There is plenty of debate these days about heritage as a fundamental indication of quality in wine, suggesting that anything old is good and anything new is, well, not so good. This kind of thinking assumes a polarized view of value and is far too simplistic. Traditions in wine are in fact connected to the past and are also continually evolving, adapting to change. They are both old and new, and age is not an automatic gauge of value. Amarone della Valpolicella, for example, celebrates this duality: it is a modern adaptation of a very old style of wine. And as one of Italy's most prestigious and costly wines, it is surprisingly new to the international market, which implies that its importance rests on something more than how long it has been around.

For me, sipping on a glass of Amarone is the ultimate indulgence, like snuggling in front of a fire with someone you love on a chilly winter night, sharing flambéed cherries and figs drizzled with melted dark chocolate. Although it first appeared between 1930 and 1960 in the Valpolicella area near Verona, a very similar wine, Recioto, had been in existence for more than 1500 years. Both are made using a technique that dates as far back as Roman times, a process called appassimento, which involves partially drying grapes on straw mats prior to fermentation. This concentrates the sugars, intensifying the fruit and increasing the eventual alcohol content (to 15% usually). Initially, this was done to prolong the shelf life of wines that were intended for traveling. Fermentation was interrupted to retain a significant amount of residual sugar and effectively stabilize the wine, making it safe for long journeys. In other words, passito wines (made from semi-dried grapes) were traditionally sweet, until Amarone came along. As a dry passito, it must have seemed rather unconventional at the time.

Many believe that Amarone came about by accident, the result of a sweet passito gone awry, forgotten and left to ferment long enough for the sugars to be converted to alcohol. What resulted was an intensely fruity, full-bodied, yet dry wine. Legend or not, it seems likely that Amarone descends from this process; its very name suggests such a heritage (amarone literally means “big bitter”). Amarone's precursor, Recioto, is produced with the same blend of grapes (Corvina, Rondinella, and sometimes Molinara) and uses the same production method. The principle difference between the two is the drying time and duration of fermentation, subtle changes in technique that generate astonishingly distinctive products.

Recioto is still produced today, but is not as well known as Amarone, partly because it is made in small quantities, but mostly because sweet red wines are not in vogue anymore. The need and consequent demand for sweet wines has seen a dramatic decline in recent years. Amarone is a reflection of these changes, an updated, modern passito. It is Recioto evolved. And no matter how it came into being, it is glorious.