “cru” designations that can be put on the label to isolate particular vineyards. 

This “cru” classification has been successful in Piedmont & Sicily and I foresee it happening in more wine regions throughout Italy.

I think Soave is a white wine that can make many people happy. 

It has a broad appeal because it’s not extreme in any way.  Call it a middle of the road wine. 

It has balanced acidity, a nice roundness of fruit, and a smooth finish.  What's not to like?  There's plenty of flavor and complexity for everyone.

It is great with food and great on its own which is probably why there is so much of it exported.

Food Pairings-

I think there is so much versatility in Soave in food pairing. 

Poultry, pork, ground beef, cream sauces, light to medium cheeses, asiago and other aged cheeses, meat salads, appetizers, and savory dishes.