Valpolicella Ripasso DOC is a wine from Veneto in North East Italy.
It is often called: Amarone on a budget.
Grapes: Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella (mandatory), followed by Molinara and others.
| BODY | Medium - Plus | ||
| TANNINS | Medium - Low | ||
| FRUIT | Medium - High | ||
| ACIDITY | Medium | ||
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The name Ripasso (re-passed) indicates the wine making technique.
In Autumn, after harvest, selected grapes for Amarone and Recioto wines remain in lofts above wineries to dry for 4 months.
All other grapes are squeezed and short fermented to make the basic Valpolicella wine, the first to enter the market.
Towards the end of January, the dried grapes are squeezed and can start the long skin contact fermentation resulting into Amarone or Recioto wines, then stored for aging.
After the Amarone/Recioto fermentation, the skins left over, still full of tannins, sugar and aromas are added to a young Valpolicella wine for a second, short fermentation (re-fermented, go over again).
The result is a wine with more alcohol, thickness, color and body, often referred as "Baby Amarone" or "The poor man Amarone".
In 2010, Ripasso received its own DOC designation.