It's Harvest Time at Nicolis Winery!
The harvest of the grapes for Amarone and Recioto is in full swing in the Veneto region in North-Eastern Italy.
Our ABC wine team visited Nicolis Winery in San Pietro in Cariano on the second day of harvest, September 16th.
The picking of the Corvina grapes for Amarone (dry wine) and Recioto (sweet wine) dela Valpolicella, as it turns out, is a very slow and meticulous process. Each cluster is closely examined for unripe or rotten grapes and those are carefully removed on the spot; only perfectly healthy and ripe clusters are placed into plastic crates called ''plateaux'' (which used to be wooden) and transferred to special dry and well-aerated rooms where the grapes naturally air-dry and turn into raisins with high concentration of sugars, glycerol, polyphenols, etc. This process is called ''appassimento'' and has been practiced in the Veneto and other parts of Europe for over two millennia.
The raisin grapes are pressed in January.
It is too early to predict the quality of the future 2014 Amarone, but one thing is certain: The volume this year will be 30% to 50% smaller than usual, due to cool and rainy summer.
The Nicolis family has been producing Amarone since they founded the family winery in 1951. Today they are one of the most highly regarded producers of Amarone, Recioto and Valpolocella in Veneto.
A full range of Nicolis wines are available at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, including the Valpolicella, Ripasso, Amarone, as well as the flagship wine, Amarone ''Ambrosan.''
Atanas Nechkov, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits wine supervisor
Follow me on Twitter @abcwineatanas
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