Corvina Veronese

VIVC records Corvina Veronese as variety number 2863 under the prime name Corvina Veronese, with a berry skin colour of noir (black). According to VIVC, its country or region of origin is Italy. VIVC records no known parents: the passport leaves both parent fields blank and gives its full pedigree field as "NO". The passport's "Parent - offspring relationship" field reads "YES", but it names no parent and lists no offspring, so the parentage of Corvina Veronese stays unknown according to VIVC. VIVC-derived lineage data list no children, full siblings or half-siblings for Corvina Veronese.

• VIVC variety number 2863; prime name Corvina Veronese; berry skin colour noir (black)
• Country or region of origin according to VIVC: Italy
• Parents: unknown; VIVC's parent fields are blank and its full pedigree field reads NO
• VIVC records Corvina Veronese as registered in the European Catalogue

Italy's production rules name the variety "Corvina Veronese (Cruina o Corvina)", giving Cruina and Corvina as its other names. The Valpolicella disciplinare states that the first ampelographic catalogue of the 19th century officially recognised "la corvina" as a typical cultivar of Valpolicella. The Amarone della Valpolicella disciplinare traces the wine's first ancestor to Acinatico, made with a special grape-drying technique, which Cassiodorus, minister of Theodoric, asked Valpolicella landowners to supply for the royal table; the same text dates the first commercial sale of a bottle of Amarone della Valpolicella to 1953. Valpolicella received DOC recognition by Presidential Decree of 21 August 1968, and ministerial decrees adopted on 24 March 2010 made the four types, Valpolicella, Valpolicella Ripasso, Recioto della Valpolicella and Amarone della Valpolicella, autonomous. The jancisrobinson.com Veneto page notes that drying grapes was the only way the Greeks and Romans had of increasing a wine's alcohol content.

• Synonyms in the MASAF disciplinari: Cruina and Corvina
• Valpolicella DOC: Presidential Decree of 21 August 1968
• The Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella calls Recioto "the ancestor of the Amarone and the most ancient wine of the Valpolicella Appellation"

WSET describes Corvina as the most important grape variety of Valpolicella, in the Veneto region of north-east Italy, and notes that it typically dominates the blend, though a number of other local grapes are permitted. In Decanter, Valpolicella's climate is described as shaped by Lake Garda's mild influence combined with cooler breezes from the mountains, with vines usually pergola-trained to prevent the small, thin-skinned Corvina grapes from scorching in the summer sun. The Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella gives the pergola a diffusion of 75% and Guyot 25%, and says the pergola's foliage protects the bunches from the sun. The Consorzio describes five zones of the Valpolicella Classica: Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella, San Pietro in Cariano, and the Fumane, Marano and Negrar valleys; the Valpantena lies halfway between the Classica and the eastern zone, with remarkable temperature variations between day and night. The Bardolino DOC rules, on the other side of the Adige river, require 35% to 95% Corvina Veronese, and for Bardolino Michaela Morris writes in Decanter that Lake Garda's mild conditions let Corvina reach sufficient ripeness at moderate alcohol.

• Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella and Recioto della Valpolicella: 45% to 95% Corvina Veronese and/or Corvinone (MASAF)
• Bardolino DOC: 35% to 95% Corvina Veronese, with Corvinone allowed to replace up to 20% of it (MASAF)
• Decanter contrasts Bardolino's poor, stony, moraine soil with Valpolicella's limestone-rich calcareous soil, "which lends more grip"

The Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella says Corvina gives structure, aromas and softness to the wine, and the Valpolicella disciplinare says that, thanks to its technological characteristics in the vinification phase and its phenolic properties, Corvina gives structure and body to Valpolicella. The jancisrobinson.com Veneto page calls Corvina "by far the most characterful of the three grape varieties" from which Valpolicella may be made. Andrew Jefford, writing in Decanter, says Valpolicella should smell of fresh fruits, "often the cherry with which the region’s key grape variety, Corvina, is intimately associated", and describes a red wine with little tannin or extract whose defining quality is a zesty, fruit-saturated acidity. For Amarone, Michael Garner writes in Decanter that the aromas and flavours are determined invariably by Corvina, and to a lesser extent Corvinone, and that elegance and perfume, especially a telltale note of freshly ground black pepper, are hallmarks of Corvina. WSET notes that the appassimento method can make Corvina much more powerful and structured.

• Valpolicella DOC: the Consorzio describes a young and fine wine with a vinous aroma and delicate bouquet, fresh and dry on the palate; its organoleptic descriptors include cherry, bitter, rose and almond
• Amarone della Valpolicella in the MASAF disciplinare: very intense red colour with garnet notes and a scent recalling dried fruit, tobacco and spice
• Recioto della Valpolicella: the Consorzio's descriptors include balsamic, maraschino cherry and dried fruit, and it notes good acidity that keeps the wine from being cloying

WSET describes the appassimento method as picking the grapes and drying them indoors to concentrate them, and notes that a range of wines can be made from grapes dried to different extents. Decanter reports that drying Corvina, Corvinone or Rondinella for a red Recioto or Amarone needs three to four months, and up to six months for Recioto. For Amarone della Valpolicella, the MASAF disciplinare requires the grapes to stay in the fruttai for 100 or 120 days until they lose at least half their weight, requires a natural potential alcohol of at least 14% vol after drying, and sets a minimum actual alcohol of 14% vol. The dried grapes may not be vinified before 1 December, although Regione Veneto, on the Consorzio's documented request, may authorise an earlier start when climatic conditions make it necessary. It requires at least two years of ageing from 1 January after the harvest, and at least 4 years from 1 November of the harvest year for a riserva. The Consorzio says Recioto is also made from grapes dried in the fruttaio, vinified once they have lost at least half of their weight, and that its fermentation is stopped to preserve its typical structure and sweetness. Valpolicella Ripasso is made by refermenting basic Valpolicella on the pomace of Amarone and/or Recioto, which the Consorzio says gives higher alcohol, phenolic substances and extract.

• Amarone: at least 14% vol natural potential alcohol after drying; no vinification before 1 December unless Regione Veneto authorises an earlier start for climatic reasons at the Consorzio's documented request (MASAF)
• Amarone ageing: at least two years from 1 January after the harvest; riserva at least 4 years from 1 November of the harvest year (MASAF)
• Valpolicella DOC Superiore must age at least one year before release, per the Consorzio

The jancisrobinson.com Veneto page lists Allegrini, Boscaini, Dal Forno, Masi, Quintarelli, Santi, Trabucchi and Tedeschi as reliably superior Valpolicella producers. Allegrini lists La Poja as a Corvina Veronese IGT and says Giovanni Allegrini decided to plant only Corvina grapes on the top of La Grola in 1979; Decanter calls La Poja the winery's Corvina varietal. Allegrini describes its Valpolicella Classico, from Corvina Veronese and Rondinella, as "the simple but refined introduction to the world of Corvina Veronese". Brigaldara gives its Valpolicella as Corvina 45%, Corvinone 40% and Rondinella 15%, and Speri gives its Recioto della Valpolicella Classico La Roggia as Corvina Veronese 65%, Rondinella 30% and other indigenous varieties 5%.

WSET notes that the appassimento method can make Corvina much more powerful and structured, and the Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella suggests different pairings for each style. The Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella suggests Valpolicella DOC with appetizers, light first courses and white meats, and Valpolicella DOC Superiore with second courses, with a preference for red meats and medium seasoned cheeses. It pairs Valpolicella Ripasso with winter main courses, meat courses, cold cuts and medium-seasoned cheese, Amarone with meat courses, game and matured cheeses or alone as a "meditation wine", and Recioto with dessert, chocolate and cheese. It suggests serving Valpolicella DOC at 14 to 16°C. The jancisrobinson.com Veneto page says Amarone should be sipped with care, ideally like port after a meal rather than swigged throughout a meal.

Primary sources: https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=2863 ; https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F2%252F3%252FD.8ccd09a077f2ec35dc9b/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download (Valpolicella and Recioto della Valpolicella disciplinari) ; https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Ff%252F6%252FD.507dfbac5b16903e5472/P/BLOB%3AID%3D20309/E/pdf?mode=download (Amarone della Valpolicella disciplinare) ; https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Fa%252Fe%252FD.8495fb8195fb9f88e44b/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download (Bardolino disciplinare) ; https://www.consorziovalpolicella.it/en/the-varieties/ ; https://www.consorziovalpolicella.it/en/types-of-wines/vino-valpolicella-doc/ ; https://www.consorziovalpolicella.it/en/wines/amarone-della-valpolicella-docg/ ; https://www.consorziovalpolicella.it/en/types-of-wines/recioto-della-valpolicella-docg/ ; https://www.consorziovalpolicella.it/en/types-of-wines/valpolicella-ripasso-doc/ ; https://www.consorziovalpolicella.it/en/the-area/zona-classica-della-valpolicella/ ; https://www.consorziovalpolicella.it/en/the-area/zona-valpantena/ ; https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/13022/wset_l2wines_sessionplans_en_may2023_issue2.pdf ; https://allegrini.it/en/wines/valpolicella-classico-doc-allegrini/ ; https://allegrini.it/en/wines/recioto-valpolicella-giovanni-allegrini/ ; https://www.brigaldara.it/en/wines/valpolicella-doc ; https://www.speri.com/en/wines/recioto/ Reference sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine/touring-valpolicella-494988/ ; https://www.decanter.com/premium/bardolino-makeover-plus-12-best-worth-seeking-411823/ ; https://www.decanter.com/magazine/amarone-buyers-guide-382500/ ; https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/taste-valpolicella-ripasso-recioto-366038/ ; https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews-tastings/introducing-appassimento-wines-from-veneto-357089/ ; https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/wine-regions/italy/veneto Last verified 2026-09-29