Notes from the Importer: Careful selection of grapes from specific vineyard parcels that are uniquely suitable for Recioto. Recioto refers to the “ears” of the grape clusters, the upper shoulders of the bunches that get the most sunlight and are the most ripe. The wine must have significant sugar to go through two alcoholic fermentations and remain sweet. Recioto must have significant levels of residual sugar after alcoholic fermentation. After harvest, grapes sit in wooden boxes or on rush mats. Careful attention is paid to the positioning of the grapes so the appassimento can occur naturally. Noble rot starts to appear in November and develops mostly in January. Grapes are pressed at the end of January and after 20 days of maceration, alcoholic fermentation begins with indigenous yeasts. Fermentation lasts 45 days. Wine is then racked and ages in Slavonian oak barrels for fix to six years. All of Quintarelli’s wines are capable of very, very long aging, but none more so than the Recioto The 2007 Recioto della Valpolicella Classico “a Roberto” is named for Giuseppe Quintarelli’s long-time enologist and close friend, Roberto Ferrarini, who passed away in 2014
