Is Amarone in Trouble?

There are many producers in the Valpolicella region of Italy who are worried. Not only has the production of the very popular Amarone wines increased dramatically, many wonder if it is at the expense of Valpolicella, the basic, pleasant, easy drinking blend of the region.

The numbers say it all. Production of Amarone--a wine made by drying the grapes before fermentation--rose from 1.5 million bottles in 1997, to almost 5 million in 2003 and 5.7 million in 2004. The estimate for the 2007 vintage is in excess of 10 million bottles.

In September 2007, the production code also changed to allow for a selection of grapes for drying up to 70 percent of the authorized crop. To put this in context, most producers allocate at most 40 percent of their production to Amarone, their top wines. The 70 percent figure is consider by most to be way too high, with a result of compromising both the brand Amarone and the high quality Valpolicella wines that should be the standard-bearer for the region.

Respected wine blogger Gianpiero Nadali worried, "With all the new plantings, most are going to Amarone. To have Amarone the leader in Valpolicella production has consequences for Valpolicella. This is a big concern. Lower production of the basic Valpolicella is not what we want."

Ricardo Tedeschi is also worried. He thinks there are 16 million bottles of Amarone made now, and wonders who will buy them. He said, "They will have to go to supermarket shelves and be sold at lower prices, and what will the message be for Amarone?"

At Tenuta Sant'Antonio Armando Castagnedi and his brothers were concerned about Valpolicella as well. "Valpolicella will only attain greatness when a majority of its producers make great Valpolicella that will be admired for the quality and the value."

There are a few other points of view. At Santi, owned by G.I.V., the largest vineyard owner in Italy, Winemaker Christian Scrinzi thinks that the DOC Valpolicella should be for Amarone and ripasso-styled wines only and that the Bardolino appellation should be used for wines like the early drinking Valpolicella style.

Amarone has achieved international success, much to the region's surprise. But can its increase in production be sustained? And at a price that sees both the compromise of the product and the disappearance of the basic wine of the region? Time will tell.