RIPASSA DELLA VALPOLICELLA SUP. ZENATO

Grape: 85% Corvina Veronese, 5% Rondinella, 10% Corvinone

As soon as the dried grapes for the winery’s Amarone have completed fermentation, a top selection of Valpolicella grapes “passes over” (ripassa) the Amarone pomace, thus resulting in a second brief fermentation.

This helps to obtain higher alcohol content, deeper color, and rich flavor and aroma. Af-ter aging in French tonneaux for 18-20 months, the wine is cellared for another 6 months in bottle before release.

The process makes for a refined and concentrated wine, extremely smooth and vel-vety, with vibrant red fruit aromas.

On the palate, it delivers fruity notes and elegant tannin with hints of chocolate and spice. Ripassa has played a highly important role in the Zenato winery’s evolution over the years.

Winemaking

The grapes are de-stemmed and macerated in stainless steel fermenters for 10-12 days. Once the alcoholic fermentation is
completed, the new wine is separated from the skins by light pressing and conserved in stainless steel tanks until January.

At this point, the Valpolicella is passed over the marc of the Amarone for a period of 7-8 days at a temperature of 25-28°C.

The wine is aged for 18 months in oak barrels and finally for a few months in bottles, stored at a controlled temperature