Recioto della Valpolicella

Before Amarone, there was Recioto. Before someone — probably by accident, probably by luck — forgot to stop the fermentation and transformed sweetness into dry power, there was this sweet and sumptuous wine that the Romans drank on the hills above Verona two thousand years ago and that the Venetians called "the wine of the lords."

Recioto della Valpolicella is the ancestor of the great Veronese dried-grape tradition — the wine that preceded Amarone by centuries and that still today tells that story in its most authentic and original form. It is born from the same appassimento process as Amarone: Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella grapes — selected from the ripest and most concentrated in the vineyard — are laid on traditional drying racks in the fruttaio for over 90 days, losing over 35% of their weight and naturally concentrating sugars, aromas and extractives slowly and irreversibly. The difference from Amarone is a single one, but fundamental: fermentation is arrested before the complete consumption of the sugars, preserving a deep, harmonious and velvety natural sweetness that is the soul of this wine.

Recioto is rare by definition — produced in extremely limited quantities only in the finest vintages, available through very few specialist retailers. It is not just any sweet wine: it is a complex sweet wine, with tannins, structure and a surprising longevity that allows it to evolve magnificently in bottle for decades. On the nose it is sumptuous and intoxicating — black cherry preserve, blackberry, cacao, oriental spice, dried violet. On the palate it is dense and velvety, with a natural sweetness that never tires thanks to the fresh acidity typical of quality Corvina.

Emporio Divino offers a selection of Recioto della Valpolicella from some of the most respected artisan producers of the appellation — Antolini, Corte Canella, Corte Cavedini and Garbole with its extraordinary Hestremo from nearly extinct indigenous varieties. Every bottle has been personally chosen by Alberto and Lorenzo, two Veronese sommeliers who have known this wine their entire lives and consider it one of the most underrated treasures of Italian winemaking.

A wine to give as a gift, to cellar, to open on evenings that truly deserve something special. To pair with high-quality dark chocolate, aged blue cheeses and black truffle — or simply to meditate over in silence, alone, in front of the fire.