GUERRIERI RIZZARDI 2018 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso 'Pojega' (Veneto, Italy)

This is a wine-club special. The whole category of Valpolicella wines is enchanting. They are made primarily with the red grapes of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella local to this area. 

 G. RIZZARDI grow grapes and produce wine in the heart of the historic (Classico) Valpolicella region found in Veneto, in Northern Italy. The 'Pojega' is a wine made from hand-picked estate grapes. Now for the rest of the long title.... 

Superiore means that the wines adhere to a stricter version of the rules - namely, the wine is higher in alcohol content, and has aged longer than its non-superior counterparts. A higher alcohol content means that the grapes may be picked when they are more ripe (to ensure more sugar, as more sugar = more alcohol after fermentation). More ripeness = more complexity of flavor. More aging also leads to more complexity and the introduction on tertiary notes (read: flavors and aromas that come from aging a wine). 

Ripasso comes from the re-fermentation of Valpolicella wine over the pressed skins our Amarone wines (“Ripasso” is to re-pass). After this secondary fermentation, the wine is aged in French oak barrels for around 12 months.

Put this altogether? You have a smooth, delicious wine unique to its terroir and great with dinner. Fun fact? Its smooth tannins make this a wine that can pair with white or dark meats.