“Reassuringly expensive. Be afraid of Amarone in the $20’...

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This is the title of an article I came across recently published in the States and because it is happening the same in this part of the world, I decided to write a post about it. Too often an Amarone, but also a Barolo or a Brunello for Italian wines are considered all the same, independently of the producers and the vintage and the cheaper the better, however, when it is too cheap, as the title says, they are not good and their expensive price is a guarantee of the quality of the wine. These wine tend to be more expensive for a reason, it is not just the name. The grapes used to make the Amarone are the same used for the Valpolicella and the Bardolino and all wines of the Valpolicella, so are the grapes for the Barolo the same used for the Nebbiolo, but the same grapes cannot be used to make them. To make these wine we only use the better grapes, the ones obtained from the best vineyards, often the oldest, with very little yield, hand picked and only in good vintages, when the weather conditions are perfect. A good producer, skip the bad vintages, using the grapes to make the “lower” graded wines. Amarone, Barolo and Brunello, are wines that are aged and needs several years before softening and being ready to drink and if the grapes used were not good, the wine will never be ready and never be a unique drinking experience and will be like drinking a poor made Valpolicella or Nebbiolo at twice the price. So actually we are saving money, but paying a premium for a wine not worth it. It is better a good Valpolicella or Ripasso or a good Chianti that a cheap Amarone or Brunello