Amarone and alcohol levels

[Jenise]

Does Amarone suffer the same rise in alcohol levels in hot years that typical table wines do? I was discussing Amarone with a friend today, and this came up. I didn't know if drying the grapes would reduce that effect or if so, how much. I don't pay attention to Amarone year in/year out to have a clue.

Does Amarone suffer the same rise in alcohol levels in hot years that typical table wines do? I was discussing Amarone with a friend today, and this came up. I didn't know if drying the grapes would reduce that effect or if so, how much. I don't pay attention to Amarone year in/year out to have a clue.

Jenise, given that Alcohol level is a product of sugar in the grape, (and how long the fermentation goes on) and that drying the grape, whether on the vine or on a straw bed, I see little difference. It concentrates the sugar and the flavors. I've never made wine of course, but that is how it seems to play out in my feeble mind.

I’ll put it this way for you Jenise if you produce a “regular” table wine from Amarone grapes without drying them you will probably produce a wine with 2 to 5 % less alcohol then producing an Amarone wine from the same grapes. During the drying process more than 50% of the liquid portion (mostly water) is lost. The same thing goes with ice wines, 25 degree Brix during the freezing process could easily become 38 or 40 degree Brix.

Salute

High alcohol is to be expected and dare I say even traditional in Amarone. Amarone is after all one of the traditional wine styles that fits many characteristics of the modern high-alcohol fruit bombs (but with more complexity and depth of course).

[Jenise]

I’ll put it this way for you Jenise if you produce a “regular” table wine from Amarone grapes without drying them you will probably produce a wine with 2 to 5 % less alcohol then producing an Amarone wine from the same grapes. During the drying process more than 50% of the liquid portion (mostly water) is lost. The same thing goes with ice wines, 25 degree Brix during the freezing process could easily become 38 or 40 degree Brix.

Salute

I didn't present my question very well, apparently. Yes, this I understood, what I wondered was if hotter years produce Amaraones with higher alcohol, which of course happens with regular table wines. I would presume they do, but didn't know for sure.

Hotter years result in greater sugars, so yes the resultant Amarone would tend to be higher in alcohol. And correspondlingly low in acids.

Keep in mind, however, that it would depend on the type of yeasts used. Some yeasts can tolerate higher alcohol levels before they die (the alcohol, as their waste product, kills them).

Also, process matters: amarone tends to be a slow, gradual, unhurried fermentation, and it stops and starts with the temperature.

Also, you can ferment out to a desired level---and then, it is possible to stop fermentation, filter out the dead yeasts, and remove any residual sugars. Or you can leave the sugars in, call it Recioto, and charge even more for it!

My kneejerk reaction would be that Amarone, which I'd imagine is usually pushing the limit for alcohol-tolerance of its yeasts, would be sweeter rather than appreciably more alcoholic in hot years. Just my non-expert 2¢, though.

Mark Lipton

I would rather guess that in years with unusually high sugar levels in the grapes one would choose not to dry the grapes as long time as in cooler years, thus arriving in the same alcohol levels in the finished wines. In particular since Amarone is supposed to be a dry wine.

Cheers,
Anders

I think Hoke is correct; remember, however, that the harvest for grapes to be dried for Amarone (and Recioto) are usually picked a bit earlier than grapes for regular Valpolicella (to preserve the acidity necessary to balance the alcoholic warmth). In an extremely hot year, like 2003, even a fairly early picking may give a soupier, flatter Amarone than one made in a more temperate vintage.

All things being equal, the warmer the vintage, the higher the sugar at picking (and often: less water in the grapes) and the higher the alcohol in the resulting Amarone. In extremely hot years like 2003, however, the combination of heat & drought actually causes the vines to shut down, with a corresponding halt of sugar production (and sometimes, an actual slight reduction in sugars) and the grapes may fail to completely mature, so that the skins remain fairly tannic, and even slightly deficient in color.

There is some debate among Amarone lovers/purists as to the quality or lack thereof of the 2003 Vintage for Amarone and Recioto; the secret to a great Amarone is balancing the richness, weight, and alcohol of the wine with a certain freshness and verve that comes from the acidity. The Valpolicella is actually an area that normally qualifies as a "cool climate" viticultural area; it is actually slightly farther North than Bordeaux, and just a few degrees farther South (in latitude) than Vosne-Romanée.

Excellent post, Marco!

Regarding alcohol content, I will add only that certain cynical persons in the business tell me that the alcohol numbers on many Amarone labels bear little relation to reality--that "16%" really means more like "20%."

I guess I'd also say that there seems to me to be an unusually wide variety of styles in Amarone production. For example, Stefano Cesari's Brigaldara emphasizes fruit and freshness (to use Marco's excellent descriptor, "verve"), while Roberto Mazzi tends toward the more traditional big, extracted style. These are just two examples, not meant to be definitive.

Excellent post, Marco!

Regarding alcohol content, I will add only that certain cynical persons in the business tell me that the alcohol numbers on many Amarone labels bear little relation to reality--that "16%" really means more like "20%."

Not sure you are going to get the yeasts they use living anywhere near that high. I'd tend to believe the 16% in this case.

Hoke - do you know what the alcohol tolerance of Italian yeasts used in Veneto might be?

Excellent post, Marco!

Regarding alcohol content, I will add only that certain cynical persons in the business tell me that the alcohol numbers on many Amarone labels bear little relation to reality--that "16%" really means more like "20%."

I don't believe unfortified wines ever go north of 18%, I would guess not much north of 16%.

It is true that there isn't much enforcement of the alcohol leeway unless you are paying too little tax, in which case the Feds are very attentive...

I don't believe unfortified wines ever go north of 18%, I would guess not much north of 16%.

That was my recollection as well.

I think that Anders hope that they would dry the grapes less in hot years is probably a vain one, and overrates the winemaking attention to detail common in Italy. I've seen a very pragmantic attitude, and would expect that they'd dry the grapes the usual time and the ferment would stop when it stopped. The result would be higher RS in the wine.

Bill:

Actually, in the past 20 years, the general attention to detail in wine-making in the Valpolicella (esp. for the Amarone and Recioto wines) has been considerable and many producers have backed it up with large infusions of cash. Twenty years ago, there was an already ubiquitous inspection of the drying grapes between late September and January-March (the drying period); inspections took place as often as once a week during periods of high humidity (with bunches of grapes infected with mold, even botrytis, being discarded). More recently, many producers have invested large sums in building specially ventilated, enclosed warehouses which are used as drying lofts, whereas previously, the grapes were dried in semi-enclosed spaces, exposed to natural variations in temperature and humidity.

I lament Italy's pendulum swing towards hyper-technical wine-making, along with the profusion (and ensuing standardization) of wines brought on by the celebrity wine-makers and the over-use of barriques (esp. in Amarone); I remember, with more than a little nostalgia, the idiosyncratic diversity which existed among producers in Italy a generation ago.

Besides advancements and modernization of wine-making techniques man has a better understanding of “canopy management” and how it affects the vine itself and the physiology and quality of the fruit that it produces. When it comes to temperature, and things like solar radiation and radiation cooling “the actual “canopy temperature” or “canopy microclimate” now becomes critical in determining the health status of the vine. Because of solar radiation and depending upon canopy management techniques the canopy temperature could be 20 to 30 degrees F higher than ambient temperatures. On the other hand due to radiation cooling and again depending upon canopy management techniques canopy temperature could be several degrees cooler than ambient temperatures. Don’t get me wrong for the most part there is not a great difference between the climate of a region and the “canopy microclimate”. But because man now has a better understanding of canopy management, spacing of the vines the rows and orientation all play a roll in the health of the vine and quality of the fruit it produces.

Salute

I don't believe unfortified wines ever go north of 18%, I would guess not much north of 16%.

Just getting an unfortified wine to 18% is difficult. Maybe some of the newer strains can do it easier but back in the early 1990's the winery I was working at made a Late Harvest Zin that got to 18% but it took a lot of time and TLC. The initial must had to be watered back to get the gravity down to allow fermentation to start and then we fed the remaining must into the fermentation bits at a time over a period of days. It took forever to finish. Only made it that one year.

From what I could find out it would appear that the alcohol levels of Amarone and Recioto are not very dependent on the vintage. They might even be more constant than, say, the levels of non-appassimento Valpolicella wines. After all, a decent producer can choose the point at which the dried grapes have the sugar levels necessary for the desired alcoholic strength. In years like 2003, the law prohibiting pressing of the dried grapes before Dec 15 can be changed to make room for earlier processing.
Apart from that legislative hurdle, the concentration levels of Amarone and Recioto are probably easier to fine tune than with grapes straight from the vine.

I've a wordier post on that subject on my blog (I realize plugging it in my first post here is inappropriate and apologize profusely).

[Robin Garr]

I've a wordier post on that subject on my blog (I realize plugging it in my first post here is inappropriate and apologize profusely).

Manuel, welcome to our forum, and thanks in particular for your sensitivity on this. It speaks well of you. We're glad you joined us and hope you'll stay around!

Now that you've broken the ice, though, let me invite you to tell us the name of your blog and where it's located.

Thank you for the warm welcome!
My thoughts on Amarone, Recioto and concentration can be found here.

[Jenise]

I've a wordier post on that subject on my blog (I realize plugging it in my first post here is inappropriate and apologize profusely).

Manuel, you're entirely forgiven--thank you so much for digging into this and posting the results of your findings. I just read the "wordier post" on your blog, very interesting. And kind of what I suspected I might hear, that drying the grapes allowed for additional manipulation that would reduce the vintage swings typical in regular table wines. I'm going to see the same friend on Christmas Eve with whom this subject was first raised, I'll be happy to bring up the topic again. He shall no doubt have more amarone in tow.