Press release
VALPOLICELLA
SUPERIORE RIPASSO: FOLLOWING CHANGES TO THE RULES PASSED ON DECEMBER 14TH, THE
NAME OF THE PDO CHANGES TO REFLECT THE QUALITY THAT STARTS IN THE VINEYARD AND
IS CONSOLIDATED BY CLEARER DEFINITION OF THE PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES IN THE
WINERY, GETTING RID OF THE THIRD FERMENTATION AND THE BLEND
Six years after the
“birth” of the “Valpolicella Ripasso” Protected Designation of Origin, the
production chain makes its first major revision to more precisely and
accurately identify “Ripasso style”. After the resolution at the extraordinary
shareholders’ meeting on December 14th, the name of the PDO changes to reflect
the quality that starts in the vineyard and is consolidated by clearer
definition of the production techniques in the winery, getting rid of the third
fermentation and the blend.
A crucial and
rightful step for this Valpolicella wine that has become the top wine from
Valpolicella in terms of volume—210,000 hL in 2015, compared to the almost
15,000 of Valpolicella wine and approximately 10,000 of Amarone, for a
variation of 46.7%, -15.9%, and +8.1% respectively over the past five years—and
comes in second after Amarone in terms of value.
“Valpolicella
Ripasso wine,” comments Christian Marchesini, Chairman of the Consorzio di
Tutela Vini Valpolicella, “is an important driver for the designation, both as
far as sales and the more delicate sphere of production balances of the
Valpolicella PDO. With about 26 million bottles per year and an outstanding
price-quality ratio, it is a driver for the other wines in many markets where
Amarone remains the luxury product for special occasions.”
A premise must be
laid concerning the production method for this wine that bears the name of an
ancient practice in the Verona
area: “ripasso”, to be precise. This process involves a second
fermentation of Valpolicella wine on a bed of marc and wine meant to become
Recioto or Amarone. However, originally this process was used to strengthen the
structure of the wine from the harvest in less auspicious years; over time it
has morphed into a real genuine style choice for companies.
The huge success of
Ripasso wine on international markets (Usa 21%; United Kingdom 16%; Germany
13%; other EU markets 10%; Sweden 5%; Russia and China 5%) and the consequent
demand arising from the consumers’ tastes, together with certain vague parts of
the rules, have made it necessary to add some clarifications to anchor Ripasso
to the recognizability bestowed by its terroir, without trading off the
interpretation of single producers.
The changes to the
production rules for Valpolicella Ripasso proposed by the Tutela dei Vini
Valpolicella clarify certain technical parts neglected in 2010.
“The process of
review,” explains Olga Bussinello, Director of the protection body, “started
almost 2 years ago through an analysis of the products on the market, various
and sometimes too modern. We have sought to underscore a common thread for the
organoleptic characteristics, to translate them in a style that exalts the
savoir-faire of the producer with the provenance of the wine.”
The introduction of
the term “Superiore” in the designation’s name confirms the leap in
quality starting right from choices in the harvest. Only grapes that meet the
minimum requirements linked to the term “Superiore”, like for example, the
minimum natural alcohol by volume of 11% ABV, will be allowed to produce
Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso, which—another quality parameter set—must have
at least a 13% actual alcohol by volume on the shelf.
Other changes shed
light on the technique to be used in the winery with the goal of raising
the bar in a uniform
manner.
The operation of ripasso
will be defined by the new rules as “one- time only additional fermentation”,
clearing the field of equivocations on the third fermentation, a practice that
has wrongly spread. The marc used must include a liquid fraction of wine meant
to become Amarone or Recioto accounting for 10 to 15% of the total of
Valpolicella wine to perform the process on. This is a very important
specification since it clearly gets rid of the blend, that is, the use of
declassed wine that can no longer ferment. The marc must have at least 10 g/L
of minimum residual sugar and the operation of ripasso must last at
least three days.
Consorzio Valpolicella Press Office
Federica Schir
+39 389 9425510
