In the last five years, sales of Amarone wines have increased by 7%, reaching 600 million euros in 2022. The Amarone Opera Prima, a two-day event organised by the Consorzio Vini Valpolicella, brought together around 300 journalists and more than 1,500 wine lovers from all over the world in the beautiful city of Verona to taste the latest 2018 vintage of the famous Amarone red wine, known as the “King of Valpolicella”, introduced and narrated by the 64 participating wineries.
The core of the event was the presentation of the latest 2018 vintage, with a special emphasis on the concept of “value” when speaking about the future of the association. For Amarone, “value” is becoming increasingly important. Thanks to its history, production techniques and its long ageing period, Amarone remains one of the most popular wines in the world. The value of Amarone can be expressed by its figures: 8,600 hectares of vineyards, more than 2,400 companies, 19 counties and municipalities, including Verona, the largest “urban vineyard” in Italy with 1,300 hectares, and 35% of the vineyards certified under the sustainability label created by the association. Exports increased by 7%, particularly in countries with a strong performance such as the United States (+24) and China (+7), with a turnover of 600 million euros in 2022, including wines such as Amarone, Valpolicella, Ripasso and Recioto.
Christian Marchesini, President of the Valpolicella Wine Consortium, said: “In 2022, we produced 15 million bottles of wine and sold 17 million bottles of wine. Needless to say, this is what Valpolicella deserves, thanks to its quality and history.”
The thousand-year-old technique of ‘air-drying’ the grapes used to produce Amarone and Recioto is an enormous added value and is a candidate for UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage. “It’s a special technique for making wines with terroir and uniqueness, especially what we call Amarone, which is very popular in Asian countries, especially in China.” Marchesini added. This air-drying technique, which has been in use since 500 AD and today is used by more than 8,000 people in the region, would be the first winemaking technique in the world to be recognised by UNESCO.
“It is a technique that has a history of 1,500 years and is part of the region,” explained Luca Zaia, Governor of the Veneto region, “The intangible cultural heritage is about everything that represents the identity of the territory, and the technique of air-drying its grapes belongs to this context. This nomination is a tribute to the uniqueness of the product.”