Dal Forno Romano, Amarone della Valpolicella, Verona, Veneto, Italy 2012

60% Corvina, 20% Rondinella, 10% Oseleta, and 10% Croatina

Big, velvety, with rich dark fruits balanced with herb and spice. The Dal Forno Romano Amarone della Valpolicella is a wine of both elegance and exuberance.

The finest bunches of grapes are selected and meticulously controlled to eliminate all grapes that do not meet required standards. The selected grapes are then placed in a plastic plateaux and are then left to rest for three months in large open rooms with thorough air flow. Fermentation is in stainless steel. After decantation in the middle of January, the Amarone, which still contains some residual sugar, is placed into new barrels, where it begins a slow fermentation process which will last for a further 18 months. The total amount of time that it remains in the barrels is 24 months, followed by 36 months in bottle.

The Dal Forno family has been making wine since 1983. The estate consists of 65 acres of vines planted to traditional indigenous varieties of Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Oseleta and Croatina. The estate vineyards and farm are located where the slopes begin to rise toward the mountains and sit 1,000 feet above sea level. The loose, alluvial soils, meticulous pruning and scrupulous viticultural techniques ensure remarkable-quality grapes.

The Dal Fornos use traditional methods to grow the finest fruit, and then employ modern techniques to produce the best wines — classic in expression and modern in purity. Dal Forno Romano is well-known for a number of superior wines including the region’s famous Valpolicella and Amarone.