Amarone, Explained (2026): Why Dried Grapes Make Italy's Biggest Red, What Classico and Riserva Mean, and 8 Bottles from $38.99
Amarone is the red wine people reach for when the weather turns and the roast goes in the oven. It is big, dark and warming, usually 15% alcohol or more, and it tastes of dried cherry, fig, cocoa and a little bitter almond. What makes it different from almost every other dry red is simple: the grapes are dried for months before they are ever pressed.
That one step explains the price, the strength, the flavor and why a good bottle can sit on the table open for days. Here is how Amarone is made, what the words on the label actually tell you, what to eat with it, and eight bottles from our Amarone collection worth opening this holiday season.
The 8 Amarones in this guide
What Amarone is: Valpolicella, with the water taken out
Amarone della Valpolicella comes from the hills just north of Verona, in Italy's Veneto region. It uses the same local grapes as everyday Valpolicella: mostly Corvina, with Corvinone and Rondinella. The difference is in what happens after harvest.
Instead of going straight to the press, the best bunches are laid out on bamboo racks or in shallow crates in airy drying lofts called fruttai. Over roughly three to four months they shrivel, losing a third or more of their weight in water. This drying process is called appassimento. Sugar, acid and flavor concentrate, and the skins pick up the raisined, fig-like character that is Amarone's signature.
The shriveled grapes are pressed in midwinter and fermented slowly, often until almost all the sugar is gone. The result is a dry wine with a lot of alcohol and a very rich texture. The name comes from amaro, Italian for bitter: Amarone was the "big bitter one," the dry version of Recioto, the sweet wine the region made first.
The Valpolicella ladder
If you have tasted Chianti as a ladder or worked through our guide to Rosso and Brunello di Montalcino, the Veneto version will feel familiar. From lightest to richest:
Valpolicella is fresh and cherry-bright, a red you can chill slightly. Valpolicella Superiore has a little more age and weight. Ripasso is Valpolicella that has been refermented on the leftover skins from Amarone, which adds body and a hint of that raisined flavor at a lower price. Amarone is the full dried-grape wine. Recioto is the sweet original, made the same way but stopped before the sugar ferments out.
Reading the label: Classico, Riserva and the vineyard names
DOCG. Amarone della Valpolicella has held Italy's top quality designation since the 2010 vintage. The rules require the drying, a minimum of 14% alcohol, and at least two years of aging before release.
Classico means the grapes come from the original, historic heart of the zone: the valleys around Fumane, Marano, Negrar, Sant'Ambrogio and San Pietro in Cariano. These hillside sites tend to give more structure and perfume. It is a statement about place, not a higher grade, but most of the region's best-known names are here.
Riserva means at least four years of aging before release. Expect a more savory, leathery, dried-fruit wine with softer tannins.
Named sites. Some producers add a vineyard or hillside name. Masi's "Costasera," for example, means the "evening slopes" that face west toward Lake Garda and catch the late sun.
The 8 bottles, from everyday to splurge
Under $50, for a first bottle or a big dinner. Sant Arturo Amarone ($38.99) is the easiest way in: plush, cherry-forward and friendly enough for a crowd. Giuliano Rosati Amarone della Valpolicella ($42.99) is a touch drier and more savory, a good match for braised meat. Farina Amarone della Valpolicella Classico ($44.99) brings Classico-zone structure for the price, with sour cherry and cocoa. Cesari Amarone ($45.99) leans ripe and round, with plum and chocolate notes that work with holiday desserts as well as the main course. Acinum Amarone della Valpolicella ($48.99) is polished and modern, with a smooth finish that suits people who are new to the style.
$50 to $65, the classic estates. Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico ($59.99) is a benchmark from one of the region's long-standing family estates: dried cherry, spice, firm and balanced. Masi Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico Costasera ($62.99) is the bottle many people picture when they think of Amarone, with raisin, coffee and a bitter-almond finish. Masi is also the house credited with popularizing the Ripasso method. In the same price range, Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico ($63.99) is richer and darker, with stock running low.
The splurge. Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico ($99.99) comes from a family estate in Fumane and is deep, perfumed and built to age for a decade or more. If you want to go further, Masi Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico Costasera Riserva ($88.99) shows what extra time in barrel does, and Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico ($129.99) is the traditionalist's choice: released late, savory, and closer to a fine old Barolo than a fruit bomb. For a special occasion, Zenato Amarone Classico Riserva Sergio DOC ($128.99) is Zenato's top Riserva.
What to eat with Amarone
Amarone needs food with as much weight as it has. Classic Veronese matches are beef braised in Amarone and risotto made with it. At an American table, think short ribs, prime rib, lamb shank, venison, mushroom dishes and anything slow-roasted. It is also one of the few reds that works with a cheese board heavy on aged Parmigiano, aged Gouda or blue cheese, and the riper bottles can take on dark chocolate.
It is less happy with spicy food, which the alcohol amplifies, and with delicate fish. For a full holiday menu, our Christmas dinner wine pairings guide covers what to pour with ham, goose and dessert, too.
How to serve it
Temperature: slightly cool, around 60 to 65°F. Too warm and the alcohol takes over. Twenty minutes in the fridge helps if the bottle has been sitting in a warm kitchen.
Air: decant young Amarone for an hour, or open it well before dinner. Older Riservas need less time, and they may have sediment worth leaving behind.
Glass: a big-bowled red wine glass. Pour smaller than usual; this is a wine for slow sipping.
Leftovers: thanks to the high alcohol and concentrated fruit, a re-corked bottle holds up well for three or four days and often tastes better on the second night.
Amarone as a gift
Few wines look and taste more generous for the money, which makes Amarone one of the best wine gifts in the $40 to $100 range. It also ages well, so the person you give it to can open it this winter or keep it for years. For more ideas, see our Christmas wine gifts guide. Whiskey drinkers who like the style can try Bushmills 10 Year Single Malt Irish Whisky Amarone Cask ($49.99), an Irish single malt finished in casks that previously held Amarone.
Shop Amarone at Bourbon Central
Browse every bottle in our Amarone collection, compare it with Tuscany's best in Amarone and Brunello, or explore the full range of Italian red wine. If Piedmont is next on your list, read Barolo vs. Barbaresco, and find everything else in our red wine collection.
