Valentine’s Day Amore: Sharing Luigi Righetti Amarone della Valpolicella

Valentine’s Day doesn’t always mean red roses and candlelit dinners with that special someone.  For me, this year, I celebrated an early Valentine’s Day in a very special way, with the woman who taught me what love was all about, my mom.  My family and I surprised her for her birthday, bringing dinner and dessert while enjoying a special bottle of a 2004 Luigi Righetti Amarone Della Valpolicella.   

As we pulled the cork on this 20-year-old bottle, I couldn’t help but think of all the memories we shared over the years including our travels to this special region of the Veneto where Amarone Della Valpolicella is produced, although this wasn‘t one of the bottles that we brought back with us.  I’m actually still sitting on those and it’s been quite a while since we traveled there together.  More to come on those gems. 

Luigi Righetti winery 

Luigi Righetti winery is located in Valgatara, within the Valpolicella Classico zone, just outside the town of Marano.  Angelo Righetti established the winery back in 1909 and today it is run by the 5th generation, Gianmaria and Giuseppe, along with their father Luigi who is still active in the winery today assisting in running the operations.  Luigi originally took over winemaking in the 40’s.  In 1985 Gianmaria began to focus on single vineyard productions and making wines that would carry an international appeal. 

About Amarone della Valpolicella wines 

The Valpolicella wine region, where Amarone is produced, stretches from Lake Garda in the east that borders Lombardy towards the wine territory of Soave and north of Verona.  Amarone wines are some of the most distinctive and prestigious wines of Italy.  They are powerful, concentrated, structured and complex with a fascinating production process which includes the drying of grapes known as the appassimento process. 

copyright of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella

Amarone translates to ”little bitter one”.  Its counterpart from the same region is another wine known as Recioto Della Valpolicella.  While the fermentation process of Amarone carries on for a lengthy time, the fermentation process for the wines of Recioto della Valpolicella is stopped for these wines to retain a higher level of sugar. 

The grapes used in the production of Amarone can vary based on the producer, but include 45-95% Corvina and/or Corvinone for its acidity, body, and cherry flavors, 5-30% Rondinella for its tannin and color and up to 25% of other grapes including Molinara. 

What is the appassimento process? It is the drying process of the grapes that takes place in drying rooms known as the fruttaio where the grapes are laid out in crates or straw mats.  They are left there for about 100-120 days until about the January/February timeframe. This process, as you can imagine, concentrates the sugars and dries the grapes, making them more raisin like.  Following this process, the grapes are then vinified for another 30-50 days for a slow fermentation of the grapes due to the high sugar content.  They are then aged for 2 years in oak or 4 years in oak if they are riserva.  The end result are wines that are dry and complex with a high alcohol content climbing around 15-17%.    

One of the wineries I visited way back showing the appassimento process

How to travel to the Valpolicella wine region 

If you have yet to travel to the Valpolicella wine region, it’s a short trip outside Verona.  To reach it’s southern borders, you are only a few miles outside the city.  To get to the historic heart of the Valpolicella wine region, the Valpolicella Classico zone, it will take you about 20-30 minutes north of Verona into the hills of towns like Marano, Fumane, Negrar, Sant’ Ambrogio di Valpolicella and San Pierre in Cariano to name a few.   

The Wine 

It was interesting to see the bottle of Amarone from Luigi Righetti labeled as an Amarone DOC.  The designation wasn’t upgraded to a DOCG until 2010.   

This bottle of Capitel de’ Roari Amarone was produced from various plots of lands with the best grapes selected for this blend.  The grapes are dried until the January/February time frame and then fermented in steel basins until July/August.  It is then aged for 3 years in part oak barrels and part French barrique. 

The 2004 Luigi Righetti Capitel de’ Roari Amarone DOC Classico was more brick in color, mostly due to its age.  Rich in dried fruits aromas.  Full-bodied with concentrated notes of cherries and raspberries with a slight herbal note.  A solid backbone acidity still stood with over 20 years of age on this wine, and the tannins had become quite silky.  It took some time for this to open up so always make sure you give these wines their due. ABV 15%, SRP $40 (some of the newer bottles I saw were priced) 

I couldn’t find a specific technical sheet on the blend used in this particular vintage, but some of the more recent vintages include 80% Corvina and 20% Rondinella.  For those of you that are savvy 

Amarone wines are highly age worthy, and I've found that no matter the age, they all will benefit with some time opened in advance or watch it evolve in the glass while tasting which is always fun.

This month our World Wine Travel group (#WorldWineTravel) is featuring Valentine wines from around the world.  Read the variety of other selections this Valentine's Day and choose one to try for yourself.

• A Love Letter to Wine by Side Hustle Wino

• Chef's Private Dinner at our Resort in Mexico by Our Good Life

• Fair Verona and the Romance of Valpolicella from Crushed Grape Chronicles

• J'aime partager le vin et la vie avec vous from A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Pretty in Pink: Italian Wines Paired with International Flavors by Culinary Cam 

• Valentine's Day Wines: A Wine for Everyone to Love by Wineivore

You can find other Amarone della Valpolicella wines to try on Wine.com.  I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of the operations of Vino Travels.  

Also, in light of Valentine's Day, if you didn't know I had written a book on my husband and I's wedding that I planned in Tuscany called "Planning Your Dream Wedding in Tuscany".  If you know someone looking to get married in Italy or just want to check it out, you can find it on Amazon for sale. 

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Light Meets Hearty: Schiava Paired with Ham and Lentil Soup

Nestled in the northeastern part of Italy, the Alto Adige produces some of Italy’s most underappreciated wines.  It’s a beautiful, serene environment with the Alpine backdrop looming over the sun-drenched valleys.  The Alto Adige, also known as Sudtirol due to its Germanic influences, provides a bicultural experience between Italian and German that is experienced in both the language, food and wines of the region.   

What I can appreciate about the wines being produced in the Alto Adige is the purity found in the wines.  Many of the wines of the region are produced as single varietals, and the winemakers make efforts to let the grapes shine and to lend that sense of place. 

The merger of two historic cooperatives that took place in 2001 to form Cantina Bozen shapes the view of how cooperatives can produce world-class wine.  With over 200 small local wine growing families all contributing to growing quality grapes to demonstrate the capabilities of the land surrounding Bolzano is what makes these wines so special.  While following strict guidelines and criteria, these producers are able to band together and share the treasures of the land where they may not normally be able to do so on their own. 

Cantina Bolzano / Kellerei Bozen

Grapes of the Alto Adige 

Today’s feature is on the indigenous grape, Schiava, and Pinot Nero, both common grapes found in the wines of the Alto Adige.  Schiava, also called Vernatsch in German, along with Lagrein that I’ve previously featured from Cantina Bolzano, produces red wines that are lighter in body. For those of you that enjoy red wines in the summer, but don’t want wines with a heavier body, Schiava is a great option.  It’s nice to give it a slight chill as well.  Schiava produces wines that show freshness with bright red fruits.  They tend to be delicate with low tannin, but that carries moderate acidity.  They carry floral aromas, violets, and almonds are common notes.   

Pinot Nero, which is also the same as Pinot Noir, is also called Blauburgunder in the area.  This is a grape that needs higher altitudes and in the cooler climate of the Alto Adigeit doesn't allow the wines to turn jammy.  These wines are approachable in their youth and show notes of red fruits including cherry and strawberry.  You will also get some earthiness and hints of spice no herbs. They are medium-bodied with bright acidity and elegant tannins. 

The Wines of Cantina Bolzano 

The two wines I tried from Kellerei Bozen was a Schiava and Lagrein blend as well as a Pinot Nero.  I paired the Schiava as you'll see with a ham and lentil soup.  The Pinot Nero I brought along with me on my cruise with my family to the Caribbean a couple months back. 

The 2023 Kellerei Bozen/Cantina Bolzano “Huck am Bach” St. Magdalena‘s Alto Adige DOC is made up of 90% Schiava and 10% Lagrein grown in gravelly soils of a 5-hectare vineyard in the Santa Magdalena zone.

Santa Maddalena hills and the city of Bolzano - Copyright: Vini Alto Adige/Tiberio Sorvillo

This wine is aged in large oak vats. Lightly ruby in color, rather transparent in the glass. Aromas of ripe black cherries with hints of violet.  On the palate it's a lighter to medium bodied wine showing nice red fruits (cherry) with juicy acidity.  It's rather soft and smooth on the palate with a lasting finish.  ABV 13%, SRP $22-23. 

The 2023 Kellerei Bozen/Cantina Bolzano Pinot Nero Alto Adige DOC grown in the slopes of Renton and Oberleitach.  It’s fermented in stainless steel and about 40% is spent in oak for a short time. The Pinot Nero was pale ruby in color and rather translucent.  Light-bodied and easy drinking, the wine was smooth and balanced with dark fruit, especilly blackberries that stood out. ABV 13%, SRP $25.

Pairing Schiava with Ham and Lentil soup  

I try to make soup more often in the cold winter months and when thinking up what to pair with the Schiava I thought a ham and lentil soup would be ideal.  I had just prepared a ham, so I used the leftover trimmings in preparation of the soup.  Ham and lentil soup is so easy to prepare while so filling.   

I started out sautéing carrots and celery for about 5 minutes.  You can add onion, but no one except myself is a fan.  Once softened, I added about 4 cups of both water and chicken broth along with some spices to include garlic powder, a bay leaf, pepper, and paprika.  Once brought to a boil I added the ham bone and simmered for about an hour.  After the soup was simmered, I removed the ham bone and chopped it up into pieces and added it back to the soup.  Voila!   

Schiava is commonly paired in the Alto Adige with speck, a smoked ham, so possibly that is the reason it went so well with this soup.  The red fruit helped cut through the richness of the ham and complemented the earthiness of the lentils.  In the Alto Adige, they also pair Schiava with canaderli, which are bread dumplings I've shared once before when I paired them with Muller Thurgau. I tried these once when I was visiting Trento.  

This pairing reminded me that Alto Adige wines are very much food friendly.  With Cantina Bolzano’s authentic expression of terroir, it proves that memorable pairings can come from simple foods and honest wines. 

Copyright: Vini Alto Adige/Florian Andergassen

You can find other wines from the Alto Adige on Wine.com to try.  I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of Vino Travels. 

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*These wines were provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own. 

 

Where Italy's Largest Lake Meets the Vineyards: Discovering Garda DOC

As we welcome a new year it’s always important to think about what goals one has in mind to start the year.  I  myself am always looking ot broaden my horizon in the wine world and that includes exploring new wine regions, wineries and grape varieties.  That is exactly the theme of our wine writers group this month led by Lynn at Savor the Harvest this month.  Each one of us explores something new or different to share with all our readers as well as ourselves.   

For me personally, I decided to share some wines that I explored recently from the Garda DOC.  I recently attended a virtual tasting led by one of our writers Susannah and the VP of the Garda DOC Consorzio and owner of Perla del Garda, Giovanna Andrea.  Although visiting Lake Garda is not new to me as I have been fortunate to make it there once before, learning more about the Garda DOC and what it encompasses was newer to me.   

Copyright of Consorzio Garda DOC

The Wines of Lake Garda 

I’ve tried a number of wines through the years that I’ve shared with you from all around Lake Garda, lago di Garda, to include Bardolino, Chiaretto, Soave, Lugana, Custoza and nearby the wines of the Valpolicella wine region.   

Lake Garda is the biggest lake in Italy and actually the 2nd largest lake in Europe, along with being one of the deepest lakes that helps retain both the heat and the cold that influences the grapes.  Lake Garda was formed 5-6 million years ago due to a shift in the teutonic plates of Europe and Africa. 

Lake Garda encompasses 3 northernly regions including Trentino to the north, Lombardy to the west and the Veneto to the east.  The majority of the wines produced under the Garda DOC come from the Veneto side.  It has a unique microclimate due to situation between the Mediterranean and it’s close proximity to the Alpine mountain ranges that can provide intense winds.  The lake helps mitigate the weather pattern creating a sub-continental climate that is ideal for the vineyards.  Heck, they even are growing lemons and oranges.  

The Consorzio Garda DOC is a younger consortium started in 1996. It’s made up of a number of coops and about 250 producers.  It encompasses 10 historical denominations: Valtenesi, San Martino della Battaglia, Lugana, Colli Mantovani, Custoza, Bardolino, Valpolicella, Valdadige, Durello and Soave.  What’s unique about the Garda DOC is that it gives producers making wines in these previously mentioned appellations, to have flexibility to also produce wines with international grapes like the Pinot Grigio and Merlot wines that I’m sharing today that aren’t allowed under the other designations. 

The Garda DOC Wines 

I sampled a couple Pinot Grigio wines under the Garda DOC.  The requirement is that these wines are made with at least 85% Pinot Grigio, but many of the producers will produce these wines without blending.  Pinot Grigio is the leading grape in the Garda DOC wine production with Chardonnay being a close 2nd followed by the Garganega grape. 

 

My pick of the two Pinot Grigio was the 2024 Prendina Pinot Grigio Garda DOC.  Grown on morainic soils with clay and limestone, the juice of this wine was left on the lees to add complexity.  A pale, brilliant straw color, pretty floral aromas filled the glass with peach and citrus.  Light to medium bodied with lovely fruit flavors of citrus, pineapple and peach.  A lively palate with its bright acidity and lasting finish that lingered.  ABV 12.5% 

The 2024 Ca’ Vegar Pinot Grigio Garda DOC is grown in the morainic hills made of of calcareous soils and clay.  This 100% Pinot Grigio is aged 4 months in stainless steel, which helps to show the fruit. Pale straw colored, almost clear in the glass.  Floral aromas with lemon, apple and slight peach notes.  Light-bodied, with continuous mouthwatering acidity on the palate filled with notes of tart apple. ABV 12.5% 

The 2024 Cantina Collini Morenici Merlot Garda DOC is part of the cooperative, Cantina di Verona, that was esblished in 2021 which is made up of 550 members.  This winery is in the southern part of Lake Garda.  This wine is made from 100% Merlot.  The grapes are macerated for 10-12 days and refined in steel for freshness.  This Merlot may not be what many are used to when they think of Merlot.  This merlot was very pale in ruby color.  Aromas of ripe black cherry, blueberries and violet.  A lighter medium bodied Merlot, smooth with nice acidity.  Blackberry with a little spice and hint of cocoa.  ABV 13% 

Venturing to Lake Garda

With Lake Garda spanning three wine regions you'll get a variety of different cultures, cuisines and wines in a short span.  Choose which side of the lake you'd like to base yourself.  As a I suggestion you may want to consider the southern point as it's easier to maneuver all around and it's a higher concentration of wineries and vineyards. to the north of Lake Garda it's more mountainous.  

I suggest renting a car for more freedom, but there are ferries that connect some of the major points of the lake.  For those of you that are willing to take the physically fit challenge you can bike your way around and explore that way too. 

Follow along with the rest of our food and wine writers as they take you on an exploration of hopefully something new to you for the new year.

• Armenia: A Wine Story Spanning Six Thousand Years by Culinary Cam

• Explore the Wilds of Spain in Priorat by Food Wine Click!

• Exploring Garda Bianco from Poggio delle Grazie as we enter 2026 by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Friuli Venezia Giulia: Rosazzo Discoveries by Avvinare

• New Wine Company in the Hills of the Ozarks (Missouri) by Our Good Life

• Something New: Visiting Wineries in Five States You Might Not Expect by Cooking Chat

• The Mystery of Korean Ginseng Wine Explored by Side Hustle Wino

• The Slovakian Princess Grape: Pesecká Leánka by Wineivore

• Wine Explorations 2026: regions, wineries and varieties, featuring négrette and Applegate Valley AVA by Savor the Harvest

You can find other wines from the Garda DOC on Wine.com to try.  I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of the operations of Vino Travels.  

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*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are always my own.