A famous holiday destination, Lake Garda is located in northern Italy and is known for the production of wines like Amarone, Ripasso, Recioto and Valpolicella DOC.

Amarone

Amarone is a rich Italian wine made out of raisins. It is made of dried grape varieties of Corvina, Morlinara and Rondinella. As far as the name is concerned, it means ‘bitter wine’. As far as the process of making this wine is concerned, grapes bunch are taken wherein the fruits are placed not very close to each other for air passage and kept on straw racks for around 6 months before the process actually begins. When the juice gets concentrated, wine is made from the juices by squeezing raisins. In Amarone, the quality of outer coating of grapes holds importance because that is what brings good color and gives good flavor to wine. During the drying process, the acid in the grape goes through changes and affects the quality of finished wine. This drying process takes around 4 months and leads to loss of weight. After drying comes the fermentation stage which stays for around 2 months. The last stage is when this wine is aged in oak casks.

Ripasso

Ripasso, as a new style of wine only came into being in the 20^th century. In Ripasso, the skin of Amarone is used in the sense that fermenting grape must be put into it. By doing this the wine gets more colorful and gets definite structure. It can be very well taken with meats and salami. In the 21^st century with the increase of Amarone wine, the wine market has also seen the growth in production of Ripasso wine. Earlier this wine was not included under DOC rules, but in the present day Ripasso is used freely and you can see several wine bottles stating that the particular wine is made in Ripasso style and has also succeeded in achieving the DOC designation.

Recioto

Recioto is a sweet form of red wine. This wine came into being when the winemakers of Veneto tried to increase the concentration of wine by making it more complex. In order to make the wine sweeter the grapes are dried just after harvesting process. This helps in maintaining the flavor and sweetness in wine by removing water from it. As far as the process to prepare this wine is concerned, the grapes are taken in bunches and kept in room for drying for around 3 months. Previously it was dried on straw mats while in the recent times steel has taken its place. After the drying process, the grapes are squeezed and fermentation takes place until the wine gets concentrated and acquires desired sweetness. It is then aged in containers called barrels for around 2 years.

Valpolicella DOC

Made out of Corvina, Rondinella and Morlinara grape varieties, Valpolicella DOC is a red wine that is light in flavor. This wine is brought out only some time after harvesting process. It is aged for minimum 1 year and has 12 percent alcohol content in it. Valpolicella Doc is the signature wine around Lake Garda. This wine can be easily taken with dishes that you consume everyday especially pasta. It is light and thus generally liked by drinkers.