Valpolicella Ripasso DOC

Re-passing wine over pomace is a precise winemaking technique of ancient custom, exclusive to Valpolicella growers, and traces of it appear in medieval documents for the purchase of vineyard land and in agreements for the sale of grapes and wine. What would become Valpolicella Ripasso earned favourable judgments at the 1873 Vienna universal exhibition, and in the 1960s the practice was recognised and regulated by the prefectural decrees that governed the Valpolicella harvest. The first disciplinare and the Valpolicella DOC followed in 1968. Masi traces the birth of Ripasso to 1964, when Guido Boscaini created Campofiorin by refermenting wine from freshly picked Veronese grapes on the semi-dried pomace previously used for Amarone; Masi refined the method in the 1980s into its 'double fermentation' process. On 24 March 2010 ministerial decrees made Valpolicella, Valpolicella Ripasso, Recioto della Valpolicella and Amarone della Valpolicella autonomous, establishing Ripasso as a DOC out of the existing Valpolicella DOC. Writing in Decanter in 2021, Michael Garner said Ripasso "now accounts for nearly half the area's entire DOC/G output".

• Re-passing traces back to medieval documents, and what would become Valpolicella Ripasso earned favourable judgments at the 1873 Vienna universal exhibition
• 1960s: the practice was recognised in the prefectural decrees regulating the Valpolicella harvest; 1968: the first disciplinare and the Valpolicella DOC
• Masi dates Campofiorin, which it calls the birth of Ripasso, to 1964
• 24 March 2010: ministerial decrees made the four Valpolicella denominations autonomous; the Valpolicella Ripasso decree was published in Gazzetta Ufficiale no. 85 of 13 April 2010

Valpolicella Ripasso is a single refermentation of wine eligible for the denomination on the pomace left after the products destined to become Recioto della Valpolicella and/or Amarone della Valpolicella are drawn off. The pomace must retain a potential alcohol of at least 0.50% vol, the liquid fraction it contributes must be 10% to 15% of the volume of base wine used (a maximum of 9.36 hl per hectare), and the operation must last at least 3 days. The base wine must reach at least 11.50% vol total alcohol, or 12.50% vol for the Superiore, and the base wine and the pomace must belong to the same producer. The base is typically Valpolicella Superiore, and the pomace consists of the drained but still fermenting lees (unpressed skins) left after the Amarone or Recioto is racked. Producers keep the contact time between pomace and wine short, so that tannins pass from the seeds into the wine, and the wine then matures in wooden casks and afterwards in bottle. Vinification, ripasso and ageing must take place within the production zone, and release is not allowed before 1 January of the second year after the harvest.

• Pomace: from Recioto and/or Amarone production, with at least 0.50% vol potential alcohol remaining
• Liquid fraction from the pomace: 10% to 15% of the base-wine volume, maximum 9.36 hl/ha; minimum ripasso duration 3 days
• Base wine: at most double the volume of Recioto and/or Amarone obtainable at a 40% grape-to-wine yield (maximum 62.4 hl/ha); the Veneto Region may reduce the ratio to one to one
• Yields: maximum 12 tonnes of grapes per hectare, grape-to-wine yield of 70% (84 hl/ha), finished wine capped at 71.8 hl/ha

The production zone covers all or part of 19 communes: Marano, Fumane, Negrar, Sant'Ambrogio, San Pietro in Cariano, Dolcè, Verona, San Martino Buon Albergo, Lavagno, Mezzane, Tregnago, Illasi, Colognola ai Colli, Cazzano di Tramigna, Grezzana, Pescantina, Cerro Veronese, San Mauro di Saline and Montecchia di Crosara. The Classico reference covers the communes of Negrar, Marano, Fumane, Sant'Ambrogio and San Pietro in Cariano, and Valpantena has its own delimited zone. Classico and Valpantena lie towards the western edge of the wider Valpolicella area, and the remaining DOC area is known locally as Valpolicella Orientale. The Superiore needs grapes giving at least 11% vol natural alcohol and a finished wine of at least 13.00% vol, and only the Superiore may carry the 'vigna' mention followed by its place name. The zone spans the whole foothill belt of the province of Verona from Lake Garda almost to the border with the province of Vicenza, sheltered to the north by the Lessini mountains, with average annual rainfall between 850 and 1,000 mm, soils formed from calcareous-dolomitic formations, basalts and moraine and fluvial deposits, and vineyards reaching up to 500 m.

• 19 communes in whole or in part; Classico: Negrar, Marano, Fumane, Sant'Ambrogio, San Pietro in Cariano
• Label references: Classico, Valpantena and Superiore; the 'vigna' mention with a place name is allowed only for the Superiore
• Superiore: grapes of at least 11% vol natural alcohol; at least 13.00% vol actual alcohol and 26.0 g/l extract at release
• The vintage must appear on the label; crown caps, screwcaps and tear-off closures are banned, except screwcaps on bottles up to 0.375 l

Andrew Jefford, writing in Decanter in 2017, described Ripasso and its peers as a middle ground running from a brief passage over near-exhausted Amarone lees and marc to wines made with a sizeable percentage of dried grapes, and noted that many of the best wines in this style do not call themselves Ripasso. Zenato's Valpolicella DOC Ripasso Superiore Ripassa is Valpolicella repassed over Amarone pomace after the Amarone fermentation, then aged for eighteen to twenty months in French oak. Masi's Campofiorin, labelled Rosso Verona IGT, is now made by Masi's 'double fermentation', refermenting freshly vinified Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara with 30% whole semi-dried grapes not used for Amarone; the 2013 was made without a passage on Amarone marc and lees. Jefford's tasting of the same middle ground included Allegrini's Palazzo della Torre 2013, a Rosso del Veronese made with no marc or lees but around one-third of grapes dried for around 40 days.

• Jefford (Decanter, 2017): the style spans a brief passage over near-exhausted Amarone lees and marc through to wines with a sizeable percentage of dried grapes
• Zenato Valpolicella DOC Ripasso Superiore Ripassa: repassed over Amarone pomace, then eighteen to twenty months in French oak
• Masi Campofiorin, Rosso Verona IGT: 'double fermentation' with 30% whole semi-dried grapes, a method Masi refined in the 1980s
• Allegrini Palazzo della Torre, Rosso del Veronese: the 2013 used no marc or lees, with around one-third of grapes dried for around 40 days

At release the wine must show a deep red colour tending to garnet with ageing, a characteristic pleasant scent, and a full, velvety, bodied palate, with minimum total acidity of 5.0 g/l and minimum extract of 24.0 g/l. Compared with basic Valpolicella it has more structure and longevity, higher alcohol, lower acidity, greater roundness and higher extract and phenolic values, with a ruby colour with garnet reflections, a lightly ethereal scent with notes of vanilla, and a dry, velvety palate. The Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella calls it a medium-bodied wine with good alcohol content. Typical aromas run to balsamic notes, red fruit, marasca cherry, spice and vanilla, and the suggested serving temperature is 15 to 18 degrees. It suits winter first courses, main courses and meat courses, cured meats and cold cuts, and medium-aged cheeses.

• At release: deep red tending to garnet with ageing; full, velvety, bodied; minimum 5.0 g/l total acidity and 24.0 g/l extract
• Maximum residual potential alcohol of 0.60% vol, approximately 10 g/l of residual sugar
• Descriptors: balsamic, red fruit, marasca cherry, spices, vanilla; soft, dry, velvety; serve at 15 to 18 degrees
• Classic pairings: winter first courses, main courses, cured meats, medium-aged cheeses

Primary sources (MASAF disciplinare, Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella, and producers' own sites for their own facts): 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, https://www.consorziovalpolicella.it/en/types-of-wines/valpolicella-ripasso-doc/, https://www.masi.it/en/wines/campofiorin-rosso-verona-igt-red-wine/, https://www.zenato.it/en/vini/valpolicella-doc-ripasso-superiore-ripassa/. Secondary sources: https://italianwinecentral.com/denomination/valpolicella-ripasso-doc/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/taste-valpolicella-ripasso-recioto-366038/, https://www.decanter.com/learn/what-is-valpolicella-wine-ask-decanter-460218/. Last verified 2026-10-05