Valpolicella appellation: latest official data

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Valpolicella appellation: latest official data

Here we are again: this 2021 also is going to be archived in a few days. How did the Valpolicella do this year?

According to the official press release, things are looking good for Valpolicella wines so far. The bottling is growing in double figures: + 16% in the first 10 months of this year compared to the same period in 2020. Amarone della Valpolicella is taking the lion's share (+30.2%, the equivalent of 15 million bottles in the first 10 months of the year), while Valpolicella Ripasso is at +14.7% and Valpolicella at +7.1%…

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Valpolicella: the big deal and the new wave

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Valpolicella: the big deal and the new wave
"Although many people all around the world love Amarone, often they really have no idea where it comes from. And - sadly - Valpolicella’s producers don’t seem to do much to inform them. It needs an effective strategy of “geographic” communication of this part of Verona province before speaking about grapes or technique"...
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Flash: Roccolo Grassi adds his "no" to Amarone in 2014

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Marco Sartori, owner at Roccolo Grassi

Marco Sartori, owner at Roccolo Grassi

The unfortunate 2014 vintage collects another winegrower of Amarone and Valpolicella wines, Roccolo Grassi, that announces giving up to produce Amarone della Valpolicella 2014. Marco Sartori, the owner, revealed he anticipated the news privately to a friend early at the end of August, and yesterday, Saturday 13th, he made it publicly on Facebook (link in Italian). Roccolo Grassi adds himself to the growing list of Amarone producers that did the same choice like Romano Dal Forno, Bertani and others smaller producers like Terre di Pietra and Tenute Ugolini.

On the same topic, please see our pre-harvest report and this post about the difficult decisions facing Valpolicella producers.

Flash: Romano Dal Forno sad decision, no Amarone in 2014

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Romano Dal Forno

Romano Dal Forno

Romano Dal Forno, the iconic winegrower of Amarone and Valpolicella wines, sadly joins Bertani and others smaller producers like Terre di Pietra and Tenute Ugolini. In an announcement released here (in Italian) he gives up to produce Amarone della Valpolicella 2014:

"This unfortunate vintage poses a lot of big question marks. We must think to the final consumer: the real wine lover cannot expect a high quality Amarone, and resellers and restaurant owners might see in this vintage more problems than opportunities in which to invest. On our side, we'll try to do our best with the Valpolicella wine".

On the same topic, please see our pre-harvest report and this post about the difficult decisions facing Valpolicella producers.

Harvest 2014, Valpolicella producers lower grape quantity for Amarone

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Harvest 2014, Valpolicella producers lower grape quantity for Amarone

In a dramatic development following some recent anticipations about a very difficult harvest in Valpolicella (see our report), we learnt that Consorzio Tutela Valpolicella (the organization representing local wine bottlers, cooperatives, wine producers and winegrowers), decided to lower from 50% to 35% the amount of grapes to be reserved for the drying process for the production of Amarone  2014.

Due to a month and a half of heavy rain, hail storms and excessive soil humidity, the health of grapes seems to be undermined almost everywhere in Valpolicella, with the exception of some hills exposed to local fresh winds (for more details, please read our report here)...

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PR: IWSC awards Cantina Valpolicella Negrar as best Italian producer 2013

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We receive this press release from Cantina Valpolicella Negrar, and the news is:

"The United Kingdom’s independent International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC), one of the world’s most prestigious drinks events, has awarded the coveted Best Italian Wine Producer of the Year trophy to the Negrar (Verona) cooperative winery".

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