Amarone and Recioto

"I was born in Valpolicella Classica and the land of Amarone is my land. You need to have been born here, in these hills, to a family of winemakers, and you need to have lived in a typical house of the area to understand what Amarone represents: more than a technique, more than a wine, it is a philosophy, an art, and even more, an important companion in life.”

This is how Sandro Boscaini, President of Masi, describes his link with his land, Valpolicella, and with its symbolic wine. Known abroad as Mister Amarone, Boscaini’s work and dedication has helped make Amarone one of the symbols of Italian excellence internationally. It’s a great responsibility for a wine with a long and extraordinary history.

Numerous historical, archaeological and literary documents tell us that the Ancient Romans used to lay grapes picked in the hills of Verona on bamboo trellises in the cold winter months, and then produce a sweet, very concentrated nectar, celebrated by the classical authors as Reticum, later becoming Acinaticum in the Middle Ages.

The tradition was passed down over the ages until the sweet version of this wine, called Recioto, was eclipsed by the dry version, the result of a longer fermentation process that transforms all sugars into alcohol, in the second half of the last century.

This is how Recioto Amarone was born, now known as Amarone della Valpolicella. There are many unique factors to this wine: Valpolicella, the hilly amphiteatrical production area between Verona and Lake Garda; the native grapes of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara; the technique of Appassimento; and the taste profile, a combination of strength and body with balance and smoothness.

In the last fifty years, Masi and its Technical Group have contributed to the evolution of Amarone, making it a modern wine, loved and appreciated all over the world. With the production of five Amarones and three Reciotos, Masi offers the widest and most authentic range on the international market.