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85-415: The red wine known as Valpolicella is typically made from three grape varieties: Corvina Veronese , Rondinella , and Molinara . A variety of wine styles are produced in the area, including a recioto dessert wine and Amarone , a strong wine made from dried grapes . Most basic Valpolicellas are light, fragrant table wines produced in a novello style, similar to Beaujolais nouveau and released only

170-566: A DOCG zones. The Valpolicella region has mostly a mild to cool continental climate that is influenced by its proximity to two sizable bodies of water- Lake Garda to the west and the Adriatic Sea to the southeast. The coolest regions are in the Monti Lessini foothills to the north, where cool winds blow southward from the Alps . This area is traditionally classified as the classico zone . Towards

255-409: A few weeks after harvest . Valpolicella Classico is made from grapes grown in the original Valpolicella production zone. Valpolicella Superiore is aged at least one year and has an alcohol content of at least 12 percent. Valpolicella Ripasso is a form of Valpolicella Superiore made with partially dried grape skins that have been left over from fermentation of Amarone or recioto . Winemaking in

340-403: A mild fruity flavor with hints of almond. These blends include Corvinone , Rondinella , and Molinara , and Rossignola for the latter wine. It is also used for the production of Amarone and Recioto . Corvina produces light to medium body wines with a light crimson coloring. The grapes' naturally high acidity can make the wine somewhat tart with a slight, bitter almond note. The finish

425-451: A net of channels called navigli , which Leonardo da Vinci helped design. Near the end of its course, it creates a wide delta (with hundreds of small channels and five main ones, called Po di Maestra , Po della Pila , Po delle Tolle , Po di Gnocca and Po di Goro ) at the southern part of which is Comacchio , an area famous for eels . The Po Valley was the territory of Roman Cisalpine Gaul , divided into Cispadane Gaul (south of

510-424: A period of extended maceration . The additional food source for the remaining fermenting yeast helps boost the alcohol level and body of the wines while also leaching additional tannins , glycerine and some phenolic compounds that contribute to a wine's complexity, flavor and color . As the production of Amarone has increased in the 21st century, so too has the prevalence of ripasso style wines appearing in

595-497: A preferred location for rural vacation villas. Seven comuni compose Valpolicella: Pescantina , San Pietro in Cariano , Negrar , Marano di Valpolicella , Fumane , Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella and Sant’Anna d’Alfaedo . The Valpolicella production zone was enlarged to include regions of the surrounding plains when Valpolicella achieved DOC status in 1968. In December 2009, the production of Amarone and recioto dessert wines within

680-528: A wide variety of styles ranging from basic nouveau table wines, full-bodied red wines, sweet dessert wines and even sparkling spumante . The most basic Valpolicella are light-bodied and often served slightly chilled. They have many characteristics similar to a Beaujolais wine and are often noted for their sour cherry flavor. While full-bodied recioto and Amarone styles reach alcohol levels of 15–16%, most Valpolicellas have more moderate alcohol levels around 11%. For wines labeled Valpolicella Superiore

765-537: Is Amarone paired with walnuts and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Master of wine Mary Ewing-Mulligan notes that well-made examples of Amarone from favorable vintages usually need about ten years of bottle aging for the flavors to mature, and have the potential to continue developing for twenty years or more. [REDACTED] Media related to Valpolicella at Wikimedia Commons 45°31′00″N 10°53′00″E  /  45.5167°N 10.8833°E  / 45.5167; 10.8833 Corvina Veronese Corvina

850-531: Is an Italian wine grape variety that is sometimes also referred to as Corvina Veronese or Cruina . The total global wine-growing area in 2010 was 7,495 hectares (18,520 acres), all of which is grown in the Veneto region of northeast Italy , except for 19 hectares (47 acres) planted in Argentina . Corvina is used with several other grapes to create the light red regional wines Bardolino and Valpolicella that have

935-474: Is now degrading. Venice , which was originally built on islands off the coast, is most at risk due to subsidence, but the effect is realized in the Po delta as well. The causes are first a decrease in the sedimentation rate due to the locking of sediment behind hydroelectric dams and the deliberate excavation of sand from rivers for industrial purposes. Second, agricultural use of the river is heavy; during peak consumption

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1020-471: Is reserved mainly for agriculture and is subject to flash floods , even though the overall quantity of water is lower than in the past and lower than demand. The main products of the farms around the river are cereals including – unusually for Europe – rice , which requires heavy irrigation . The latter method is the chief consumer of surface water, while industrial and human consumption use underground water. The Po has 141 tributaries . They include (R on

1105-421: Is sometimes marked with sour-cherry notes. In some regions of Valpolicella, producers are using barrel aging to add more structure and complexity to the wine. The small berries of Corvina are low in tannins and color extract but have thick skins that are ideal for drying and protecting the grape from rot. The Corvina vine ripens late and is prone to producing high yields which can harm wine quality. During

1190-817: Is the product of the islands of the northern ocean ( Baltic Sea )" and attributes its introduction into the Po Valley to the Veneti , the last link in a trade route to the north through Pannonia . Pliny ( Hist. Nat. , iii. 122) also gives the Ligurian name of the Po as Bodincus , which he translates as "bottomless". The root bod- has been generally analyzed as containing the PIE base * bhu(n)d(h) - seen in Sanskrit budhnah and Avestan buna - "bottom", Greek pythmen "foundation", Latin fundus "bottom", Old Irish bond "sole of

1275-561: The 1947 Peace Treaty of Paris as a punitive measure against Italy. These can be found on the Mont Cenis and Mongenevre passes. The former contains a reservoir dammed at the Po end and so technically constitutes part of its basin, although it contributes little to the water flow as the water is, by definition, retained by the dam. The Po is the longest river in Italy; at its widest point it is 503 m (1,650 ft) across. The vast valley around

1360-647: The Busa di Tramontana to the north and the Busa di Scirocco to the south, while the mainstream, the Busa Dritta , enters Punta Maistra and exits finally past Pila lighthouse. Despite the park administration's definition of the active delta as beginning at Porto Viro, there is another active channel upstream from it at Santa Maria in Punta, where the Fiume Po divides into the Po di Goro and

1445-583: The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive , 2000/60/EC. This takes in water management and flood risk plans antecedent. Between 2009 and 2015 the Po Valley Project (the implementation of the plan) took more than 60 measures, notably to: heighten and strengthen levees , increase flood-meadows , resume natural sediment transport and deposition points, enlarge wetlands, afforest, re-nature, promote biodiversity and recreational use. In Roman times

1530-526: The Last Glacial Maximum around 20,000 years ago, which brought the Adriatic to a high point at about 5,500 years ago. Since then the Po delta had been prograding . The rate of coastal zone progradation between 1000 BC and 1200 AD was 4 m/yr. Human factors, however, brought about a change in the equilibrium in the mid-20th century with the result that the entire coastline of the northern Adriatic

1615-667: The Miocene Epoch, the Messinian (7–5 mya ), the Messinian salinity crisis , a near drying of the Mediterranean, was caused by the sea level dropping below the sill at the Strait of Gibraltar and the equilibrium between evaporation and replenishment shifting in favor of evaporation. At that time the Po Valley and the Adriatic depression were a single canyon system thousands of feet deep. On

1700-549: The Parco Regionale Veneto , one of the tracts under the authority of the Parco Delta del Po , contains the latest branches of the Po. The Po di Gnocca branches to the south followed by the Po di Maestra to the north at Porto Tolle . At Tolle downstream the Po di Venezia divides into the Po delle Tolle to the south and the Po della Pila to the north. The former exits at Bonelli. The latter divides again at Pila into

1785-415: The Po di Venezia . The fossil Po is the region of no longer active channels from the Po to the sea. It begins upstream from Ferrara . The Fiume Po currently flowing to the north of Ferrara is the result of a diversion at Ficarolo in 1152 made in the hope of relieving flooding in the vicinity of Ravenna . The diversion channel was at first called the Po di Ficarolo . The Fiume Po before then followed

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1870-489: The Po di Volano , no longer connected to the Po, which ran to the south of Ferrara and exited near Volano . In Roman times it did not exit there but ran to the south as the Padus Vetus ("old Po") exiting near Comacchio , from which split the Po di Primaro exiting close to Ravenna . Before 1152 the seaward extension of today's delta, about 12 km (7.5 mi), did not exist. The entire region from Ravenna to Chioggia

1955-473: The Taglio di Porto Viro , "Porto Viro cut-off". Their intent was to stop the gradual migration of the Po toward the lagoon of Venice, which would have filled up with sediment had contact been made. The subsequent town of Taglio di Po grew around the diversionary works. The lock of Volta Grimana blocked the old channel, now the Po di Levante , which flows to the Adriatic through Porto Levante. Below Taglio di Po

2040-629: The canton of Ticino , which is essentially drained by the river Ticino rising in the Gotthard Area , and includes Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano . A small part of the canton of Grisons drains to the Po, partly via the Ticino. The Simplon Valley in the canton of Valais is drained by the Diveria . A minute section of the Po basin belongs to France in the Vallée Étroite  [ it ; fr ] (literally,

2125-452: The comuni of Alfonsine, Argenta, Cervia, Codigoro, Comacchio, Goro, Mesola, Ostellato and Ravenna. The 53,653 ha (132,580 acres) of the park contain wetlands, forest, dunes and salt pans. It has a high biodiversity , with 1,000–1,100 plant species and 374 vertebrate species, of which 300 are birds. The most recent part of the delta, which projects into the Adriatic between Chioggia and Comacchio , contains channels that connect to

2210-580: The drainage basin – nearly three times higher than estimated. On February 24, 2010, the Po was contaminated by an oil spill coming from a refinery in Villasanta through the Lambro , the Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata news agency has estimated it to be about 600,000 liters. Until 1989 water resources were administered regionally or locally. The major authority on the lower Po

2295-473: The growth cycle of the grape vine, the first few buds do not produce fruit. The vines need to be trained along a pergola which allows for a long cane that can produce more buds. Historically in the Veneto region Corvina was often confused with Corvinone , a similar larger red grape that ripens later, but DNA profiling has shown that they are two distinct varieties. In 2005, DNA evidence showed that Corvina

2380-520: The wine labels of wines produced completely from grapes grown in this area. Today over 40% of all wine production in Valpolicella takes place in the classico zone, with an estimated yearly production of 12.2 million gallons (460,000 hl). Another sub-zone that is permitted to attach its name to the wine is the Valpolicella Valpantena located in the valley located just east of Verona. Most of

2465-399: The Adriatic and therefore is called the active delta by the park authorities, whereas the fossil delta contains channels that no longer connect the Po to the Adriatic (but once did). The active delta was created in 1604 when the city of Venice diverted the main stream, the Po grande or Po di Venezia , from its channel north of Porto Viro to the south of Porto Viro in a channel then called

2550-520: The Apennines filled the valley and the central Adriatic generally to a depth of 1,000 m (3,300 ft) to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) but from 2,000 m (6,600 ft) to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) off the current mouth of the Po, with pockets as deep as 6,000 m (20,000 ft). At the start of the Pleistocene the valley was full. Cycles of transgression and regression are detectable in

2635-471: The DOC requirement. Some producers are experimenting with international varieties and producing dry Amarone style wines from grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon . In the late 20th century, a new style of wine known as ripasso (meaning 'repassed') emerged. With this technique, the pomace of leftover grape skins and seeds from the fermentation of recioto and Amarone are added to the batch of Valpolicella wines for

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2720-607: The Elder has the most to say about the Padus of his times. Herodotus had expressed doubt concerning the existence of a river in Europe, Eridanos , which flowed into the northern sea, he said, from which amber came. He believed it was a Greek name (there are other Eridanos rivers in Greece), "invented by some poet," but makes no conjectures as to where it might be. Pliny points out that in his own time

2805-474: The Eridanos had become wrongly identified with the Padus . He does not know when or how, but like Herodotus, he blames the poets. Amber is supposed to have come from there. Phaëthon , son of the sun, struck by lightning changed into poplars and exuded tears every year, which is the source of amber (a myth of Pausanias ). Expressing surprise at the ignorance of the poets, Pliny says "There can be no doubt that amber

2890-763: The Ministry of Public Works, headed by a chairman appointed by the Head of State and the Council of Ministers. Its headquarters are in Venice. Its domain is the management and protection of the water system in Veneto , Mantua , Trento , Bolzano and Friuli-Venezia Giulia . In 1989 in response to the major geologic problems that were developing along the river Law no. 183/89 was passed authorizing The Po Basin Water Board (Autorità di bacino del fiume Po), which would direct operations concerning all

2975-561: The Narrow Valley) running from Mont Thabor to the Italian ski resort of Bardonecchia . Although in France, Vallée Étroite is so remote it is essentially administered by Italy (telephone network, rubbish collections, etc. ). Further minuscule parts of the Po's basin (measurable in the hundreds of metres of linear distance) within France are found in the form of small streamheads forced into France by

3060-449: The Po are formed by a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face of Monviso . The Po then extends along the 45th parallel north before ending at a delta projecting into the Adriatic Sea near Venice . It is characterized by its large discharge (several rivers over 1,000 km have a discharge inferior or equal to

3145-560: The Po is called the Po Basin or Po Valley (Italian Pianura Padana or Val Padana ); the main industrial area and the largest agricultural area in the country - accounting for 35% of Italian agricultural production . In 2002, more than 16 million people lived in the area, at the time nearly one-third of the population of Italy. The two main economic uses of the valley are for industry and for agriculture. The industrial centres, such as Turin and Milan, are located on higher terrain, away from

3230-530: The Po) and Transpadane Gaul (north of the Po). The Po has a drainage area of 74,000 km in all, 70,000 of those being in Italy, of which 41,000 is in montane environments and 29,000 on the plain. The slope of the Po's river valley decreases from 0.35% in the west to 0.14% in the east, a low gradient. Along its path lie 450 standing lakes. Almost all of the rest of the non-Italy basin is in Switzerland , primarily in

3315-458: The Po). It is, with the Rhône and Nile , one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge. As a result of its characteristics, the river is subject to heavy flooding. Consequently, over half its length is controlled with embankments . The river flows through many important Italian cities, including Turin , Piacenza , Cremona and Ferrara . It is connected to Milan through

3400-546: The Po, for which the European Environment Agency cited the city. Since 2005, all sewage from Milan is treated in plants at Nosedo, San Rocco and Peschiera Borromeo. These treat the sewage from over 2.5 million inhabitants. In 2005, water from the Po was found to contain much benzoylecgonine , passed by cocaine users in urine . Based on these figures, cocaine consumption was estimated to be about 4 kg daily, or 27 doses per day per thousand young adults in

3485-455: The Po. Nine gates are 6.5 m (21 ft) high and two are 8 m (26 ft) high for sediment-scouring purposes. A spillway to the right passes through a hydroelectric station of 4 generators of 76 MW each operated by a 3.5–11 m (11–36 ft) head of water. The spillway connects to a diversionary canal subtending a 12 km (7.5 mi) loop of the Po. A ship lock 85 m (279 ft) long and 12 m (39 ft) wide next to

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3570-467: The Valpolicella DOC received their own separate denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) status. Viticulture has been used in the Veneto region since at least the time of the ancient Greeks , though the exact period of cultivation for the Valpolicella area is not precisely known. The tradition of using partially dried grapes (seen today in the modern Valpolicella wines of Amarone)

3655-660: The Venetians, who pushed even further into the hills of the Verona and the Valpolicella region. The 19th century brought a series of calamities to most wine-producing regions including the phylloxera epidemic , oidium , downy mildew and the political upheaval of the Risorgimento . According to the 1889 writings of the French wine historian Dr. C. B. Cerletti , one of the few Italian wine regions to emerge from this period relatively unscathed

3740-456: The amount of grapes grown in the fertile plains that could be used in Amarone production. Another measure was the 2003 removal of Molinara from the list of mandatory blending grapes. Amarone is unique in the wine world. Typically very alcoholic, full-bodied and ripe-tasting wines are produced in very warm climate regions, where the grapes are able to build up large amounts of sugar while ripening on

3825-689: The barrels are older and essentially "neutral", in that they do not impart much flavor or wood tannins, but in the late 20th and early 21st centuries more Amarone producers have been experimenting with the use of smaller new oak barrels that introduce more oak flavoring to the wine. Amarones are rich, full-bodied wines with flavor and aroma notes that are often compared to the flavors of Port wine . The wines often have notes of mocha , bitter-sweet dark chocolate , raisin, dried fig and earthy flavors. At restaurants sommeliers will often recommend food and wine pairings for Amarone with hearty, heavy dishes such as meat roasts . A classic after-dinner assortment

3910-610: The east and near the Soave DOC are several areas featuring volcanic soils . The most favorably situated vineyards are located in the Monti Lessini foothills in the classico zone where the grapes ripen at altitudes between 490 to 1,500 feet (150–460 metres). The Valpolicella zone is bordered to the west by the Bardolino DOC , located along the banks of Lake Garda , which produces similar wines to basic Valpolicella using many of

3995-457: The extending lobes that appear as "ears" at the top of a grape cluster . The exposed grapes on the "ears" usually receive the most direct sunlight and become the ripest grapes on the cluster. Historically these very ripe "ears" were picked separately and used to make very rich, sweet wines. Today the method for making recioto has evolved to include the use of whole grape clusters . Grapes destined for Recioto della Valpolicella are often grown in

4080-528: The flow in places nearly dries up, causing local contention. As a result of decreased flow, salt water is intruding into the aquifers and coastal ground water. Eutrophication in standing waters and streams of low flow is on the increase. The valley is subsiding due to the extraction of ground water. Always prone to fog, the valley is subject to heavy smog due to industrial atmospheric emissions, especially from Turin . The city of Milan had no sewage treatment plants. Sewage went through channels directly into

4165-461: The foot". The word Bodincus appears in the place name Bodincomagus , a Ligurian town on the right bank of the Po downstream from today's Turin. The Po, along with other rivers in northern Italy , was the scene of numerous military episodes throughout the Middle Ages and all the major cities and coastal lordships were equipped with real river fleets. Particularly violent were the clashes between

4250-400: The grape composition for Valpolicella wines was expanded to include varieties of lower potential quality such as Molinara and Rondinella. This led to a general drop in quality, which had a detrimental impact not only on the area's reputation in the international wine market but also on sales and prices. As winemaking became less profitable, the vineyards in the most labor-intensive areas (such as

4335-425: The grapes are then concentrated by a process of desiccation where they are kept in special drying rooms for anywhere from three to four months. During this time over a third of the water is removed as the grapes shrivel into raisins . This method (known as passito ) produces more concentrated grapes that still maintain the acid balance of a cool-climate grape. Amarones differ from other late harvest wines in that

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4420-408: The high levels of sugars in the wine completely into alcohol. The first completely dry Amarones that were commercially marketed were the 1953 vintages produced by Bolla and Bertani . In 2009, the production of Amarone wine in the Valpolicella zone achieved DOCG status. During the petitioning process, the wine producers in the region established several quality control regulations including quotas on

4505-546: The hillsides in the classico zone) were uprooted and abandoned. This shifted the source of grape production even further away from the better quality producing hillside regions down to the fertile plains. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Amarone wines of Valpolicella experienced a spike in popularity on the world's wine market. Production of Amarone jumped from 522,320 US gallons (19,772 hectoliters ) in 1972 to 1.2 million gallons (46,500 hl) by 1990. By 2000 Amarone production grew to over 3.9 million gallons (148,000 hl). By this point,

4590-682: The institution of two regional parks in the regions in which it is situated: Veneto and Emilia-Romagna . The Po Delta Regional Park in Emilia-Romagna, the largest, consists of four parcels of land on the right bank of the Po and to the south. Created by law in 1988, it was managed by a consortium, the Consorzio per la gestione del Parco , to which Ferrara and Ravenna provinces belong as well as nine comuni : Comacchio , Argenta , Ostellato , Goro , Mesola , Codigoro , Ravenna , Alfonsine , and Cervia . Executive authority resided in an assembly of

4675-453: The late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire , long after the valley had been occupied successively by prehistoric and historic peoples: Ligures , Etruscans , Celts , Veneti , Umbri , and Romans. At that late date, the ancient authors were attempting to explain the provenance of the name. Perhaps the earliest of these, Polybius (2nd century BC), uses Pados (in Greek) and says that it

4760-603: The most ideally situated hillside vineyards. Recioto can trace its origins to winemaking techniques of the ancient Greeks ; the grapes are taken to special drying rooms where they are allowed to desiccate , concentrating the sugars inside the grape. While recioto is typically sweet, with high levels of residual sugar , the must can be allowed to ferment completely dry . Often producers will label this wine as Amarone, but they may also choose to produce it as Valpolicella DOC wine or even an indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) table wine if they choose to use grape blends outside

4845-492: The presence of Botrytis cinerea is actively discouraged, as winemakers attempt to avoid the smoky, mouldy flavors that come with botrytized wine . Extra care is taken in the vineyard to ensure that the grapes are kept dry and harvested before rot can develop. The Amarones are then aged for several years, with many premium examples being aged for at least five years prior to release. They are often aged in large wooden barrels of either Slavonian or French oak . Traditionally

4930-531: The presidents of the provinces, the mayors of the comuni and the board of directors. They employed a Technical-Scientific Committee and a Park Council to carry out directives. In 1999 the park was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and was added to "Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta." From 2012 the park is managed by the Ente di Gestione per i Parchi e la Biodiversità - Delta del Po , composed by

5015-421: The price for grapes destined for Amarone production was nearly three times higher than what a comparable quantity of grapes would fetch for basic Valpolicella production. This sparked renewed interest in planting vineyards in the high altitude hillside locations that produced lower yields of grapes better suited for Amarone production. In the 21st century, the reputation of Valpolicella wines continued to expand on

5100-474: The region has existed since at least the time of the ancient Greeks . The name "Valpolicella" appeared in charters of the mid-12th century, combining two valleys previously thought of independently. Its etymology is likely from the Latin vallis pulicellae ("valley of river deposits"). Today Valpolicella's economy is heavily based on wine production. The region, colloquially called the "pearl of Verona", has also been

5185-591: The rest of Europe. Merchants records shows that one of the items regularly traded through Venice was local wines produced in Verona province in the hills west of Venice. During the 15th and 16th century , struggles with the Ottoman Turks led to frequent blockades of the Venetian ports, limiting the amount of available export wines from the Greek isles and abroad. This further stimulated the development of domestic vineyards for

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5270-484: The right bank, L on the left, looking downstream ): The Reno (R) was a tributary of the Po until the middle of the eighteenth century when the course was diverted to lessen the risk of devastating floods. The Tanaro is about 50 km (31 mi) longer than the upper Po at their confluence near Alessandria . The longest tributaries of the Po are Adda (313 km), Oglio (280 km), Tanaro (276 km) and Ticino (248 km). The Po Delta wetlands have been protected by

5355-402: The river. However, transit is severely hampered during summer months by low water levels. At the village of Isola Serafini in the comune of Monticelli d'Ongina , Piacenza Province , 40 km (25 mi) downstream from Piacenza, a 362 m (1,188 ft) long, 20 m (66 ft) high gate dam featuring eleven 30 m (98 ft) openings gated by vertical lift gates, crosses

5440-601: The river. They rely for power on the numerous hydroelectric stations in or on the flanks of the Alps, and on the coal/oil power stations which use the water of the Po basin as coolant. Drainage from the north is mediated through several large, scenic lakes, commonly referred to as the Italian Lakes , and shared with Switzerland. The streams are now controlled by so many dams as to slow the river's sedimentation rate, causing geologic problems. The expansive, moist and fertile flood plain

5525-448: The same grapes. The historical "heart" of Valpolicella winemaking is in the Monti Lessini hills located northwest of Verona. In 1968, the boundaries of the region were extended far eastward towards the DOC production zone of Soave and south to the plains of the northern bank of the Po river and the Adige. Today the original zone is known as Valpolicella Classico zone and may duly noted on

5610-468: The severity, resulting in a "decrease in precipitation during critical crop growing seasons". In July 2022, the Italian government declared a state of emergency in the regions Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Water levels decreased and revealed large riverbed areas and lost objects. The Po is first certainly identified in the Graeco-Roman historians and geographers of

5695-466: The south and east, the climate gets warmer in the fertile plains of the Adige river. The mean temperature in the growing season is usually around 74.5 °F (23.6 °C), with average rainfall around 34 inches (860 mm). The vineyard soils of the region range from morainic gravel near Lake Garda to more dolomite residual gravel with alluvial deposits in the fertile central plains. Towards

5780-644: The southwest the Apennine Mountains bordered a land mass termed Tyrrhenis geologically. Their orogeny was just being completed in the Miocene. On the north the Alpine Orogeny had already created the Alps . At the end of the Messinian the ocean broke through the sill and the Mediterranean refilled. The Adriatic transgressed into all of northern Italy. In the subsequent Pliocene sedimentary outwash primarily from

5865-497: The station passes some traffic through the canal, but above the dam traffic is mainly barges. The average flow at the dam is 854 m /s, with a 12,800 m /s maximum. The historic average flow for June is 1,805 cubic metres per second. In late June 2022, the flow measured in Ferrara fell below an average of 145 cubic metres per second. Climate change has caused several droughts across Northern Italy, with predictions for their frequency and

5950-429: The style of Amarone has existed in the region for centuries, it was very rarely made as a deliberate wine style. Mostly it was produced in warm vintages when batches of wines destined for sweet recioto were unintentionally allowed to ferment completely dry. The modern concept of Amarone has its roots in the early 1950s when producers "rediscovered" the style and began deliberately using yeast strains that could ferment

6035-583: The valley and the Adriatic as far as its centre and in the southern Adriatic. From the Pleistocene alternation of maritime and alluvial sediments occur as far west as Piacenza . The exact sequences at various locations have been studied extensively. Apparently the sea advanced and receded over the valley in conformance to an equilibrium between sedimentation and glacial advance or recession at 100,000-year intervals and 100 m (330 ft) to 120 m (390 ft) fluctuation of sea level. An advance began after

6120-416: The vine . Examples of warm climate regions include parts of Australia , California and southern Italy. The Valpolicella region is characterized as a "cool climate region" where acid levels are usually maintained and sugar build occurs more slowly in the vine. Grapes destined for Amarone are the last grapes in Valpolicella to be harvested, getting as ripe as they can before mold and rot set in. The sugars in

6205-544: The water resources in the Po basin (see under Po Valley ). Its headquarters have been in Parma since its inception in 1990. It considers itself a synergy among all the institutions concerned with the preservation and development of the Po basin. It is administered by officials chosen from the administrations of the constituent regions and provinces. In 2009 the water board began its Integrated River Basin Management Plan to meet

6290-490: The waterway was navigable as far upstream as Turin . Today the waterway is navigable for substantial craft (up to 1350 tonnes —the European Class IV waterway standard ) from Cremona to the river delta on the Adriatic . Passage by smaller vessels is available for some distance above Cremona. In the lower reaches the surrounding basin is generally flat and it is served by a complicated network of small canals linked to

6375-423: The wine market, with most Amarone producers also producing a ripasso as a type of " second wine ". An alternative method is to use partially dried grapes, instead of leftover pomace, which contain less bitter tannins and even more phenolic compounds. The first Valpolicella producer to commercially market a ripasso wine was Masi in the early 1980s. When the style first became popular in the late 20th century, it

6460-448: The wines must be aged a minimum of one year in wood and reach a minimum alcohol level of 12%. The sweet red dessert wine Recioto della Valpolicella was awarded its own separate DOCG status in 2010 and has been the style historically associated with the region. The name recioto , also made in neighbouring Soave and Gambellara regions with their own DOCG designations, comes from the local dialect recie , meaning " ears ", and refers to

6545-457: The wines produced under the Valpolicella DOC are red and usually contain a sizable amount of the area's most distinguished grape, Corvina . Other grapes used in the production of Valpolicella wine most often include Rondinella and Corvinone , but also Molinara , Rossignola , Negrara , Barbera , Sangiovese and Bigolona . A few producers are experimenting with reviving the indigenous grape Oseleta in Valpolicella. The wines are produced in

6630-441: The world's wine market, as ambitious winemakers began to invest more in advanced viticultural and winemaking techniques that produce higher quality wines. In 2003, the DOC regulations were adjusted to eliminate mandatory blending requirements for sub-quality grapes such as Molinara. At the end of 2009, the production of both Amarone and recioto dessert wines in the Valpolicella zone received Italy's highest quality wine designation as

6715-528: Was Valpolicella. In the 1950s, the "Amarone" style of winemaking was rediscovered. In 1968, the Valpolicella region received official recognition for quality wine production when it was granted its own DOC. However, with DOC recognition also came a large expansion of vineyard areas that were permitted to produce Valpolicella DOC wine, including land in the fertile plains of the Po River , which tend to produce large yields of grapes with varying qualities. Additionally,

6800-512: Was a parent variety to the Venetian grape Rondinella . Po River The Po ( / p oʊ / POH , Italian: [ˈpɔ] ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps . The river's length is either 652 km (405 mi) or 682 km (424 mi), if the Maira , a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of

6885-619: Was dense swamps, explaining why the Via Aemilia was constructed between Rimini and Piacenza and did not begin further north. The Mediterranean Basin is a depression in the Earth 's crust caused by the African Plate slipping under the Eurasian Plate . Typically in geologic history the depression is filled with sea water under various geologic names such as Tethys Sea . In the last period of

6970-683: Was known as the "Greco" or "Greek style" of winemaking, with its origins likely dating back to this period. In the 6th century AD, the Roman writer Cassiodorus notes that the sweet wines of the area were favorites in the courts of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. Since the 8th century AD, the Republic of Venice was long a vital trading port in the Mediterranean , linking the Byzantine Empire with

7055-446: Was rarely noted on the wine label. There was also debate about whether it was even permitted to be included under DOC regulations. If it was mentioned at all it was relegated to the back label wine description notes. Today the term ripasso is freely permitted to be used, with several examples on the wine market labeled as being made in the ripasso style. In late 2009, Ripasso della Valpolicella received its own DOC designation. While

7140-522: Was the Magistrato alle Acque di Venezia , first formed in the 16th-century Republic of Venice . It made all the decisions concerning the diversion of the lower river. Most part of the delta is still in Veneto . In 1907 under the Kingdom of Italy the agency became the Magistrato alle Acque and took responsibility for all the water resources in northeastern Italy. Currently it is a decentralized institution of

7225-479: Was to be identified with the Eridanos of the poets. Moreover, the country people call it Bodencus . This implies that a "country" population either remained from prehistoric times or adopted the name in use by that substrate. The name has been segmented as Bod-encus or Bod-incus , the suffix being characteristic of the ancient Ligurian language of northern Italy, southern France, Corsica and elsewhere. Pliny

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