Traditional wines
Amarone Wine Tasting
Amarone wine tasting at Venturini: three wines, one method, decades of difference
Amarone starts in the drying room, not in the cellar. After harvest, the best grape clusters of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella are laid on racks and dried for four to five months, losing roughly 40-45% of their weight. The sugars, acids and flavour compounds concentrate in what remains. When the shrivelled grapes are finally pressed and fermented, the result is a dry, full-bodied red with an alcohol level between 16.5% and 17.5%, depending on the cuvée and the vintage.
Venturini Massimino produces three Amarone wines, all from estate-grown grapes in the Valpolicella Classica zone. The Amarone Tradizionale (16.5% ABV) is pressed traditionally with destemming, fermented at controlled temperature over a 45-day maceration, and aged 24 months in oak barrels and tonneaux before six months in bottle. The Amarone Campomasua (16.5% ABV) comes from a single south-west facing vineyard of 30-year-old vines, goes through five months of drying and three years in oak followed by six months in bottle. The Amarone Riserva (17.5% ABV) is produced only in select vintages, in a limited number of bottles, and rests in wood for five years. An Amarone wine tasting at Venturini is the chance to put these three side by side and understand what time in wood, vineyard selection and extra drying actually do to the same grape varieties.
What to expect during the Amarone wine tasting
The winery runs a dedicated tasting called “Amarone Storico.” It lasts two hours and includes 6 Amarone wines from different historic vintages, served with a board of local cured meats and cheeses from the Valpolicella area. The price is €85 per person, with a minimum of 4 guests. You can add a catered dish for €10 extra.
This is not a general introduction to Valpolicella. The Amarone Storico tasting is built for people who want to compare how the same wine changes after five, ten or fifteen years in bottle. You taste the difference between a young Amarone, still tannic and fruit-forward, and an older vintage where the tannins have softened and the aromatics have shifted towards dried fruit, cocoa, spice and forest floor. The Campomasua alone has scored up to 94 points in Wine Enthusiast blind tastings, so the older vintages in this lineup are serious bottles. Daniele, who oversees vinification at the estate, is often the one walking you through the wines, which means the explanations come from the person who actually made them.
If you want something longer, the “Amarone Experience” adds a five-hour vineyard tour: hotel pickup in the Verona province aboard a vintage Fiat 500, two panoramic stops (Lake Garda and Verona) with an aperitivo, and a return to the winery for the complete Amarone Storico tasting with a light lunch. It is the format that works best as a gift or a special occasion.
Book your Amarone wine tasting
The Venturini wine shop is at Via Semonte 20, San Pietro in Cariano (VR), about 20 minutes from Verona centre. The team speaks Italian and English. You can book your Amarone wine tasting through the contact form at viniventurini.com/degustazioni, by writing to info@viniventurini.com, or by calling +39 045 7701331. All tasting formats can also be reserved as a gift for someone else. If after the tasting you want to bring bottles home or have them shipped, the winery sells directly and accepts PayPal.
