The Valpolicella withering: next Intangible UNESCO Cultural Heritage?

Every wine lover who appreciates Amarone della Valpolicella, Ripasso, and Recioto della Valpolicella knows it: the secret behind all those successful wines is the technique of withering the grapes. This technique isn’t exclusive to Valpolicella: other Italian regions such as Sicily (Pantelleria mainly) or Lombardy, or even other countries (Spain, France) have been adopting it for centuries. However, the withering - appassimento - in Valpolicella is somehow different. 

It’s used for making dry red wines mainly - only the Recioto della Valpolicella is sweet - with no clue of oxidation, whereas other renowned wines are white, sweet, and oxidized.

Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated that the local grapes of Valpolicella seem to be the only ones - or, perhaps, among the very few in the world - to be perfectly suitable for the long process of withering.

This latest is not merely dehydration of the grapes: it’s a complex process that scholars are still studying. Somebody calls it “the "active hibernation" of grapes, during which new compounds are formed that give rise to the taste and aroma of the final wines Amarone and Recioto della Valpolicella. The withering method is so deeply rooted in the collective culture of this region that if it suddenly would disappear, its history would be completely different. For that reason in 2016 the process of candidate the withering as Intangible UNESCO Cultural Heritage began; in the last days, this proposal has been officially formalized. In the following months all the needed documents, research, and data will be collected to form a complete report about the withering in Valpolicella. A long and complex work meant to involve all the 19 municipalities of the Valpolicella Denomination and all citizens. In the end, gaining this accreditation means not only turning the world's spotlight on Valpolicella, but also encouraging a collective awareness, a reflection on the value and relevance of a legacy from the most distant past, and because of it a large part of the Veronese wine economy continues to revolve, even a couple of millennia later.